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United Cerebral Palsy Association

Autumn Classic Golf Tournament (Case Study)

UCP-LogoUnited Cerebral Palsy Association of Orange County hosted an 8K Bastille Day race for nine years. After evaluating the event during my first year as Development Director, I demonstrated how the event did not contribute to a positive bottom line toward fundraising goals. From this information, a decision was made to replace the race event with a new event.

Event Goals

  • Earn minimum net revenue of $75K.
  • Replace event manager with active volunteer committee.
  • Generate marketing buzz to attract corporate sponsor participation.

Solutions

  • Gained the buy-in of influential businessmen to support a sponsor-driven golf tournament. Packages included all costs associated with a tournament. No out-of-pocket expense for guest players. Foursome sponsorships were $2500, $5,000 and $10,000 for title sponsor.
  • Volunteer committee featured representation from corporate sponsors giving them vested interest in presenting a successful event.
  • Silent auction is typically labor intensive. The “What if?” question produced a novel answer: Securing a Porsche Boxster through a committee-member connection and selling limited number of opportunity drawing tickets. The net was $55K.

Outcome: Total net revenue raised was $90K in its first year. Now in its 18th year, the tournament nets $100K – $150K annually.