Left to right: Jason Richardson and Kelly Johnson
During the 9th Annual Jason Richardson Golf Outing, John Shelton, Zehnder’s V.P. of Sales and Marketing, sat down with Kelly Johnson, Director of Marketing of United Way of Saginaw County for a Q&A on Planning a Successful Golf Outing Fundraiser.
What is the first concern you have when planning your golf outing?
Communication is key! A communication plan is one of the most critical tools I develop when organizing our event. This plan not only helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses before the event happens, it is also a great tool to have as a resource post-event so that you can make notes and tips of what worked well and what you could have done differently. The communication plan is critically important because you work with so many different volunteers or committees who are all responsible for the details of your event’s success (golf outing staff, planning committee, public figures internal staff, etc.).
How do you manage volunteers and committees successfully?
There are so many people that contribute to the success of an event – I believe you have to work together and keep the focus on the main goal. For our event, the main goal is to raise money for United Way of Saginaw County. Our event is hosted by NBA all-star Jason Richardson so when we communicate work with his group, we try to think of different ways that will entice supporters and help raise funds for United Way. We want people to have a great experience at our golf outing and return year after year.
Why The Fortress of Frankenmuth?
We work with The Fortress Golf Course in Frankenmuth, Michigan because their staff is very professional and are willing to partner with us throughout the process. They know the importance of providing a great conditioned course, quality food and beverage and great customer service. As I mentioned, we want to provide a great golfing experience and The Fortress team delivers every year.
The Fortress of Frankenmuth
How do you keep your golf outing relevant?
Set your goals high – each year should be a new challenge. Make your event unique and fun! After a few years learning the ropes of how to plan a golf outing, we feel pretty confident in our event. Instead of just settling on good, we want to keep making our golf outing great. Since our event is hosted by NBA professional athlete, Jason Richardson, we like to center the event around him and his brand. Each year we look for new ways to raise money before, during and after the event. We consider our outing a success obviously if we were able to raise more money than the year before, however, more importantly, retaining sponsors, building relationships and benefitting the Saginaw Community is our ultimate goal.
So if you are planning a golf fundraiser, feel free to use Kelly’s tips for your next event. We don’t mind plaigarism!
