Private Club Radio Show
353: Innovating Charity Golf Experiences w/ Eric Sedransk
Ever wondered how golf can be a game-changer for nonprofits? Join us and Eric Sedransk shares his journey from Wall Street to creating Member for a Day,
a groundbreaking platform transforming charity golf auctions.
Eric opens up about raising over $7 million by offering unique golf experiences, collaborating with celebrities like Ken Griffey Jr., Bill Murray, and Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys. Through his determination and innovative approach, Eric is revolutionizing the traditionally fragmented charity auction space and inspiring real change.
Discover how Eric's passion for golf and philanthropy led to the revival of the First Tee of Savannah, raising over half a million dollars and engaging young golfers. Eric dives into the challenges of coordinating schedules with busy pro athletes and celebrities, and the incredible impact exclusive golf clubs can have on charitable causes. Learn about his dream golf foursome and the future aspirations for Member for a Day. This episode is packed with insights on harnessing the power of golf to drive meaningful social impact.
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Ever wondered how golf can be a game-changer for nonprofits? Join us and Eric Sedransk shares his journey from Wall Street to creating Member for a Day,
a groundbreaking platform transforming charity golf auctions.
Eric opens up about raising over $7 million by offering unique golf experiences, collaborating with celebrities like Ken Griffey Jr., Bill Murray, and Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys. Through his determination and innovative approach, Eric is revolutionizing the traditionally fragmented charity auction space and inspiring real change.
Discover how Eric's passion for golf and philanthropy led to the revival of the First Tee of Savannah, raising over half a million dollars and engaging young golfers. Eric dives into the challenges of coordinating schedules with busy pro athletes and celebrities, and the incredible impact exclusive golf clubs can have on charitable causes. Learn about his dream golf foursome and the future aspirations for Member for a Day. This episode is packed with insights on harnessing the power of golf to drive meaningful social impact.
Follow us on the socials
Private Club Radio Instagram
Private Club Radio Linkedin
Denny Corby Instagram
Denny Corby Linkedin
The market of auctioning off golf experience for charity is the definition of fragmented right. You have nonprofits everywhere doing it, at galas and oyster roasts and local golf tournaments, and there might be a couple rounds of golf mixed in with jewelry and timeshares. It's just fragmented. And so what I did is I essentially took the I'm trying and sort of have, to some degree, take some of that fragmentation and put it together in one consolidated platform right which ultimately will allow a better user experience, because then people who come to our community know that they can go right to this community and have access to an incredible array of golf experiences for amazing charities and we can maximize the nonprofits so they can raise as much money as possible.
Speaker 1:But again, nobody's really done this before. So to me that's the exciting part about entrepreneurship is you have no idea, you're just like this sounds fun, I think there's something here, let's go and see if it works. But no, 7.1, I pinch myself all the time Like that's I never. I mean that's I could really like stop this now and just be like I'm good, like I could tell my grandkids that you know, I, I, I raised a lot of money for charity and and uh, yeah, it's been great hey everyone.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the private club radio show, the industry source for news, trends, updates and conversations all in the world of private golf and country clubs. You're new to the industry Welcome. You're a seasoned veteran professional, welcome back. I'm your host, denny Corby. In this episode I'm chatting with Eric Sedrans and he is the founder owner over at Members for a Day Member for a Day which is all about creating once-in-a-lifetime golf experiences for charity. They've raised over $7 million to date and really cool dude, really cool organization, so thought I would bring them onto the show. And before we bring them on, I just want to have a quick word from one of our show partners.
Speaker 2:It's 2024 and it's time to change the way you vet your new members. Some traditions are worth modifying. The new member process hasn't changed really in the past 150 years, relying almost solely on social relationships and casual interactions, but lacking in factual data. And this is where Kennis comes in, because the traditional application process tells you very little about someone's behaviors and character until now and character until now. Kennis has created an innovative and confidential comprehensive applicant information gathering process that provides an unraveled depth of information. The world of member vetting has evolved to a new standard and Kennis is your turnkey solution to meet this new industry best practice. You can rely on Kennis to provide the facts that you need to make fully educated member decisions, because what you don't know can hurt your club and your members.
