Charity Event

CHARITY EVENT

In the immediate aftermath of the events of September 11th, most Americans were stunned and feeling helpless, wondering what they could do. Not so for Larry Brasel and his wife, Jan Dice. This Dallas, TX couple knew they had to contribute in whatever way they could to help ease the pain and stunt the shock of loss for those most directly affected by the audacious attacks.

Larry and Jan could simply have written a check to one of the more prominent relief funds then issuing appeals for donations and funding. It would have been a gesture of national solidarity and support that so many others were making. As a couple well aware of the power of leverage, however, they chose another route. Larry and Jan decided to use their local influence to help on a much larger scale. They planned, organized and eventually hosted their first charity event. And so, the “Swing for Survivors” charity golf tournament, sponsored by their company, Northbeam Financial, sped from an idea to reality in an incredibly short two months time.

The decision that all proceeds from the tournament would be donated was a given. What was uncertain was which relief organization would receive the event’s receipts. Jan and Larry wanted as much of the money as possible to be spent on providing assistance to the victims and a minimal amount spent on the administration of a fund. After much research they chose the Robin Hood Relief Fund in New York City. The Robin Hood Foundation — with a 13-year history of applying investment principles to its charitable giving to ensure the most effective expenditures of its grants — established the relief fund. The only objective for the fund was to assist the families of the missing or injured, the heroic firefighters and police officers and all others affected by the economic consequences — especially lower income victims — of the tragedy.

Larry and Jan were assured that all proceeds would go directly to the intended recipients since the Robin Hood Foundation’s board underwrites all administrative expenses for both the Foundation and the Relief Fund.

They picked a date, November 14th — 2 months and 3 days after the attack — and set to work. Here were just a few of the very many details that Larry and Jan would have to manage, in addition to the normal day-to-day tasks of keeping Northbeam running. They needed to: decide on a location for the tournament, create a logo, get the word out about the tournament, find other sponsors, get golfers registered, find merchandise that could be donated, purchase trophies and prizes and on and on. In short, they needed to get done in two months what most tournaments begin working on a full year ahead of time.