A national initiative to help raise money for deserving local charities, ClubsHelp, fosters the connections of industry organizations, bringing together golf course owners, club managers, golf course architects and golf professionals to form a powerful network. ClubsHelp has earned the support of legends Jack Nicklaus and Ernie Els as well as key supportive partners such as CLIF Bar & Company.
Operating as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and formed in early 2020, ClubsHelp strengthens the relationship between its 400-plus clubs and their members, joining them with causes and charities in their local communities, and providing clubs with the tools and resources to assist in times of crisis.
“Clubs are doing good things for their communities, and ClubsHelp is able to step in and help to amplify those efforts,” said Rob Goulet, CEO of ClubsHelp and a longtime veteran of the golf industry. “We strongly believe in our ability to help clubs to raise lots of money and in turn make a much greater impact in their communities.”
Making a Difference
ClubsHelp’s focus on many local initiatives gains strength when interwoven into a national network of clubs and corporate donors and supporters. The foundation was created in early 2020 first to assist first responders and emergency and hospital workers in the early days of COVID-19. The initiative began when a member at one National Club Association club, Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, N.J., learned there were needs going unfulfilled at Morristown Medical Center. She wanted to help and enlisted the club to join the effort.
Spring Brook General Manager David Bachmann said, “New Jersey was the epicenter of the pandemic … there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation to gather the needed supplies and make personal deliveries to the medical teams that were working so diligently to save others.”
Here are some examples of ClubsHelp early initiatives:
• With ClubsHelp’s guidance, Seminole Golf Club jumped in to raise more than $365,000 for the Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center Foundation’s COVID-19 Fund. Monies donated have been used for preventative measures during the pandemic: screening, isolating and treating confirmed COVID patients, while protecting health care workers, their families and other patients at the hospital. Money also was earmarked to purchase medical equipment to address the hospital’s highest priority needs.
Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., raised nearly $60,000 in eight weeks to supply 3,550 meals to employees and their families, hospital staff and frontline responders. Through member generosity and efforts, balanced meals were provided to three local hospitals: The Mayo Clinic, HonorHealth and Banner Health, as well as to the first responders of Scottsdale’s police and fire departments.
ClubsHelp’s early impetus was helping in the pandemic, but the mission has expanded to address the needs of communities impacted by fires, hurricanes, floods and other disasters. ClubsHelp is also partnering with Operation BBQ Relief, which feeds first responders and communities affected with natural disasters.
Growing the Community
ClubsHelp not only wants to assist its member clubs in raising charitable dollars but aims to do it in fun ways that encourages bonding as club members work together to accomplish their goals. Some golfers will remember the days of the national Oldsmobile/Buick Scramble, last conducted about 15 years ago, and the lifetime memories and great fun it produced. The ClubsHelp Scramble is being established to do the same. The event is being tested in two markets this fall—in the Mid-Atlantic and North Florida—and in 2022 will roll out across the country.
The belief: If events are fun and creative, more members will participate, which means more support for local causes. Overseeing the ClubsHelp Scramble will be a ClubsHelp Foundation team of experienced golf industry veterans who can assist in all facets of event activation, from sponsorship to best practices to tournament-day operation.
“The idea to relaunch this wonderful event just feels right to us,” Goulet said, “and we’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction and enthusiasm we have received when golf professionals and golfers learn about the ClubsHelp Scramble, this time with an added twist of raising charitable dollars for their communities.”
In addition to operating the ClubsHelp Scramble, ClubsHelp is helping clubs raise charitable dollars through Golf Kitchen Wine Dinners at some of the country’s most prestigious clubs and by conducting 100-Hole Golf Challenges.
ClubsHelp can assist clubs in their charitable efforts with an innovative Rally Up pledge platform that can increase funds raised through a turnkey peer-to-peer fundraising system. This expands a fundraising initiative to beyond just those who are physically participating in an event. ClubsHelp can personalize the platform for a club, adding a key benefit for members.
The ClubsHelp Foundation has been strengthened through the backing of an impressive roster of golf-industry organizations, including the National Club Association, the National Golf Course Owners Association, Golf Course Superintendents of America, American Society of Golf Course Architects, Club Management Association of America, Golf Writers Association of America, and leading golf course owner-operators such as Arcis Golf, ClubCorp and Concert Golf Partners.
For information on ClubsHelp, or how to become a member, please visit ClubsHelp.org.
Jeff Babineau handles communications for ClubsHelp. He can be reached at [email protected].