Speaker 2:To learn a little bit more or to set up a call, head on over to membervettingcom fill out the form. You're going to have a chat with Paul Dank. It's going to be good. He's a great guy. Also, be sure to check out our episodes of member vetting here on Private Club Radio. And with that let's welcome to Private Club Radio Eric Sedrans. This has been fun learning about Member for a Day for people who might not know what is Member for a Day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so at Member for a Day, we auction off once-in-a-lifetime golf experiences for charity. Define once-in-a-lifetime golf experiences for charity Define once-in-a-lifetime. We've done 91 of the top 100 courses in the country. We've done rounds of golf with the likes of Ken Griffey Jr, bill Murray, canelo Rob Riggle, a member of the Backstreet Boys.
Speaker 2:Stop it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, brian Luttrell himself donated a round of golf, so we're a classic two-sided marketplace. Stop it. Yeah, brian Luttrell himself donated a round of golf, so we're a classic two-sided marketplace. So, on one side, we have nonprofits who are looking to fundraise. On the other side, we have an incredible group of wealthy golfers around the country which has grown to about 40,000 at this point who are looking for really unique experiences, all the while supporting charities really unique experiences, all the while supporting charities.
Speaker 2:And so we are essentially the marketplace, the great connector, where we connect the two and ultimately raise as much money for charity as possible. It's 2024 and it's time to change the way you vet your new members. Some traditions are worth modifying. The new member process hasn't changed really in the past 150 years, relying almost solely on social relationships and casual interactions, but lacking in factual data. And this is where Kennis comes in, because the traditional application process tells you very little about someone's behaviors and character. Until now, Kennis has created an innovative and confidential comprehensive applicant information gathering process that provides an unraveled depth of information. The world of member vetting has evolved to a new standard and Kennis is your turnkey solution to meet this new industry best practice. You can rely on Kennis to provide the facts that you need to make fully educated member decisions, because what you don't know can hurt your club and your members. To learn a little bit more, or to set up a call head on over to membervettingcom, Fill out the form. You're going to have a chat with Paul Dank. It's going to be good, he's a great guy. Also, be sure to check out our episodes of Member Vetting here on Private Club Radio.
Speaker 2:How long have you been involved in the golf world? Where did this all stem from? Because I know when. When this first came across, I was like what in the world? It's like what? What got you to pull the trigger on this?
Speaker 1:I was the guy who. So I graduated from business school in 2014 and I cold called every single golf agent in the world and said you should hire me for free because I'll work really hard, I'll prove myself. Basically didn't get a call back from a single one. So I said, okay, that's fine. But so I always wanted to work in golf and so, slow and steady, I ended up going to work in tech in New York, but sort of always in the background. I was trying to do as much as I could in golf. So I started doing some freelance writing, I started doing some photography, drone videos, honestly, anything I could do to just be around the game. And then, you know, there was this sort of spark that I got laid off from COVID in the beginning of 2020. And I felt this burning desire to help others, most importantly the frontline workers that were essentially saving us from a global pandemic, and wanted to launch a charity golf auction to feed them. And that's sort of the genesis of how it all came to be.
Speaker 2:Did you expect it to get? Because what you've raised, what over like $7 million in four years or something silly, so did you expect it to get? Like so how much did you do like the first year, like, did you expect any? Like, did you expect this growth? And I mean, obviously in your head you probably did, but did you expect it this quick?
Speaker 1:No, no, I mean obviously in your head you probably did, but you did. You expect it this quick. No, no, I mean cause nobody's ever really done this before. Right, I mean, when you think about what I'm doing, is the market of auctioning off golf experience for charity. Is the definition of fragmented right. You have nonprofits everywhere doing it, at galas and oyster roasts and local golf tournaments, and there might be a couple rounds of golf mixed in with jewelry and timeshares. It's just fragmented. And so what I did is I essentially took the I'm trying and sort of have, to some degree, take some of that fragmentation and put it together in one consolidated platform Right, other in one consolidated platform right, which ultimately will allow a better user experience, because then people who come to our community know that they can go right to this community and have access to an incredible array of golf experiences for amazing charities and we can maximize the nonprofits so they can raise as much money as possible.
