FAQ
HOW DOES THE GOLF CHALLENGE/AMBASSADOR PROGRAM WORK?
Many golfers (and caddies who help those golfers tell the story) who believe in your story will begin the day warming up with range balls, then tee off and play in a tournament to make a difference for your cause, having told your story in their sphere of influence and raising pledges for your organization.
DOES THIS CONCEPT OF FUNDRAISING REALLY WORK?
You will be amazed at how much fun you'll have playing golf and raising funds your organization! What a sense of accomplishment golfers feel at the end of the day, knowing that they have, together, played a significant role in helping you. There is no entry fee for the player. All we ask is that they contact potential sponsors about helping them out. Some people might be intimidated about raising sponsorship, but you will be amazed at how many people will get behind what a golfer is doing just because they believe enough in the cause to play in this event. In a recent event, one player raised over $21,000 in sponsorship by himself! The sky is the limit, and the fun part is knowing your efforts and the efforts of your golfers/ambassadors/story-tellers will make a significant impact.
CAN WE FIND SOMEONE TO HELP ME RAISE THE SPONSORSHIP GOAL?
Yes. We have seen many golfers multiply their efforts in fundraising by challenging a spouse, parent, friend, or associate to assist them in the fundraising process. Even though only one person plays on event day, as many as 10-15 non-golfers and other people could conceivably help in the "sponsor-finding" process! This will assure not only more friends and funds raised, but will also assure more vision being cultivated in more lives in our community.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE GOLF CHALLENGE?
Each participant will receive all the free golf, food, and fun they can consume in one day with absolutely no entry fee paid by the golfer! Plus, they will compete for special prizes for most sponsorship raised and the peripheral competitions related to the event.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP SPONSORSHIP?
When seeking sponsorships, we have found that people respond more positively to a challenge, so we recommend that the golfers and caddies (non-golfing story-tellers) challenge people to sponsor them for at least $100, preferably $250 or even $500. Remember, reducing a challenge amount is a possibility, but it is not as easy to increase a challenge after an amount has been offered.
HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE COLLECTED?
If at all possible, we ask the golfer to collect pledges at the time of the commitment. After the event, we will send unpaid sponsors a special thank-you letter telling them the amount of their pledge total. They will receive a return-envelope addressed to the organization, so a golfer does not initially have to be involved in the collection process. If, however, after 60 days, we may ask the golfer to contact the sponsors who have not yet responded.
WHAT IF A GOLFER DOESN’T CONTACT 40 POTENTIAL SPONSORS?
This golf challenge is a very special event. At what other time would you have the opportunity to make such an impact on our community? We would be thrilled to have anyone join us as a golfer. Commitment of time and energy in raising your support is critical to the success of the event. Since there are limited spaces available, everyone’s role is crucial. We are asking that, if someone chooses to participate, they will do all that is in their power to develop a sponsorship team.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PUT ALL THIS TOGETHER?
We work on a twelve-week timeline with every organization, starting with a goal-setting session and brainstorming who our leadership will be. We then take the next step in recruiting our Ambassadors/Story-tellers and teach them how to conduct this powerful financial campaign.
WHAT IS OUR FIRST STEP?
The first step is to choose a date for your event with the help of GFGS, engage GFGS with their standard agreement, and get started on the 12-week timeline.
