Colonial’s Birdies fundraiser has another record year

Colonial Country Club’s annual Birdies For Charity campaign scored another fundraising record and pushed the tournament’s overall tally past the $11 million mark for the first time.

Representatives from 33 local nonprofit organizations gathered on Oct. 20 at Fort Worth’s historic Colonial Country Club to celebrate the campaign’s success during the 2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial last May.

The Birdies For Charity program, a component of the tournament’s national fundraising efforts, has local charitable organizations solicit pledges from individuals, businesses and corporations for every birdie made during the annual tournament. The pros from the PGA Tour did their part by making 1,211 birdies during the championship. The combined effort generated just over $10 million for area charities.

The money realized from the Birdies For Charity program is a major part of the larger final figure of $11,628,787 raised by sponsors, donors, volunteers and fans for charitable organizations throughout the year from tournament activities and initiatives.

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The championship’s fundraising places it among the top events on the PGA Tour in 2016, and the $10 million raised is the most ever for Colonial. Since the program’s inception in 2005, the campaign has raised more than $58 million for participating charities.

As a bonus, Colonial Country Club and the PGA Tour boosted the pledge efforts with matching funds of $275,000.

During the last two decades, the tournament has raised cash and services for more than 150 organizations totaling more than $90 million.

GM FINANCIAL TARGETS

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FINANCIAL LITERACY, TRANSIT

General Motors Financial Co. Inc. recently started two programs aimed at improving social, travel and financial mobility for people who need assistance.

The Mobility Initiative includes Keys, a program that combines live training sessions with community partners and online financial education information and resources to help participants gain financial literacy and find financial stability. The Keys training curriculum is based on third-party research and GM Financial’s expertise and customer data insights.

GM Financial hosted its first Keys live training session at the Center for Transforming Lives in Fort Worth. The event was one in a series planned for communities in North Texas.

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GM Financial and Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth are joining forces to address transportation problems many families face when staying at the nonprofit organization while their seriously ill children are hospitalized.

Through the Mobility Initiative, GM Financial will provide off-lease vehicles to transport sick children and their families. The program will be piloted in Fort Worth; more details will be announced in the coming weeks.

NONPROFIT GIFT CATALOG

AVAILABLE ACROSS TARRANT

The ninth edition of The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever, a holiday gift magazine that offers charitable donations as alternatives to traditional gifts, is now available at more than 400 locations in Tarrant County.

The 2016 issue of the holiday catalog features 25 area nonprofits, each with specific needs, to which donors can either make a straight donation or obtain a gift card in any amount for their friends or family to donate to the charity of their choice.

Not only do 100 percent of the donations go to these charities, but they are matched by anonymous donors, companies and nonprofit boards.

In 2015, the catalog helped raise more than $600,000 in contributions to 22 local nonprofits. Since its inception in 2007, the catalog has raised more than $8.75 million throughout the county.

Visit www.TheGreatestGiftCatalogEver.org or call 817-923-4527 for a copy of the catalog.

TASTE OF NORTHEAST

TO BENEFIT ARTS COUNCIL

Tastes from more than 25 area restaurants are on the menu for the annual Taste of Northeast, slated for Nov. 9 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Hurst Conference Center, 1601 Campus Dr. in Hurst.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Arts Council Northeast and its community arts programs. The event will also feature gift vendors, live entertainment and an auction.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. A $5 discount is available to Arts Council Northeast members and Press Pass holders or on Arts Council Northeast Facebook page and shopbedfordfirst.com.

For information, visit www.tasteofnortheast.com or call 817-283-3406.

POINSETTIA SALE RAISES

FUNDS FOR LENA POPE

The annual poinsettia sale is underway at Calloway’s Nursery. For each red poinsettia in a six-inch pot sold through Nov. 25, 10 percent will be donated to Lena Pope, which provides education and counseling services affecting more than 20,000 children and families in need each year.

