Charity Resources & FAQ

What charities are eligible to participate?

Each participant must be a 501(c)3 designated nonprofit organization that is located or provide services in South Florida.

Upon submission of the registration form, charities will be approved by the Cognizant Classic for participation.

How do I register my organization?

Click HERE to complete the form. If your organization is approved to participate, you will receive an email confirmation along with program information and materials.

Who is eligible to donate?

All donations must be made by an individual, NOT a company or foundation. Each donor must guess the number of birdies and answer a tie-breaker question for their donation to be an eligible entry assigned to the charity of their choice.

Are there any restrictions?

Charities may not submit birdies guesses on behalf of donors.

Donations toward capital campaigns are eligible as long as they are accompanied by a manual donation form.

Government grants and Foundation grants are NOT eligible for Birdies for Charity donations.

Membership dues and existing pre-arranged donations are NOT eligible for Birdies for Charity donations.

What is the timeline?

• Monday, Oct. 20, 2025 – Launch Date
• Monday, Nov. 5, 2025 – Approved charities may begin soliciting donations
• Friday, Jan. 5, 2026 – Charity registration closes
• Wednesday, February 25, 2025 – Birdies for Charity program concludes; all manual donations must be submitted to the Cognizant Classic by 6:00 p.m.

What is the bonus pool?

The Cognizant Classic provides a Birdies for Charity bonus pool of $100,000, offering participating charities the opportunity to receive bonus dollars beyond what they fundraised!

Funds awarded from the bonus pool will be based on the percentage an individual nonprofit raises to the total donations for all participants. Organizations will be categorized in two tiers and bonus dollars awarded accordingly.

• Tier 1 - organizations with an operating budget of $0 to $1M.
• Tier 2 - organizations with an operating budget of more than $1M

Soliciting Donations

Charities are invited to utilize the marketing materials on the Birdies for Charity website to promote their participation in the program. These materials can be customized, printed, and/or emailed to potential supporters/participants. Charities can include Birdies for Charity information on their own website and create a link to the Birdies for Charity website.

Individual Donations

• BY CASH OR CHECK: Donors wishing to donate via cash or check will make their donation directly to the charity of their choice. The donor must complete a Manual Donation Form which will ask them for their birdies guess and a tie-breaker question. The donor will send this form and their donation directly to the charity. The charity will be responsible for recording all donations which they receive directly. Manual donations must be uploaded to the donation site that will be provided to you by the Cognizant Classic Community Outreach Team.
• Online: Donors can go to the Birdies for Charity website and click “Make a Donation Now” where they can select a charity from the list of participating charities, make their birdies guess, and complete the donation via credit card. The full list of registered nonprofits can be located HERE.
• Note: All online donations will be collected by PGA TOUR Charities, Inc.

Guess/Donation Limitations

Each household is eligible to submit up to 10 birdies guesses, with a minimum $20 donation required for each guess.

Tracking Online Donations

The list of participating charities and how much they have raised will be updated in the Leaderboard section of the Birdies for Charity website. Following the conclusion of the program, the tournament will provide each charity with a list of their online donors.

Receiving Funding

After the tournament concludes, cash and check donations collected by the organization will be added to the final online donation total; bonus pool funding will be calculated based off the sum of the two. A direct deposit will be sent to the organization within approximately 90 days of the conclusion of the tournament.