Speaker 1:But again, nobody's really done this before. So to me that's the exciting part about entrepreneurship is you have no idea, You're just like. This sounds fun, I think there's something here. Let's go and see if it works. But no, I 7.1, I pinch myself all the time Like that's I never. I mean that's. I can really like stop this now and just be like I'm good, Like I could tell my grandkids that you know, I, I raised a lot of money for charity and and, yeah, it's been great.
Speaker 2:You know I love the motto so good, Play golf, change the world. That's so clean. What have been some of the meaningful changes that you've been able to make? So what have you been able to accomplish with all of this?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I think obviously we work with hundreds of nonprofits, so it's hard to pull out individual stories. Certainly, one that always comes to mind is the First Tee of Savannah. They're one of the first groups we ever worked with. Actually, before we worked with them, they didn't even exist they were previously a First Tee chapter and then they shut down for a few years and then, right around the time that I was kind of starting this endeavor, we connected with them, um, with the goal of trying to bring them back, and at the time when we met, they essentially had no money in the coffers, no students, nothing, um.
Speaker 1:We've now, in three auctions with them over the course of three years, have raised well over half a million dollars, and I forget the latest numbers, but it's crazy. I think it's like it's hundreds of golfers, if not thousands, that are learning the game in Savannah and you know they were able to hire an executive director and it's just like, it's so cool to see, like, literally, their journey of essentially restarting a first T chapter from, you know, zero to flourishing Um, and I think they would. They would be the first to tell you that the partnership with us has really been instrumental in that it's basically funded. You know 90% of their endeavors.
Speaker 2:What's it like working in trying to get some of these celebrities and personalities Uh, who, who was? Who was like your first one? Do you remember who was like the first personality like you? You got.
Speaker 1:It might have been Ken Griffey Jr, actually, yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh snap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think what I've learned about celebrities, pro athletes is the easiest way to get their attention is to do something that benefits the charities that they care about. And so it's it's a very different ask, right I'm? I think I don't think I know that celebrities and pro athletes get asked to do a million things under the sun, but how often do they say you know, we can do something to benefit the charity that you care about and, um, through that, I've just found that it's, it's the fastest way to get a celebrity or pro athlete to say yes and and commit their time. So, thankfully, we have it's been, it's been peaches for us, honestly, since we started.
Speaker 2:Have you ever? Have you ever read the book the third door? No, never even heard of it. By alex benignan. It's a good one.
Speaker 2:Uh, just, it was just a phrase that you said about. You know, when you uh want to work with somebody, you know do, do their like, get involved with their charities and stuff. Um, just, uh, it's just like an interesting book on like an approach of, like a way to life. There's, there's three ways to go to get into to every place. There's like the front door that everyone always walks into. There's like the back door you can go in, but you know you have to go through. But then there's also like the side window that you have to get through there and then walk through a closet and then sneak through the kitchen, but like you eventually like get in, uh, so it's like using things like like that you know you don't go through, like their agent, you don't do this. It's like, hey, you, you know you go through. Like the back, you know you find that little spot where you know you can sneak in through. You know a charity of some sort. Or like you know you find what they're passionate about and work to that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's the other thing, Denny is. The beautiful thing about, at least when we're talking about pro athletes, is pretty much all of the former pro athletes play golf. Like you don't see former pro baseball players playing baseball, you don't see a lot of former pro football players playing football. I mean maybe flag football, but honestly they don't even really do that. They play golf. And so there's this weird thing where golf is this great connector and it's been wonderful because it's instead of us having to really branch out and start offering up different experiences. Maybe it's like throw a football with Joe Montana. We could just do play golf with Joe Montana. So it's like throw a football with Joe Montana. We could just do play golf with Joe Montana. So it's still golf, but it's also football. And so that's allowed us to kind of branch out, yet still be hyper-focused on golf.