Six-inch red poinsettias are $9.99 each; to receive free wraps and delivery between Dec. 5-16, customers must order 20 or more of the holiday plants.

To order, call or visit a local Calloway’s Nursery or go to calloways.com.

BROADWAY’S MARCUS LOVETT

HEADLINES BENEFIT CONCERT

A benefit concert featuring Marcus Lovett and a silent auction hosted by First Command Educational Foundation will help raise scholarship funds for veterans and their families in the Fort Worth area.

The Sound Off for Scholarships event is set for Nov. 4 from 7-9 p.m. at Arborlawn United Methodist Church, 5001 Briarhaven Road in Fort Worth.

Lovett is an award-winning international music and theatrical star, best known for his work at the title character in Phantom of the Opera. He is the youngest person to ever play the Phantom on Broadway and one of two people to star in that role on Broadway and London’s West End. Lovett has been touring nationally with The Four Phantoms.

Ticket prices range from $20 to $100 and are available on Eventbrite, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sound-off-for-scholarships-tickets-27433065036.

FAMILY PATHFINDERS REBRANDS

After 19 years helping families and individuals in Tarrant County attain self-sufficiency, Family Pathfinders has a new name and logo.

The nonprofit is now simply Pathfinders, and the organization continues to mentor, coach and assist low- and moderate-income people with information on budgeting, banking, borrowing and credit. For information, visit www.Pathfinderstc.org.

CATTLE RAISERS MUSEUM

GETTING MAKEOVER

The Cattle Raisers Museum – dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of the cattle industry – started a major renovation of its galleries and public spaces inside the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

The museum closed its doors on Oct. 11 and is scheduled to reopen in May with new interactive galleries and exhibits enhancing the stories of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA).

The museum opened in 1981 to build a greater public awareness of and appreciation for ranching heritage. Its collections include book and manuscript holdings, historic photographs, oral history interviews, and artifacts and educational collections that focus on all aspects of the history of the TSCRA and cattle industry.

The renovations will be the first major update for the Cattle Raisers Museum since it opened inside the Science and History Museum in 2009. An interactive chronological timeline mixed with artifacts and exhibits will allow visitors to understand important historical markers stretching from the late 1600s to the present. It will include information on the history of cattle raising in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Many artifacts and photos from the museum’s collection will be on display for the first time, including Ken Spain’s saddle collection and Charles Goodnight’s JA Ranch Herd’s “Old Blue” lead steer bell. Exhibits featuring video footage of Texas ranches and livestock and a taxidermy longhorn herd will highlight central themes of land stewardship, the significance of water and the value of beef and cattle byproducts.

Other new attractions will be interactive games and hands-on activities for children, a virtual clothing booth and animated portraits of various cattle breeds.

A ROUNDUP OF GIFTS …

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Kimbell Art Museum each received a $450,000 grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts to support exhibitions this fall – KAWS: Where the End Starts at the Modern, and Monet: The Early Years at the Kimbell. KAWS runs through Jan. 22 and the Monet exhibit runs through Jan. 29. … American Airlines’ Sky Ball XIV, a black tie gala on Oct. 22, raised over $2.5 million, breaking a fundraising record. The money will be donated to the Airpower Foundation, a national organization that supports military members and their families. … Whole Foods Market Fort Worth celebrated the opening of its first Fort Worth store by donating 1 percent of net sales to Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, Fort Worth Food & Wine Foundation and Trinity Habitat for Humanity. It plans the same donation to Saving Hope on Nov. 2 and Performing Arts Fort Worth on Nov. 9 … The March of Dimes Fort Worth Market hosted its 10th annual food and wine event, Signature Chefs Auction, on Sept. 22 with more than 400 guests who raised $360,000 to help give every baby a healthy start. … NEW DAY, which provides programs, services and support to at-risk youth in Arlington, was one of five Texas nonprofits to receive a $10,000 grant from Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. The money will be used for NEW DAY’s mission in feeding hungry youth.

Send nonprofit news to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net