Ambassasdor program

We come alongside your event and ask you…………Is there a way we could raise more money and raise awareness for your cause by going outside the participants of that event? 

Instead of some of the participant-driven methods where someone might be writing a check as a participant paying an entry fee, we show you how to expand your donor base and participation level.

Can we drive more donors to your website to make a donation on behalf of some of your participants?

Might there be a population of people that will tell your story outside the golfing field that would consider sponsoring that golfer for $25, $50, $100, or more?

Here is what we ask those selected players, or Ambassadors, to do. Would you connect our story with your sphere of influence?

This method might be compared with some of the other fund raisers such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation 3-day walk, where walkers obtain sponsorship for each mile that they walk.

We do this by way of letter, phone call, email, social media, or in person, with the Ambassador challenging their friends, family, and business acquaintances to sponsor them for an amount of money that would be given on their behalf to the charity.

This could be your doctor, insurance agent, real estate agent, dentist, co-worker etc. Someone you are connected with in your sphere of influence and that you have a relationship with. We call them No-Brainers!

So instead of having a 100 people give to the organization the day of the tournament, we might have the potential of 1000 people giving because they may be sponsoring one of those 100 golfers for some amount of money!

Now, we normally don’t have 100 participants as given in this example. Generally speaking, we might have 20-30 people (Ambassadors) out of your 100 golfer field that would participant in this campaign. It’s a story-telling campaign, an ambassador campaign, a friend raiser as much as a fund raiser. Our average is 30 Ambassadors per tournament.

We say to the golfer/ Ambassador, “I don’t want your money, I would rather have your influence, your contact list, the people your personally know and have a connection with.”

The Ambassador will connect with that person in some fashion and ask them to sponsor the golfer for a suggested amount, per stroke, or per hole.  In a traditional pay-to-play  tournament that may have 100 participants each year, you might find 20-30 of those who would come on board to this campaign, and by doing so, could raise thousands of dollars in sponsorship money. Our average is around $1400 per Ambassador. Of course, that amount could be higher or lower, but it’s what we have seen happen in our experience.

This is over and above what you might raise in player fees, contests, and corporate sponsorships. We add new friends, new relationships and build on what you have been doing in the past.

It is easy for tournaments to max out their revenue streams, especially in this economy. But with this model, we present a way to find more corporate sponsors, hole sponsors, and more individual sponsors through people who believe in what you are doing as an organization.

We turn check-writers into story-tellers!

We have found that those who believe in your organization and are emotionally attached to your cause need little motivation to become and be successful as an Ambassador. However, we do have some prize incentives and giveaways to those who reach certain goal levels.

Any amount of sponsorship is good enough for us; we just want the story to be told to as many people as possible.  It is a numbers game.  Over one-third of those asked to give, will respond. The average gift is $82 per donor.

As a rule, we ask for $100, knowing that some people will respond to that suggestion. Others may give more or less, but they have heard the story. You know those in your sphere of influence. Your relationship with that person will generally drive the requested amount. The main thing to remember is that we will accept any amount of sponsorship.

Statistically, the Ambassador Program would add $30,000-$40,000 in the first year in addition to the typical revenue streams of a tournament. You are raising more dollars simply by activating more people to participate in sponsorships.

We work on a 12-week timeline. We start with 2-5 people (staff, players, committee chair, or corporate sponsors) getting together with us via conference call to do goal setting and brain-storming. These would be some of the people who have played in your tournament in the past or some non-golfers associated with your organization that has a heart for your mission. It is important to note that we do not enter into a contract with the organization until after the brain-storming session. We will then try to recruit “Captains” who will in turn recruit Ambassadors for their team.

In week 4, we have a Captains Meeting. Weeks 4-8 is the “Challenge” where captains recruit their team of 4-8 Ambassadors.  In Week 8, there will be a “Tee-off” party/dinner where attendees will hear more about the charity and testimonials are given.  The actual fund-raising is done during weeks 8-12.  Week #12 is the actual golf event.

We strive to keep the emphasis on the story.  There are times when we set up “minimum” pledge amounts to play for free. This will happen with 2 weeks to go before the tournament.

The first 2 years of the program are the easiest to find captains as some of these past players want to do more than write a check for the tournament. This is what we discuss at the brain-storming session. We want to think of those individuals who are people of influence and are committed to the cause and recruit them as Ambassadors. Each Ambassador will have a goal of say, 40 contacts or a minimum of $2500 (usually) depending on the person.

The Ambassador is asked to commit a short amount of time to connect the organizations story with their sphere of influence.

GFGS has over 29 years of experience and will provide the expertise and format to guide you through to the event. We will assist you in getting your story out in a matter that will produce positive financial results for the charity. The story will be constructed in a way that makes it comfortable for the Ambassador to connect to his/her people. Relationships are built from there.

We have also found over the years that the role of a non-golfing “Caddy” to be important in the overall goals of the organization.  They are not going to actually carry anyone’s bags on 

Tournament day, but would be happy to share the story with their sphere of influence. Sometimes, these Caddies can be responsible for raising thousands of dollars!

The goal is to mobilize and maximize the efforts of the people that do share the vision of your organization.

You should know that the Ambassador does not have to collect the money. They simply fill out a pledge form and turn it in to one of our reps on tournament day. All donors will be put into a spreadsheet for effective follow-up and accounting purposes. GFGS will then send a return envelope to the donor with the money being sent directly to the organization.  You will find that a high percentage of donors pay prior the event.

Our fulfillment rate is 98%, because this is friend to friend marketing. We do have online collection capability as long as the organization has some type of electronic payment option.

All donations to the charitable organization are tax deductible. The organization is responsible to supply the receipt to the donor.

In conclusion, the commitment we have with you is three separate events. Our fee is 20% of the funds raised in the Ambassador Program.

Are you ready to employ the Ambassador Program for your cause?