Golf tournament morphed from pure marketing effort into full-fledged charity event

July 1, 2014
Our efforts to find ways to market to insurance agents have become a gateway to build a championship internal team and enhance the culture of our company.

Who knew back in 1999 that our effort to find ways to market to insurance agents would become a gateway to build a championship internal team and enhance the culture of our company. It all started by hosting a charity golf outing, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the benefactors.

Although the focus and goal of the event changed within just a few years, our annual golf outing continues to be a highlight for our business, 16 years and counting. It brings together our industry partners, vendors and customers, and has helped us raise well over $300,000 for charity.

Hosting a golf event is a lot like planning a wedding. There are lots of details to handle to make it a smooth day. Here are the key elements to consider if your shop wants to host a successful golf event.

Create a committee. Now is actually the time to start planning a golf event for next summer. Pull together three or four people within your organization to oversee the planning. Although each committee member will likely work on all aspects of the event, it is helpful to appoint one person to be in charge of each component.

Choose a date and venue. Booking a golf course well in advance is key. We started at a public course, but after about a decade, we approached a private course and found they could meet our criteria. We’ve changed locations only once, but we do shop it every year.

Choose a charity. From the start, we’ve worked with non-profits involved with helping children, such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Big Brothers / Big Sisters. This year our event raised money for the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House and Little Smiles of Philadelphia, which brightens the lives of children in hospitals and shelters. When choosing a charity, research their finances; reputable charities post what percentage of their donations are used for the organization’s own administration and fund-raising efforts. Once you choose a charity, get them involved in your event planning.

Seek vendor support. Our paint manufacturer and distributor are the primary sponsors for our event. But we offer a variety of ways for vendors to get involved, from tangible donations for our auction at the awards banquet, to sponsoring a hole on the course or one of the beverage carts that circle the course.

Sign up golfers. Insurance agents and personnel are among the 120 golfers we have each year, but so are some of our customers, vendors, brokers and friends. They all pay to play, and every dime they pay goes directly to the charities (as does any leftover sponsorship money). We play scramble-style rules, so no one has to be a serious golfer. We often we hear, “I haven’t golfed since your last outing.”

Create some fun. We include some games throughout the day, such as a drive-the-marshmallow tournament, a putting contest against our operations manager, or a helicopter ball drop.

Line up volunteers. Some employees help with the planning process, but it’s really the day of the event you’ll need the most help. We need about 10 volunteers, particularly at registration. In that hour, you need to get everyone signed in with their foursomes, adjust foursomes on-the-fly, get everyone their bag of give-aways, etc. It can be a chaotic hour, but we must make it look effortless because players always tell us that it’s an easy process for them.

We start midday with registration and the driving range open. As golf concludes about 6 p.m, we move inside for a reception, banquet, live and silent auctions and awards. Everyone stays until the end, a good sign that we’re keeping them entertained. Like a wedding, everyone goes home happy.

Our management team and some of our employees come to the banquet for networking. They and all our employees like to see the efforts we make to help local charities. As I said, what started out for us as a marketing event is now a full-fledged charity event, which has made it much more rewarding. And it’s a boost to our culture – another benefit we didn’t anticipate when we started the golf outing 16 years ago.

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