About Birdies for Charity
What is Birdies for Charity?
Birdies for Charity is a fundraising platform available to all nonprofits based in Northeast Florida (Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, St. Johns counties). Charitable organizations invite individuals to make a minimum $20 contribution that will allow the donor to guess the number of birdies* that will be made during the competitive rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship (Thursday-Sunday).
The individual who guesses the exact number of birdies (or closest thereto) will be awarded a grand prize of $10,000. A tie-breaker question will also be asked.
Participating charities will receive 100% of every pledge collected for their organization, as well as funding from a bonus pool provided by THE PLAYERS.
*A birdie is a scoring term used by golfers that describes they’ve scored 1-under par on an individual hole.
What charities are eligible to participate?
Northeast Florida charitable organizations that are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) are eligible to participate in Birdies for Charity.
Upon submission of the registration form, charities will be approved by THE PLAYERS for participation.
Who is eligible to donate?
All donations must be made by an individual, NOT a company or foundation. Each donor must guess the number of birdies and answer a tie-breaker question for their donation to be an eligible entry assigned to the charity of their choice.
Are there any restrictions?
- Charities may not submit birdies guesses on behalf of donors.
- Donations toward capital campaigns are eligible as long as they are accompanied by a manual donation form.
- Government grants and Foundation grants are NOT eligible for Birdies for Charity donations.
- Membership dues and existing pre-arranged donations are NOT eligible for Birdies for Charity donations.
What is the timeline?
Charities may register for the Birdies for Charity program Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 through Friday, March 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. Once charities have been approved for participation, they can collect donations Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 until Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.
All manual donations must be submitted to THE PLAYERS by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
What is the bonus pool?
THE PLAYERS Championship will provide a $150,000 Birdies for Charity BONUS POOL, offering participating charities the opportunity to receive bonus dollars!
Charities will receive bonus dollars based on the amount of funds raised. Organizations will be categorized in to two tiers and bonus dollars will be funded accordingly.
- Tier 1 - organizations with an operating budget of $0 to $1M.
- Tier 2 - organizations with an operating budget of more than $1M.
Soliciting Donations
Charities are invited to utilize the marketing materials on the Birdies for Charity website to promote their participation in the program. These materials can be customized, printed, and/or emailed to potential supporters/participants. Charities can include Birdies for Charity information on their own website and create a link to the Birdies for Charity website.
Individual Donations
BY CASH OR CHECK: Donors wishing to donate via cash or check will make their donation directly to the charity of their choice. The donor must complete a Manual Donation Form which will ask them for their birdies guess and for their answer to a tie-breaker question. They will give the form and the donation directly to the charity. The charity will be responsible for recording all donations which they receive directly. Manual donations must be recorded on the Donation Report Form found here.
ONLINE: Donors can go to the Birdies for Charity website and click “Make a Donation Now.” Once they are on the donation page, they can select a charity from the list of participating charities, make their birdies guess, answer a potential tie-breaker question and complete the donation via credit card. NOTE: All online donations will be collected by PGA TOUR Charities, Inc.
Manual Donation Form
Manual Donation forms are available HERE.
Final Donation Report Forms
Donation Report Forms (including birdies guesses and tie-breaker guesses) must be submitted to THE PLAYERS tournament office by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8.
Guess/Donation Limitations
Each individual can make a donation to a charitable organization via the Birdies for Charity program (and an accompanying birdie guess) as many times as they like.
Minimum Donation
The minimum amount that can be donated to a charity via the Birdies for Charity program is $20.
Maximum Donation
There is no maximum amount per donation.
Tracking Online Donations
Periodically, we will update a listing of the participating charities and how much they have raised in online donations. That listing will be in the Leaderboard section of the Birdies for Charity website. Following the conclusion of the program, the tournament will provide the charity with a list of the online donors.
Receiving Funding
On or before March 8, 2023, charities must submit their Donation Report Form, which will contain information about donations that they received directly, via cash or check, and the birdies guess and tie-breaker guess for each donor. After THE PLAYERS concludes, we will add that amount to the total amount the organization received in on-line donations. We will determine how much the organization is eligible to receive from the bonus pool. A check will be sent to the organization within approximately 120 days of the conclusion of the tournament.
