The Importance of Volunteers for Your Golf Tournament
Charity golf tournament volunteers | How to get volunteers | Volunteer sign up
When it comes to volunteer work, the possibilities are endless. Don’t limit yourself! Like registration and sponsorship items, you can offer exciting volunteer opportunities.
Different Kinds of Volunteers
The popular saying “many hands make light work” rings true for volunteers! If event management tasks start stacking up and you begin to feel stretched thin, it may be in your best interest to start considering volunteers.
Volunteers can help with a wide variety of tasks leading up to and on the day of your event. Some examples could include…
Check-In & Registration
Volunteers can help man the registration table at your event! Give them a list of registered golfers and watch as they check in your attendees with ease, freeing you up to take care of other things.
Refreshments & Gifts
Need someone to ensure that all golfers are getting their food, beverage, and goodie bags? This is a great task for a volunteer! Appoint them to greet and engage with all attendees.
Spotters & Contest Attendants
When it comes to making sure your golfers are playing by the rules, a volunteer could be the perfect choice. Assign volunteers to the course and any contest holes you may be running and task them with keeping competitors honest.
Food & Merchandise
When add-ons start selling, you don’t want to be stuck at a merchandise or refreshment table. By appointing a volunteer to day-of sales, you can keep the funds flowing without worry of getting stuck at a table.
How to Get Volunteers for Your Golf Tournament
Now that we know the value of volunteers and the tasks they can help with, the next question is how to get the word out about your event’s volunteer opportunities.
- Use Your Connections – Networking is huge! Reach out to friends, family, local companies and organizations, or even past event attendees to promote your volunteer opportunities.
- Social Media & Local Platforms – Post your volunteer availability on your social media and make the most out of community boards and other media outlets.
- Host Golf, Sponsor, and Volunteer Registration Online – Exposure and visibility is a great way to promote volunteer opportunities. By utilizing an online registration platform like BirdEase, you can offer volunteer registration options to anyone signing up for the event. Who knows what players and sponsors may want to bring along others to the tournament to help volunteer!
- Offer Incentives – Consider gifting your volunteers free lunch, tournament swag, coffee, or a goodie bag to thank them for their help.
- Collect Your Volunteers’ Contact Information – Don’t let your hard work go to waste! Make sure you obtain email addresses and/or phone numbers from your volunteers so you can keep in contact and invite them to help with your next event.
How to Register & Keep Track of Volunteers
Once you’ve garnered interest, you should offer your volunteers an easy way to sign up for your event. Furthermore, you’ll want an easy way to track and manage your volunteers.
That’s where an online platform like BirdEase comes in handy. Not only will sign-up be a breeze for your volunteers, but listing opportunities in an online format will boost visibility ten-fold!
If your sponsors want to bring employees or clients to the event to build a presence, they could very well consider volunteer opportunities. Likewise, golfers may want friends and family to join in for a day on the course. Nothing better than a volunteer opportunity for those interested in attending that don’t golf!
Once they register online, you’ll be able to easily export a report of all volunteers and what they’ve signed up to help out with. You can also easily collect data like their shirt size and food preferences, if you’re treating them to lunch.
Have limited opportunity for certain volunteer options? No problem! You can set a registration cap so your BirdEase site will close that option once it’s full. Interested volunteers can easily move onto their next preferred option to sign up for.
Enhancing the Volunteer Experience
Now that you have your volunteers registered, it’s important to ensure you’re providing the best possible experience for them. Prioritizing a positive experience will improve their performance and keep them returning year after year.
Here are some tips for enhancing the volunteer experience:
Communicate:
Communication is key. Make sure you’re keeping in touch with your volunteers to keep them in-the-know and well-prepared both leading up to and following your event.
Train:
Prep your volunteers. Make sure they know what to do, how to do it, and when. Set expectations reasonably and ensure that your volunteers have what they need to succeed.
Appreciate:
Appreciate your volunteers. While volunteers are often unpaid, that doesn’t mean they should go unrecognized. Remember to thank, acknowledge, and award great help. Consider gifts, recommendation letters (if applicable), and food.
Follow Up:
Keep in touch. After your tournament is over, check in with your volunteers. Ask them for feedback, share tournament successes, send out a “thank you,” and make sure to invite them back next time.
If you’ve made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back! You’re now well-educated on the various benefits of offering volunteer opportunities at your event.
Remember to be thoughtful in your offerings, prioritize effective communication throughout the process, and reward your volunteers for their hard work.
