Hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is a fun and effective way to raise money for an organization you care about. But what if we told you that in addition to the sign-up fees you collect for the event, there were ways to raise even more money?
Thanks to the upscale but low-key nature of these events, they create an atmosphere where people feel more open to spending money on luxuries. This creates quite a few opportunities to raise more money for your cause.
One of the most effective? Online silent auctions. With a little thought (and some fantastic silent auction items), you can easily entice participants to bid on items more freely.
Discover more easy (and fun!) ways to raise more at your golf tournament fundraiser here.
5 Easy Ways to Raise More at Your Golf Tournament Fundraiser
1. Host an Online Silent Auction
Hosting your silent auction online at your golf tournament fundraiser makes it easier for attendees to stay involved and help raise more funds for your cause.
With online silent auctions, your attendees (and even those who couldn’t attend in person) can bid from their mobile devices at any point before and throughout the event. Even between shots!
Using an app also allows you to:
- Open the bidding before the golf fundraiser starts: You can even start the auction several days in advance and let attendees bid remotely to build momentum, resulting in a healthy level of competition by the time the golf tournament begins.
- Keep the bidding going during the tournament: Spectators can bid continuously throughout the event, and players can place bids while waiting to tee off on the golf course or during other breaks in play. Golfers will be notified when they are outbid, allowing them to increase their bid on items they really want.
Why it works: Physical silent auctions create limitations on when attendees can bid or engage with the auction, which can cause them to treat it like an afterthought. If they’re not able to place bids until after the tournament has ended, they may be too fatigued to place bids, or their interest may have waned.
Holding your auction online means the action never stops, since attendees can open their phones anytime to participate. This improves engagement and stimulates competition since it keeps the bidding hot before, during, and potentially even after the event (depending on when you close the auction).
Learn How to Run a Silent Auction at a Golf Tournament Fundraiser here.
2. Add Excitement with an Online Raffle
While silent auction items go to the highest bidder, raffles level the playing field by allowing everyone to participate. They’re a fantastic way to help maximize your fundraising efforts.
How it works: Attendees purchase tickets for a chance to win a prize, and the winner is chosen randomly. This can add a sense of excitement and suspense to your event, especially if your draw prizes are travel-related items like hotel stays, including spas, premium rooms, dining, etc. You can also include early-bird prizes to get more tickets sold early on.
Why it works: Adding raffles will increase the funds you raise, as all guests will typically buy at least 1-2 tickets for a chance to win. Using our Raffle Rocket product, you can create a 50/50 raffle, cash prizes, and non-cash prizes (trips, hockey tickets, etc.).
Want to host both an online auction and raffle? Raffle Rocket integrates seamlessly with Bid Beacon, allowing attendees to quickly switch between them.
3. Gamify Your Event Further
Golf is fun on its own, but adding additional games throughout the tournament can help drive competition and raise a few more dollars for your cause. Keep engagement levels high throughout your golf tournament fundraiser by setting up smaller games along the course, such as:
- Longest Drive Challenge: Set up a designated area for the longest drive. Participants can pay to enter, and the winner at the end of the day gets a prize. This adds excitement and a competitive edge to the event.
- Hole-in-One Contest: For an additional donation, players can take a shot at a par-3 hole to win a big prize if they score a hole-in-one. This creates excitement, and the possibility of a big win encourages people to contribute.
- Closest to the Pin: Set up a challenge at a designated hole where players pay a small fee to try and land their ball closest to the pin. This could be done for different skill levels to level the playing field.
- Putting Contest: After the main event, host a putting contest on the green. Participants can pay to enter, and the best putter wins a prize. This keeps the competition going after the main event ends.
- Ball Drop Raffle: For a unique twist, sell numbered golf balls to participants. At the end of the event, drop the balls onto the course from a designated height. The ball closest to a specific target wins a prize. It’s fun and can be done for a low-cost entry.
Why it works: Gamification keeps people engaged throughout the golf tournament fundraiser. Since golf can be pretty leisurely, more gamification adds excitement and fuels healthy competition.
