John Deere recently announced that it would be extending its commitment to the John Deere Classic golf tournament through 2023. This comes on the heels of golfer Jordan Spieth’s recent win at the event, as well as a fundraising record $8.7 million for 488 Quad City charities.
This year’s fundraising amount surpasses the previous record of $6.7 million, which was set back in 2012. Additionally, this is the fourth year in a row that John Deere’s golf tournament has raised more than $6 million for local charities.
“Everyone associated with the John Deere Classic is extremely proud, gratified and appreciative that individual donors, companies and family foundations stepped up in a big way to make this year’s charitable contribution by far the largest in tournament history,” said John Deere Classic Tournament Director Clair Peterson.
John Deere promoted the Birdies for Charity program, which encourages organizations to pledge a donation to benefit the John Deere Classic Charitable Corporation. In turn, participants had an opportunity to win more than 100 prizes, including a John Deere riding mower.
Stemming from this year’s success, tournament officials stated that all of the participating Birdies for Charities will receive a 10 percent bonus on top of the money they raised.
“Donors find the 10 percent bonus to be an extremely compelling incentive for them to make lump sum charitable donations through Birdies for Charity,” Peterson continued. “With bank interest rates at one percent or less, the 10 percent bonus gets a lot of people’s attention.”
A total of 1,990 birdies were recorded during the tournament and pro-am event, according to John Deere Classic officials.