Speaker 2:It's got to be pretty hard putting all of these together. What are, like I don't want to say challenges, but like you know it's it's what are some common hurdles that you're running against trying to put these together?
Speaker 1:Well, the beautiful thing about our platform is the nonprofits are the ones getting the golf experiences. So they reach out to their donors, their networks, their connection. They get the golf experiences. The challenging part, which nobody really ever sees or talks about, is the scheduling of these because you're talking about, especially if there's a celebrity pro athlete in part of it. You know their, their time is, they're busy, they don't have a lot of time, and then you know we're connecting three other individuals and trying to find a date where, most likely, a bunch of them are going to fly in, and so, um, it's something that we, I think anytime you are working on multi-party scheduling, it's complicated. Like, think about anytime you've planned something with your friends where you're trying to find a date to go skiing or whatnot. It's hard to find dates that work for everybody, and so we are uh, we, we try our best every day and we're getting better and better every day of just trying to make scheduling as as easy as possible. But it's just, it's inherently challenging and it always will be.
Speaker 2:So what does a when, like I, win the auction, what does a day look like? You know? Can you walk us through what like? What it looks like for someone who wins an auctioned golf experience?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the standard. The standard package that we have is a threesome of the member. So you know, let's, let's say it's a Baltimore country club, it's probably going to be. Um, we'll, we'll. We'll figure out the scheduling, we'll figure out the date. Um, it might include travel, might include accommodations. Our standard is usually just the golf Um, so obviously, from that perspective, you would have to figure out your travel and and accommodations.
Speaker 1:Um, but essentially, yeah, you would, we would introduce you, so you know who your host is. Show up and honestly, you just have a great time and, um, you know, and and just have four and a half hours of around, as if you were just truly a member for a day or just better, just a guest. Right, you're a guest of of that host, um, so it's you know. And obviously you know we just hope that all of our hosts are amazing representations of the brand. Obviously, they're amazing representations of the nonprofit and, yeah, you just have an awesome time at four and a half hours and who knows, you know, I think the beautiful thing about our platform is we make these connections and then we don't really see that next level.
Speaker 1:We hear about them every now and then and sometimes what happens is the person who won is a member at a different course, and so they'll say to the host thank you so much for having me at BCC, let me host you at my club. And then those relationships start to build, and so we've seen that it's those like secondary relationships that form because of it, but they happen off platform, so we don't really know it, but we know that they are happening. Is there an?
Speaker 2:I know it's probably you know so so wide. Now I was looking on the site so as I'm even saying it, but is there an average amount that your typical nonprofit will walk away with, or like so, like, how does like some of that work so now? So now my head is going into like numbers like now how does that work on that aspect?
Speaker 1:For sure. So over the course of three and a half years we've auctioned off thousands of golf experiences and the range is wide, and I mean really wide, like on the low end. We're just talking about individual rounds of golf for three people. On the low end maybe five, $600. On the high end We've sold individual threesomes for $26,000. So the range is huge. Yeah, the average of what the threesome is is kind of in that three, 30, $3,500 range is what the typical is, so a little over a thousand dollars a person. But then keep in mind, when we do the, when we do auctions with a nonprofit, they're multi, they have multiple golf courses. So usually our average golf, usually our average auction, has between 15 to 20 golf experiences. Add up, the average goes for about 3000. So the typical auction that we do grosses around $50,000 per charity. That's kind of our average at this point.
