Colonial Country Club’s annual PGA Tour event scored another fundraising record in 2015, tallying $9.1 million in its charitable efforts.
Representatives from 33 local nonprofit organizations gathered at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club on Nov. 5 to celebrate more than $8 million generated from the tournament’s annual Birdies For Charity campaign.
In that program, nonprofits solicited pledges from individuals and corporations for every birdie made during the tournament. During the championship, the pros did their part by making 1,290 birdies.
The money realized from the Birdies campaign is a major part of the larger final figure of $9.1 million raised by sponsors, donors, volunteers and fans for charitable organizations throughout the year from tournament activities and initiatives.
The $8 million is one of the largest on the PGA Tour, and the most ever for Colonial. Since the program’s inception in 2005, the campaign has raised more than $48 million for participating nonprofits.
As a bonus, the pledge efforts were energized by a matching fund of $275,000 from Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Colonial Country Club.
“We are quite proud to see our charity impact on the community at such a high level, year in and year out,” said Colonial Club President Chuck Scherer.
The tournament has generated cash and services for more than 150 different organizations in the last 25 years totaling more than $80 million. That amount includes more than $8.5 million raised for its primary beneficiary, Cook Children’s Medical Center.