Colorado Under Par

Colorado Under Par on Crispy Cocktails

Colorado Under Par on the Crispy Cocktails Podcast: What Makes a Charity Golf Tournament Succeed

Colorado Under Par’s Stan Lawson recently joined the Crispy Cocktails podcast for a conversation about what actually makes a charity golf tournament successful — the planning, the sponsorships, and the model that turns a day on the course into real money for a cause.

Turning events into real fundraising

One of the throughlines of the conversation was just how much a well-run event can raise. With the right planning and sponsorship strategy, first-year tournaments can bring in $10,000 or more for their cause — and established events, built on returning sponsors and a loyal field, regularly reach $40,000 and beyond. The difference, Stan explained, rarely comes down to luck. It comes down to the fundamentals: securing sponsors early, building packages that deliver real value, and running an event organized enough that players and sponsors want to come back next year.

That compounding effect — where each year’s event builds on the last — is what separates a one-time outing from a tournament that grows into a dependable fundraising engine for the organizations it supports.

The win-win-win model

A central idea Stan shared is what Colorado Under Par thinks of as the “win-win-win.” A great charity tournament works for three groups at once:

  • Nonprofits raise meaningful funds for their mission.
  • Golfers get a genuinely fun, well-run day on the course.
  • Sponsors gain real visibility and a feel-good association with a cause their community cares about.

When all three win, the event isn’t just successful once — it becomes something everyone wants to repeat. That alignment is the foundation Colorado Under Par builds events around, and it’s why the platform focuses as much on the sponsor and player experience as on the fundraising total.

Sponsor-first, with measurable impact

Stan also emphasized something that’s easy for organizers to overlook: treating sponsors as the priority they are. Sponsors are usually the biggest driver of an event’s fundraising, so giving them a genuinely good experience — clear value, real visibility, and recognition for their support — is what turns a one-time sponsor into a multi-year partner. Pair that sponsor-first approach with measurable impact for the cause, and you get events that don’t just raise money once, but keep getting better year over year.

Listen to the conversation

Stan Lawson’s full conversation on the Crispy Cocktails podcast covers planning, sponsorship, and what makes charity golf work.

Watch the full interview here

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