January 25, 2023
Nonprofit Technology & Fundraising Blog
Subscribe to our mailing list
July 9, 2014 | Categories Fundraising Strategies, Social Fundraising
Last month I had the pleasure of helping organize the Player’s Charity Championship IV, a virtual golf tournament and fundraising event that has been held about once every four years.
Virtual Golf, you say? Yes, you heard that right- for the last 8+ years I have been helping Virtual Golfers for UnderDogs, an actual 501c organization which raises funds for under-served nonprofit organizations.
We raise funds by holding a special fundraising tournament once every approximately 4 years, where over 100 people gather from across the country to compete in a “PGA” style golf tournament- you can win cash and prizes. But instead of hitting a golf ball with a club, these professionals (many make a real living playing year round!), swing and hit a trackball that creates their shots around a virtual golf course on the screen. It’s called Golden Tee, the most successful coin operated video game in history, even more successful than Pac-Man!
$42,296.88 raised for charity from just 83 golfers.
And these guys are good. For just 18 holes, scores average -24 under par. Yes, that’s right- 24 strokes under par.
In the beginning, I was one of these professionals, earning some meaningful money and even making a World Championship in 2004. Alas, time, work, and family obligations led me to hang up my virtual clubs, but I’m still involved with the charity side.
And we raise money- over the years we’ve raised over $150,000 for charities.
While the name and the cause might be a little different from your typical special event, almost everything else was the same. This included coordinating planning committees, volunteers, vendors, donation collections, and of course running the actual event itself.
Here are the top 10 lessons I continue to learn even after doing this for years:
Good luck with your future events!
This post was written by Jon Biedermann, Vice President of Fundraising Solutions for DonorPerfect.