TOUR Championship officials today announced a record $6.96 million charitable donation from the 2023 tournament, up from $5.5 million in 2022. The announcement was made during Drew Charter School’s annual Senior Walk, where 32 of the 111 graduating students have been part of the school’s cradle-to-college/career continuum from kindergarten through 12th grade.
With the support of its Proud Partners Coca-Cola, Southern Company and Accenture, the TOUR Championship has now raised more than $54 million for local nonprofits since the event was first staged at East Lake Golf Club in 1998, including its five charitable beneficiaries: East Lake Foundation, First Tee – Metro Atlanta, Focused Community Strategies, Grove Park Foundation, and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta.
“The unwavering commitment of our incredible partners, local business community and our loyal fans continues to put the TOUR Championship in a position to invest in our local community year after year,” said TOUR Championship Executive Director Alex Urban. “Charitable giving remains at the heart of the TOUR Championship, and it’s a privilege to highlight the generational impact Drew Charter School and the East Lake Foundation are making in East Lake and across the Greater Atlanta Metro area.”
Drew Charter School, established in 2000 as the city of Atlanta’s first public charter school, serves as a key partner along with East Lake’s two early learning centers, Sheltering Arms and the East Lake Early Learning Academy, in the cradle-to-college and career education continuum within the holistic East Lake neighborhood revitalization led by the East Lake Foundation. Drew’s innovative Project-Based Learning approach with an integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) framework and strong foundation in literacy helps students reach their highest potential. Serving more than 1,900 students in grades Pre-K through 12, the school graduated its first class in 2017 and is committed to ensuring 100% of its students are prepared for post-secondary success.
“We are incredibly grateful to the TOUR Championship and its proud partners for their unwavering commitment to fostering transformative change across the city of Atlanta,” said Ilham Askia, President and CEO of the East Lake Foundation. “Together, we’re cultivating pathways to prosperity through initiatives like Drew Charter School’s extraordinary College and Career Readiness program. Thanks to support from the TOUR Championship, we are shaping futures, creating opportunities, and building a legacy of success that resonates far beyond the greens.”
The TOUR Championship will also continue its support of First Tee – Metro Atlanta and the annual “HOPE Tee Shot,” a tournament tradition that selects one boy and one girl from First Tee – Metro Atlanta to hit opening tee shots at the tournament. In 2022, the TOUR Championship announced the creation of the HOPE Shot Scholarship, which is funded by Accenture and provides $5,000 for each HOPE Tee Shot honoree to help achieve their dreams in golf and in life.
In addition to the 2023 tournament’s $6.96 million charitable total, the event raised more than $750,000 through the TOUR Championship Charity Showcase – an 18-hole exhibition staged a month before the 2023 TOUR Championship – that featured former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, former University of Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, and World Long Drive competitor Alexis Belton. The exhibition was supported through the efforts of TOUR Championship Proud Partner The Coca-Cola Company and other Atlanta-based corporations.
The TOUR Championship will make a return to Labor Day weekend in 2024, with tournament dates set for Aug. 28 – Sept. 1, as the PGA TOUR’s top 30 players compete in the FedExCup Playoffs finale for their chance to win the FedExCup and the season title. Tickets are on sale now at TOURChampionship.com/tickets.
For more information about the 2024 event, visit TOURChampionship.com. Fans are encouraged to follow the TOUR Championship on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for tournament updates.
