For the second year in a row, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial surpassed the $7 million mark in its fundraising efforts. The tournament generated a record $7.8 million in 2013 for more than 100 area charitable organizations.
The final donations were distributed Dec. 10 to 71 nonprofit groups at the annual Charities Holiday Breakfast at Colonial Country Club. The championship’s successful fundraising places it among the top events on the PGA Tour in 2013. According to tournament officials, the Birdies for Charity component of the tournament’s annual fundraising campaign brought in more than $5.8 million, one of the best such programs on the PGA Tour.
In that program, 30 local nonprofits solicited pledges from individuals and corporations for every birdie made during the 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. As a bonus, the pledge efforts were energized by a matching fund of $200,000 from Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Colonial Country Club and other supporting companies. “It’s very rewarding to create such a positive impact for our community,” said 2013 Colonial Country Club President Vance Minter. “A lot of volunteers, sponsors, donors and Fort Worth citizens made it possible to raise these charity dollars all year long.” The tournament has generated cash and services for more than 150 different organizations in the last two decades totaling more than $61 million. That amount includes more than $8 million generated for its primary beneficiary, Cook Children’s Medical Center. The tournament surpassed the million dollar mark in annual giving in 1998, and has exceeded that level every year since.
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