How I “Accidentally” Raised Over $1000 for a Local Charity.
In the summer of 2019, I was invited to give a brief presentation about Sport Psychology at an upscale sporting facility called Lake Las Vegas Sports Club, in Henderson, Nevada. While I was there, I met Craig Barlow, a former PGA Tour player, who along with another former touring pro, Jeff Gallagher, had opened their High Performance Golf Institute (HPGI). In talking with Craig, it became apparent we had worked with some of the same athletes.
Fast forward to the summer of 2020. I had begun thinking about putting on a one-hour presentation for golfers (and other athletes) regarding the concept of Confidence. My hope was that I could find some place to “sponsor” and publicize the event, with the idea that such a presentation would likely generate some new clients for myself. Simply put, my motivation for this presentation was just plain old personal greed!
I reached out to Craig, and pitched the idea. I suggested we charge a very nominal fee of $25 per person, and I also told him that we could donate every cent of the proceeds to a charity of his choice. He though it was a great idea and selected the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association as the charity. I had personally donated the SNJGA before and thought Craig’s selection was a great fit for this event. The SNJGA provides junior golfers with equipment, instruction, organized competitions, greatly reduced green fees, and they even provide college scholarships!
Craig Barlow’s High Performance Golf Institute is affiliated with the Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, NV. Eric Dutt, the Manager of Operations at Reflection Bay, was also on board with such a presentation to raise funds for the SNJGA. Eric generously offered his facility to host the event. In addition, he gave notice of the presentation to the multitude of golfers in his data base. Craig Barlow, and his partner at HPGI, Jeff Gallagher, also sent out the word to their clients. In addition, the SNJGA and its parent organization, the Southern Nevada Golf Association, gave notification to their members about this one-hour presentation regarding Confidence in Golf.
On the day of the presentation, we had over forty paying attendees. I actually had some individuals inquire about being admitted to the event that afternoon, but had to turn them down due to the limited gathering size with the COVID-19 restrictions in place. Before the presentation began, I did a quick bit of calculating in my head and realized that this presentation alone would raise over one thousand dollars for the SNJGA. I was dumbfounded and a bit overwhelmed! None of my donations or charitable work had ever before raised such an amount. For the first time in my professional career, I began to look outside of myself, and to see the bigger picture of what my work could accomplish. And at that moment, I genuinely no longer cared about whether or not the presentation would generate any new clients for me.
The event was very well-received, and although several attendees requested more information about working with me individually, none of them actually became individual client of mine. And as self-centered as I have been in my business dealings (an unfortunate necessity, I recognize), I truly could not have cared less. Gaining new clients would be great, but raising a significant amount of money for a very worthwhile charity was all the “payback” I needed for the night.
So, as the title of this article suggests, I did indeed “accidentally” raise over $1000 for a local charity. But this happy accident has changed my outlook on my business and my purpose for my business. I’m currently in the process of trying to arrange a similar presentation to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children organization. The Shriners sponsors a great PGA tournament out here in Las Vegas every year, and of course many of the associated events are aimed at raising funds for this charity. I’ve donated Sport Psychology packages for their silent auction in the past but none of these packages has raised anywhere near the amount that my recent Confidence presentation raised. I hope to have the details worked out in the near future.
I’ll also be contacting other charities affiliated with golf in the western U.S., seeing if they might be interested in sponsoring such a presentation. I have no idea what the response will be, but I almost feel giddy to think about the possibilities. Definitely a new attitude about the purpose of my work, and how I can maximize my impact in terms of helping out deserving groups. And of course, I just might end up with a new client or two, but if I don’t, I’ll still be thrilled with the proceeds raised for these charities.
I have to tell you that although this experience was so outside of how I usually do business, the personal reward was more impactful than any payment or check I ever received from any individual client or organization. And I can say that with a straight face and a clear conscience, despite previously calling myself an individual who is generally motivated by “just plain old greed!’
If you would like to view the one-hour presentation, I can send you a link. You can reach out to me through the information below.
Kevin J. Roby, Ph.D., MGCP
Las Vegas Sport Psychology
5037 Portraits Place, Las Vegas, NV 89149
702-395-2170
DrKev4Golf@aol.com
www.LasVegasSportPsychology.com