Speaker 1:The bottom line is the more exclusive the golf experience, the better, right, I mean so you're, I think, to some degree. Well, our platform basically has become a marketplace. It's essentially a public stock market for exclusive golf experiences, for charity, right, and so the market kind of determines the value, which is wild because sometimes, you know, I think one's going to go for a ton and it doesn't. I think another one is not going to go for a ton and it goes for a crazy amount, and just the market determines it, which is a beautiful thing to watch. Um, so it really it. It it is sort of the. It's the one caveat of working with us that the nonprofits have to, through their donor networks, through their connections, be able to get great golf experiences, and the higher up they're getting, the more money we can raise right. So your average private golf course might be a great golf course, but nationally, or maybe even outside of regionally, it's not really known. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It might raise $800,000 for a threesome. But you know, then you start to get into like a Baltimore country club, probably going to raise three to $5,000. Then you might get into something like a Marion, which raises 10 to $15,000. Then you get into Shinnecock, which might raise 15 to $20,000. Then you might get in a Grove 23, Michael Jordan's club, which is like the hottest club right now in the world 2525,000 to $30,000 all day long for a threesome minimum. So it really just depends on it's. I think the people that we're catering to are people who have been very successful in their life for whatever they do Most likely drive nice cars, have a great house, but they're looking for those experiences that money truly can't buy or, in this case, it can through charitable donations, and they just might not know someone who's a member of Chinook, Cocker, Grove 23. And oh, by the way, they can donate a lot of money to an amazing charity and play a round that they'll remember for their life with friends, their clients, their son, etc.
Speaker 2:So obviously checks off a lot of boxes there. Concert Golf Partners is changing the game, one club at a time. Since their inception in 2001, they've been on a mission to preserve and elevate private clubs, pouring capital into enhancements that matter. But what sets them apart? These aren't your run of the mill operators. They are a dedicated team with a passion for enhancing the private club experience both on and off the green. Passion for enhancing the private club experience both on and off the green. It's their commitment to maintaining the club's unique identity while executing strategic improvements that boost the overall experience and financial health. With Concert Golf Partners, your club gains access to a network of enhanced properties, reciprocal play privileges and a future free from the burden of debt and outdated facilities. They're not just building better clubs, they're crafting lasting legacies for members and communities alike.
Speaker 2:If you'd like to learn more about Concert Golf Partners or recapitalization, or learning how your members will have no more assessments, head on over to ConcertGolfPartnerscom. Set up a confidential call with Peter Danula and that's it. Simple as that. Also, be sure to check out our episodes of Board Chats here on Private Club Radio, brought to you by our friends. You guessed it Concert Golf Partners. You said you've done what? 90, one of the top 100 courses yeah. Are there any courses still on your bucket list that you would like to include in your auction, or ones that may be a little bit different or or unique that you haven't gotten to?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, listen, there's, of course there's. You know, there's a little golf course down in Augusta, georgia. That would be amazing, right, and I, you know, I know, obviously for a lot of reasons they're they're strict with this kind of stuff, but I've just always thought in my heart of hearts that there's an opportunity that we could raise millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars for charity, millions, if not tens of millions of dollars for charity. And I don't know, I truly believe that that in due time, a conversation will happen and maybe we'll get something done. I think when I saw Dude Perfect hitting hockey sticks around Amen Corner, it's like this is interesting. Maybe Augusta National is starting to think a little bit broader and so, again, I know they do a lot of stuff for charity.
Speaker 1:I truly believe, my heart of hearts, we could raise tens of millions of dollars for charity, and even at a club that does an incredible amount of fundraising and just overall revenue from the masters, I still think that number is interesting. So, yeah, for us, like, of course, you know, the top of the top right, augusta Pine Valley, cyprus. You know, again, I know they're they're really strict with some of this stuff for obvious reasons, but the opportunity is there to raise such an incredible amount of charity. Which is why I say play golf changed the world is because I truly believe that if more of these private rounds of golf have a charitable impact, the global impact is so massive that it probably ends up becoming hundreds of millions of dollars. And so, yeah for sure, the ones at the top, you know, I'm hopeful and I look forward to the opportunity to just at least have a conversation with them just at least have a conversation with them.
