Representatives from 31 local nonprofit organizations gathered at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club on Oct. 28 to celebrate $7.9 million generated from the 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial’s Birdies For Charity campaign. The dollars realized from the campaign are a major part, but not the final amount of total charitable contributions generated from this year’s tournament. This final figure will be announced at the Colonial Charities holiday breakfast in December.
During the championship, the pros did their part by making 1,218 birdies. The $7.9 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 $40 million for participating nonprofits. “To see our community and charities support the Birdies campaign with such enthusiasm is very gratifying,” said 2014 Tournament Chairman Bobby Patton. “We are proud to be one of the top Birdies campaigns on Tour, thanks to the very generous philanthropy shown by our citizens and businesses.” The Birdies For Charity pledges were energized by a matching fund of $200,000 from Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Colonial Country Club and other local companies.
Betty Dillard bdillard@bizpress.net