ASGCA and ASGCA Foundation encourage members to reach out to industry friends and business associates who may have an interest in the ASGCA Foundation Boot Camp at Erin Hills in September 2024. Following is a sample letter that may be modified as necessary.
Dear Industry Friend,
As you know the American Society of Golf Course Architects is a small organization that wields a bit of influence but not much power. Like your organization, ASGCA is thankful for the benefits that golf has given our members, so we try to give back to the industry through our charitable foundation. However, being of limited size, we really depend on help from others to fund and grow our initiatives that we try to repay by sharing our expertise and experience.
You may have heard about our Architectural Boot Camp scheduled in September of this year at Erin Hills (https://asgcafoundation.org/architects-boot-camp-2024/), where we are offering to 16 major donors, four days of deep and hands-on immersion into the “nuts and bolts” of golf course design. Attendees will be taught the entire design process, starting with reading topography, through site analysis and design stages, and apply those incremental lessons on the open land adjacent to Erin Hills. The ratio of attendees to instructors is 2:1 to ensure proper mentoring, and once on-site all of the attendee’s cost are covered to include lodging in the elegant cottages, meals, green and caddy fees, all class materials, and lots of workshop keepsakes and lifelong friendships. This could prove to be the most unique golf experience ever for those who attend, but we need your help.
We welcome your help in identifying individuals who might have the interest and assets to attend. Perhaps it is someone in your organization who would benefit your company with this gained knowledge, or a person who has given a superior effort and should be rewarded with a scholarship to the Boot Camp. A couple of companies have just agreed to provide a scholarship and will have us select a fitting person to attend. Remember that 75% of your gift is tax deductible as it goes directly to the ASGCA Foundation, a 501c3 organization, who is committed to benefit the Clearview Legacy Foundation (https://www.clearviewgolfclub.com/clearviewlegacyfoundation) for at least the next few years.
We realize that many organization have already committed their charitable contributions for 2024, so the ASGCA Foundation is willing to accept your word that your 2024 scholarship contribution will be made in fiscal year 2025. Our industry is built on mutual trust, understanding and sharing, and if you are willing to help us, we are willing to wait for it. This may be the one and only time that we run the Boot Camp so that is why we need your help in 2024 and not put it off to another year.
In closing, please help us or direct us to someone in your organization that can make these things happen.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this big request.
Respectfully,