By Jennifer Wemhoff, Communications Manager at GolfStatus – the leading event management platform for golf fundraisers.

Marketing your nonprofit’s golf tournament makes up the largest phase of event planning. Casting a wide net to attract the right golfers, sponsors, and supporters is key to making the tournament a success and raising the most money possible for your mission. Fortunately, the right tech tools make marketing your tournament simple, efficient, and low-cost.

Effective Marketing Starts With an Event Website

An event website is the biggest must-have marketing tool for your golf tournament. It functions as the home base for your golf event, where golfers and sponsors can learn more about your organization, what the tournament is raising money for, specifics about the event, and register a team or become a sponsor. It should be mobile-responsive, attractive, and include features like:

  • Online registration with secure payment processing
  • Customizable text, imagery, and URL
  • The ability to collect donations
  • Sponsor onboarding and digital exposure
  • Live leaderboards

Screenshot of a fundraising website for a local golf tournament fundraiser for charity.

1. It’s as Easy as Sharing a Link

Once you have an event website in place, your marketing becomes as simple as sharing a link in every promotional piece. If you’re using any hard copy or printed materials or invitations, add a QR code for folks to scan with their mobile device that links them directly to your event site. Invite folks on your planning team, board of directors, organizational staff, dedicated volunteers, or partners to share the link to their personal and professional network and broaden your reach even further. You’ll want to be sure to keep the site up-to-date with any new details or information like the event itinerary, any add-ons or contests, food and beverage, raffle prizes or auction items, and player gifts.

2. It Folds Seamlessly into Digital Channels

Your nonprofit likely leverages digital marketing channels to raise awareness about your mission, garner support, and solicit donations. Using tech to market your golf tournament lets you seamlessly fold it into your current digital strategies on channels such as:

  • Social media. Leverage both organic and paid social media channels to help spread the word about the tournament.
  • Email campaigns. It’s a good idea to combine standalone tournament marketing emails with your regular campaigns to maximize visibility and minimize spamming supporters’ inboxes. Strategically plan event-specific email blasts and include your event site link in regular newsletters and donor communications. You might even link out to the site in nonprofit staff email signatures.
  • Organizational website. Whether you have an events page or tournament landing page, list the tournament on your home page, or promote it in another appropriate location, be sure your nonprofit’s website includes a link back to the event site.
  • Partner marketing. Leverage any partner marketing opportunities your nonprofit may have to include a link to your tournament website and promote the event to that partner’s audience.

3. Online Registration is Expected

It’s an online world. Your supporters are likely used to shopping, buying event tickets, making donations, and connecting with others online, and expect no less from your nonprofit’s golf tournament. Online registration—with the right tool—provides a superior user experience for golfers and sponsors interested in participating in your tournament. They don’t have to fill out a paper form or make a phone call to register. Instead, they can commit to the event as soon as they hear about it, with just a few simple clicks or taps. And best of all, online registration is completely automated, which means a ton of administrative time savings for you and your planning team.

4. Sponsors Get More Exposure & ROI

When your event website is tied to a robust golf event management platform, sponsors can submit assets right at registration and their logo appears on the site instantly. Their brand starts earning impressions immediately—every site visit means more eyeballs on their brand and better ROI.

What’s more, you can partner with your sponsors to market the event using your tournament management tech. Your golf event helps sponsoring businesses appeal to the community and better connect with their own audiences, so provide shareable content like social media posts, copy/paste verbiage, and graphics, that they can use in their own marketing that links back to your event site. This helps sponsors demonstrate their support of a good cause, while boosting your marketing efforts exponentially.

Screenshot of a golf fundraiser featuring the logos of sponsors.

5. Your Reach is Multiplied

One thing that sets golf tournaments apart from other fundraising events is their team-based structure. In many cases, a supporter or past donor hears about your tournament and reaches out to their individual network to put together a team to play in the event. They share the event website with their prospective teammates, who learn about your nonprofit and its sponsors. Once they’re registered, you can fold these new potential supporters into your regular donor stewardship channels and processes. It’s a snowball effect that pays dividends for your organization.

Final Thoughts

Golf events present a unique challenge, in that they come with component pieces and parts that can’t be handled by a standard ticketing or event management platform’s event site. Such platforms require time-consuming workarounds and adaptations to make them moderately functional for a golf event. The key is choosing a golf-specific tournament management solution that’s built to handle the distinctive elements of a golf event and comes with a professional, attractive event website.

Golf for Good With GolfStatus

GolfStatus works with nonprofits and charities of all types and sizes to launch or level up their golf fundraisers. The robust platform streamlines the process from start to finish and is backed by an in-house support team available seven days a week.

Through the Golf for Good program, qualifying 501(c) organizations and others planning golf events that benefit a charity can use GolfStatus’ tournament management software at no cost, including an event website, online registration and secure payment processing, digital sponsor exposure, robust reporting, and more. Visit golfstatus.com/demo for more information or to get qualified.