Speaker 2:You mentioned community and charity. Has your perspective on charity and community involvement changed or evolved since starting member with the day or member for a day?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, listen, you know, I think you know for some to to to some degree we stay outside of like their day-to-day ops, right, like we're helping fundraise and then hopefully they're using that money to do good in the world. But, like for us, we kind of stay away from it. But I think the beautiful thing that that I've kind of figured out, is I I didn't really realize that I always thought the world was for-profit or the world of business, let's say, for-profit, nonprofit. We're kind of in the middle. You know, we I think we would be described as a social enterprise because we are actually a for-profit business but the overwhelming majority of the funds that we raise go to charity. I mean, we give an absurd amount of money to charity. We're not doing this just to maximize how much money we make. Trust me, we could. We could be way more selfish and capitalistic if we wanted to. So we're kind of in this middle point.
Speaker 1:And you know, my first job at a school was I was on the trading floor of Bear Stearns, I worked on wall street, like the most for-profit you could possibly do. And I didn't realize that and I always knew that, that I wasn't cut out for that, I just wasn't, and so I always wanted to swing over to that nonprofit side. But I thought that my, my, my drive, I don't know. I just wasn't sure if it would be a cultural fit for me. And so when I realized there was this area in the middle where you can run it like a for-profit business, but with this massive social impact, it's the best. And it's like I wake up every morning excited for this because, yes, again, we are running like a for-profit business, but we're running like a for-profit business, but we're running it for something much larger than just making money. And so that's been the most interesting thing to me is there's that middle ground between for-profit and nonprofit.
Speaker 2:I like it. I like it Now, if you can have your own fantasy foursome, your own auction that you won, who would play, who would be your, your three and where would you play? And the people could be dead or alive, yeah so your your dream your your dream for.
Speaker 1:And what course, oh man, I think I'm going. My father's obviously the first pick. Um, just quick side note. I lost my father to obviously the first pick, Just quick side note. I lost my father to ALS three and a half years ago and everything I've done with member for a day is is in his honor, so he's an automatic because he just wouldn't believe everything that's happening with this platform. So automatic, first pick is my father and then I don't know, let's like he was a big basketball guy. So let's like let's throw in Will Chamberlain because he was a big basketball guy.
Speaker 2:So let's like let's throw in will Chamberlain Cause he was a big will.
Speaker 1:Chamberlain guy. Okay, and I don't know, I'll throw in Steph Curry, so we'll have a little modern and and and past, and just, I feel like just watching the two of them interact would be incredible and, um, let's do it at national o'clock in the afternoon. And then maybe you guys hang out the next day also hey well, Chamberlain's got some great stories of partying, so I'm sure we'd have a great night.
Speaker 2:And one thing before we go if you could achieve one thing for member for a day that you haven't yet, what would it be?
Speaker 1:I think that, listen, we did we. We raised $2.3 million for charity last year and it's, it's, it's an incredible number. But you know you kind of asked me this before is like would you imagine that ever got this size? And I wouldn't. But once you get to this size, your aspirations become much larger, right, and so I know that we're really just scratching the surface here, and I truly believe that this platform can ultimately raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. So we are looking to substantially grow our community, substantially grow the amount of clubs we work with, substantially grow the amount of nonprofits we work with, so that we can really be a powerful force of good in the world through the game of golf.
Speaker 2:Eric, thank you so much for being on. Where can people find out more about you and Member4Day?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so best way is to sign up for our email list. You just go to member4daycom. Also, we are very active on social media, especially Instagram, so definitely follow us on Instagram.
Speaker 2:Continue what you're doing, sir, it's the more I was looking doing some tremendous stuff, so thanks for doing great things for the world and being a good, a good human, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me on. I really enjoyed the chat.
Speaker 2:Anytime. Hope you all enjoyed that episode. If you'd like to learn more about Eric and Member for a Day, head on over to memberforadaycom. If you're enjoying the content, please like, share, subscribe. You can sign up for our newsletter. We send out all brand new episodes and some new content over there and, on that note, catch y'all in the next video.