4. Sell Super Tickets
Offer participants a Super Ticket for a set price, including multiple extras like a mulligan, a raffle ticket, a poker run entry, and other perks like a drink or snack. This encourages participants to spend more upfront for additional chances to win prizes and have more fun.
How to do it:
- Set Price and Value: Price the Super Ticket higher than the regular entry fee, but ensure the combined value of included perks exceeds the price.
- Offer Perks:
- Mulligan
- Poker Run entry
- Raffle tickets
- Drink and snack
- Exclusive hole challenges or VIP access
- Branded merchandise
- Limit Availability: Create scarcity by offering a limited number to drive demand.
Why it works: Super Tickets have a higher perceived value, which means participants may be willing to spend more on them. They encourage fun and upfront spending and help them stay more engaged throughout the event. The more engaged participants are at a fundraiser, the more likely they are to donate.
5. Use a Complete Fundraising Suite
Wondering how to run a golf tournament fundraiser as simply as possible?
CommuniBee Suite is an all-in-one fundraising platform that can streamline the entire golf tournament, helping you raise more while keeping everything organized in one place.
With CommuniBee Suite, you can:
- Integrate with both Bid Beacon and Raffle Rocket
- Sell your event tickets and manage registrations
- Accept payments for sponsor packages
- Sell merchandise like golf balls, tees, hats, and mulligans
- Collect donations
Even better, these activities can be consolidated into one seamless fundraising campaign. You can direct your guests to this single landing page where they can easily access all of your fundraising activities! These types of campaigns make it more straightforward for your guests to get involved and for your admins to track progress.
How to Increase the ROI of Your Golf Tournament Fundraiser
If you want to maximize the ROI of your golf tournament fundraiser, multiple revenue streams are the way to go. We’ve outlined some of the most effective ways to raise more money in the blog, but building your fundraiser with the following core strategies in mind can seriously make a difference.
Pair Your Fundraiser with Other Activities
Whether you choose an online silent auction, raffle, or gamification, pairing your fundraiser with other activities can:
- Enhance its appeal
- Make it more engaging
- Provide more opportunities for donations
- Attract a broader range of participants
Fire Up Competition
There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to spark engagement and fun. Further gamifying your tournament or offering an online silent auction throughout it can increase excitement and participation, encouraging more (and larger) donations and bids.
Invite Major Donors
One of your major fundraising goals is to raise as much money as possible for your cause. This is made easier when potential major donors attend. By inviting key donors to attend and participate in your golf tournament fundraiser, you can:
- Get a better overall turnout with more sign-ups
- Encourage larger donations
- Garner long-term support for your cause
How to do it: Offer sponsorship packages or contact local businesses.
Raise More at Your Golf Tournament Fundraiser!
With the right strategy and tools, your golf tournament fundraiser can be more than a successful one-off event—it can also be a template for future fundraising events, and an opportunity to promote causes that matter to your guests.
Our products let you reuse and bring forward previous event setup details to help kick-start your next fundraiser.
With no up-front costs, it’s easy to experience the difference our tools make for you and your fundraising team. If you ever have any questions, we host online Bid Beacon Q&A sessions two times per month. Let us help you raise more for your cause!
Try out Bid Beacon today.
Golf Tournament Fundraiser FAQs
What is the best format for a charity golf tournament?
The best format for a charity golf tournament is often a scramble, where teams of players combine their best shots, encouraging collaboration and keeping the pace fun and engaging for participants of all skill levels.
How to do a golf ball drop fundraiser?
In a golf ball drop fundraiser, participants purchase numbered golf balls, which are then dropped from a height onto the course; the ball closest to a designated target wins, and the proceeds from the ball sales go to the charity.
How to host a fun golf tournament?
To host a fun golf tournament, incorporate engaging elements like friendly competitions (e.g., longest drive or closest-to-the-pin challenges), offer perks such as mulligans or raffles, and ensure a relaxed, social atmosphere with post-event networking and prizes.
