UGF Earns Award for Excellence at 2018 Youth on Course Summit

Utah Golf Foundation Vice President Scott Ulbrich, Program Director Megan Huntsman and UGA Executive Director Jacob Miller had the pleasure of attending the 2018 Youth on Course Summit March 4-6 in Monterey, California, to network with other Youth on Course state associations and foundations, expand their Youth on Course knowledge and share ideas.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address by author, speaker and reformer Dan Pallotta. Dan is best known for his involvement in multi-day charitable events, such as Breast Cancer 3-Day walks, AIDS Rides and Out of the Darkness suicide prevention night walks. His speech addressed the following questions: 1) How do I find the right charity for me? 2) What progress is the charity making toward its goals-and what metrics does it use to measure that?

“Bringing cold, hard business sense to running charities can help transform the philanthropic landscape for all and for the better,” said Pallotta. “Overall, for each charity I give to, I ask myself if I believe in their business model and if I feel they have a bold future ahead of them.”

The remainder of the day was spent learning all about fundraising and membership growth. Jeff Clark, Youth on Course Director of Development, discussed the nuts and bolts of fundraising. Jeff’s strategy includes thanking donors seven times throughout the year in different ways and communicating all ways to give to current and potential donors.

Jeff and YOC Executive Director Adam Heieck presented the available shared revenue events for the Utah Golf Foundation participate in, two of which the UGF is taking advantage of during the 2018 season, the 4th Annual YOC Online Auction in November and the Hundred Hole Hike in September.

The online auction will include bidding opportunities for events, golf, travel packages and wine/food around the world. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds raised from Utah packages will go toward Utah Golf Foundation initiatives, with the other 25 percent going to Youth on Course National.

On September 10th, supporters from across the country will take on the daunting task of playing 100 holes in one day to raise money for Youth on Course. Players are asked to secure pledges prior to the event and then walk (or run) all 100 holes of golf—earning donations for every hole completed. Fore Lakes Golf Course in Taylorsville, Utah, has kindly agreed to host Utah Hundred Hole Hike participants as they play to raise money for the Utah Youth on Course program.

Following an incredibly successful 2017 season, Youth on Course National has amped up its 2018 goals with hopes to continue the program’s impressive growth rate. With 32,000 members in 2017, YOC hopes to expand the program to 40,000 junior golfers, 800 golf courses throughout the country and 150,000 subsidized rounds played.

Of the 115,000 rounds played in 2017, Utah logged 10,328 rounds and subsidized $62,643 to 25 participating Utah golf courses. Due to posting nearly 10 percent of the total rounds played across the country and growing the Utah YOC membership to 2,000 juniors, the Utah Golf Foundation brought home the only award given at the Summit, the Bill Hammonds Award for Excellence.

The Utah Golf Foundation would like to thank Youth on Course National for its continued support and the InterContinental The Clement Monterey for hosting the conference. The UGF looks forward to another great year of golf!