Golf Tournaments: Case in Point

When the Arby’s Foundation first approached Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass, based in Lexington, Ky., about becoming a part of the Arby’s Charity Tour, the organization was skeptical and worried that the event would be too much work for not enough profit, and said, “No thanks.”

Arby’s re-approached the board and asked it to reconsider, saying it would guarantee that the organization would make $25,000 and the Arby’s Foundation would organize the event. All BBBS of the Bluegrass needed to do was work at getting local foursome teams to sign up. The organization agreed to give the event a shot and see what happened.

Its first event, in 1998, pulled in proceeds in excess of $30,000.

Thanks to the assistance of the local Arby’s franchise, the support of the presenting sponsor, Quantrell Cadillac, and the addition of Joe Gomes, who came on as executive director of the organization in 1999, the tournament was taken to a new level, to the point where now it consistently nets at least $70,000. The funds raised from the tournament have enabled the organization to create an endowment that now is close to half a million dollars.

“It’s been one of those things where we sit and laugh about it and say, ‘You remember when we told them no and they came back,’” Gomes says.

Gomes says one of the most important things that factor into a successful golf tournament is identifying someone who’s on the board or involved with the organization to be the “champion” of the event. For BBBS of the Bluegrass, that person was a board member who owns a local Cadillac dealership.

Gomes says he asked the board member if he could find a presenting sponsor for the tournament — a $25,000-a-year commitment. The board member came back to Gomes a week later and volunteered his dealership to be the sponsor.

Since that time, BBBS of the Bluegrass has gotten a company to co-sponsor the event with the Cadillac dealership, with each company putting up $12,500. Aside from fronting the money, co-sponsors serve on the tournament committee and recruit teams for the event.

“I think that’s vital, with this tournament or any other cause,” Gomes says. “You’ve got to have champions that are going to step up and set an example for not only your other board members, but for the community at large in saying, ‘We support this. We’re going to work at making this a great event.’

“And it’s not just the investment of the money, but the investment of putting in time to talk about the organization, to go after additional sponsors and participants,” he adds. “You know, the money certainly helps but they also have to invest that time, that willingness to say, ‘I’m going to contact 20 people and I’m going to see if I can’t get half of those to participate.’”

It costs $3,000 for a foursome to participate in the tournament — no small sum to play a game of golf, Gomes admits. But it’s about more than golf. “It’s about selling the work that the organization is doing in the community on behalf of children,” he says. “Because there’s no way we could give individuals $3,000 or $5,000 or $12,000 worth of golf. No way.”