5 Must Have Components to Organizing a Successful Tournament
Making the decision to hold a fundraiser is a large feat no matter what you choose to execute- but a golf tournament? Now that takes some serious planning. Thankfully with a little due diligence, a little dedication and a whole log of heart from the people involved, a successful fundraiser is possible to bring awareness and donations to the organizations you cherish the most.
Here's how to get started...
Discover Your WHY
Chances are if you've already made the decision to host a fundraising tournament that you have a particular charity or reason for in mind. With that said, though it's important to you, make sure that you can position others to get on board too.
Most importantly, do your homework to ensure that the organization you will be working so hard for is a legitimate cause in good standing. Unless the money is being raised for a specific person or family in mind, more times than not, any organization you fund should be categorized as a 501c3.
Determine Your Goals
With the organization in mind, it's time to consider the actual objective of the event- Money? Sponsorships? Scholarships? Prizes? After expenses, what is the target goal to have raised- and more importantly, what will help you get there?
Gather Your Committee
Organizing a committee takes more than assembling a group of your friends. While of course, you'll want to welcome the help of any volunteer, it takes a certain person to facilitate each role. With that in mind, reach out to your network to find people that could donate their particular skill sets towards making your event a success. You'll want to hold regular meetings and maintain tight communication with the members of this committee, so make sure everyone is responsible, available, and dedicated to seeing it through.
Areas to consider assigning people to are:
- Accounting
- Marketing
- Design
- Operations
- Communications
- Planning
Plan the Details
Now that your people are in place, take time to outline the details that need specific attention. While it should be expected that small hiccups will happen throughout the process, the more prepared your team is, the more success you can look forward to.
Perhaps most importantly, make sure you have a play-byplay of the day of agenda. With so much to handle, you'll want an ironclad structure to count on when the event starts getting busy.
Things to plan for are:
- Which golf course to host the event at
- Which vendors to use
- Ideal date and time (and rain date if applicable)
- Sponsorship tiers
- Giveaways and prizes
- Volunteer Roles
Promote to your Audience
Finally, you're ready to let the world know about your upcoming event. Gather all of your marketing materials and hit the various media outlets to help get the word out. Don't forget to utilize social media- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn- to help get others excited and give them the opportunity to share with the world as well.