The First Tee Of Greater Washington Dc

What The First Tee Of Greater Washington Dc does

First Tee – Greater Washington, DC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization founded on July 16, 1999, operating as a local chapter of the PGA TOUR-supported First Tee national network. The chapter delivers its proprietary Nine Core Values and Nine Healthy Habits curriculum to youth ages 7–18 across the Greater Washington DC metro area, including Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Montgomery County MD, and Prince George's County MD. Programs are delivered through three primary channels: on-course classes at 23–25 golf facilities (with six-week sessions four times annually), a School Program integrated into PE classes at 300+ schools reaching 200,000+ youth annually, and a Community Program at youth centers including YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington DC. Additional verticals include LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Summer Camps, a Junior Coach Program for ages 13+, and a College Scholarship Program with four named funds.

The chapter operates with a lean staff of 6–10 paid employees (Executive Director Clint Sanchez; Senior Directors Katie Blodgett and Palmer Moody; Directors Roger Brown and Mike Cilano; plus Program Manager, Girls Golf Coordinator, and Program Coordinator & Registrar) supported by 50+ trained coaches and 1,000+ volunteers, governed by a 35-member Board of Directors chaired by Tony Kavanagh. Its technology stack centers on the First Tee mobile and web application (iOS, Android, browser) which extends in-person curriculum through gamified challenges, badges, and points with offline capability, alongside an online registration and participant management system. National pipeline opportunities connect participants to the First Tee National Championship, Game Changers Academy, PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach, Leadership Summits, and the College Scholarship Program.

The revenue model is donation-driven rather than commercial. Funding is generated through individual charitable contributions (tax-deductible via online portal), corporate sponsorships (Southern Company, Comcast NBCUniversal, PGA TOUR Superstore, Sandy Spring Bank, The Home Depot, Carl M. Freeman Foundation, Mauloa Inc., Positive Coaching Alliance, National Association of Realtors, American Electric Power), annual fundraising golf tournaments (Connolly Cup, Core Values Cup, Politics & Pros Golf Classic, Prince George's County Tournament, Pro-Am at Argyle Country Club, River Bend Annual, Young Professionals Scramble), and in-kind equipment donations. Need-based financial assistance — including full scholarships for active-duty military families and free/reduced-lunch-eligible students — is embedded into the registration checkout flow to ensure access regardless of ability to pay.

Name

The First Tee Of Greater Washington Dc

Legal name

First Tee - Greater Washington DC

Website

https://firstteedc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The First Tee – Greater Washington, DC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 that delivers golf-based character education to youth ages 7–18 across the DC metro area through 23+ on-course program locations, school PE curriculum at 300+ schools, and community youth center partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donors contribute funds to support character education programs and coach training. Tax-deductible donations processed through online donation portal.
2. Golf Tournament Events: Annual fundraising golf tournaments including Core Values Cup, Connolly Cup, Politics & Pros Golf Classic, Prince George's County Tournament, Pro-Am at Argyle, and River Bend Annual Tournament. Revenue generated through event fees, sponsorships, and participant contributions.
3. College Scholarships (Pass-through): Chapter awards four college scholarships annually funded by donors and named funds (Dave King Scholarship, Mary Doherty Memorial Scholarship, The Jonny Scholarship, YPC Scholarship). Funds pass through to scholarship recipients.
4. Equipment Donations: Accepts donations of junior golf clubs and equipment. Not a revenue stream but in-kind support enabling program delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

First Tee – Greater Washington, DC delivers youth development programs that integrate golf instruction with a life skills and character education curriculum. Core offerings include after-school and weekend Life Skills Experience Classes at golf courses for youth ages 7-18, the First Tee mobile application for progress tracking, School Program integration into PE classes at 300+ schools, Community Program delivery at YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs, Summer Camps, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and College Scholarships. Programs are structured around the proprietary Nine Core Values and Nine Healthy Habits curriculum and are delivered by trained coaches and volunteers.

Product overview

First Tee – Greater Washington, DC is a youth development organization offering a portfolio of golf-based programs that teach life skills and character education. The core offering is the Life Skills Experience Classes program held at golf courses throughout the DC metropolitan area, complemented by the First Tee App (mobile application), School Program (in PE classes), Community Program (at youth centers), Summer Camps, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and the Junior Coach Program. The organization also provides College Scholarships and Financial Assistance to support access. National Opportunities connect local participants to nationwide events and competitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Life Skills Experience Classes
• First Tee App
• School Program
• Community Program
• Summer Camps
• LPGA-USGA Girls Golf
• Junior Coach Program
• College Scholarships
• Financial Assistance

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 2 million young people reached since chapter inception in 1999
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Connolly CupcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Annual commercial real estate tournament honoring Peter Connolly, raising funds for youth development programs. Has raised over $600,000 since 2012. Premier CRE tournament in DC region with top brokerage and development firms in attendance.
• Southern CompanycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual sponsor of First Tee-GWDC. Presenting sponsor of Politics & Pros Golf Classic (25th Annual Southern Company Politics & Pros Golf Classic).
• Comcast NBCUniversalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual sponsor and presenting sponsor partner for annual events including Politics & Pros Golf Classic.
• PGA TOUR SuperstorecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal partner providing golf retail support. Sponsors First Tee Leadership Series and First Tee Leadership Summit. Provides merchandise and retail expertise for youth development programs.
• Sandy Spring BankmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual sponsor supporting chapter programs and youth development initiatives.
• The Home Depot (THD)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual sponsor supporting youth development programs through corporate giving.
• Positive Coaching AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner providing coaching education and youth development expertise to support program quality.
• Mauloa, Inc.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Pro-Am Invitational Tournament at Argyle Country Club. Associated with board member Andrew Sachs.
• US Kids GolfminorOthersEquipment partner offering families discounted golf clubs. Families can purchase clubs at reduced prices through this partnership.
• YMCA (National Capitol YMCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Program partner where First Tee delivers golf and character education at YMCA youth centers in the DC area.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington DCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Program partner where First Tee delivers outreach programming introducing golf and life skills to youth without access to golf courses.
• District of Columbia Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool Program partner integrating golf and life skills curriculum into PE classes across DC public schools.
• Montgomery County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool Program partner in Maryland delivering golf curriculum in PE classes at elementary and middle schools.
• Prince George's County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool Program partner in Maryland delivering golf curriculum in PE classes at schools throughout the county.
• Fairfax County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool Program partner in Northern Virginia delivering golf and life skills curriculum in PE classes.
• National Association of RealtorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClinic Series sponsor for Marilyn Praisner Women's Golf Cup event supporting Girls Golf programs.
• American Electric PowerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for Women's Golf Cup clinic series supporting girls' golf programming.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PGA Jr. League: PGA of America's team-based youth golf competition for ages 17 and under; serves the same junior-golf participant pool with similar entry-level, no-prior-experience positioning and a multi-chapter geographic footprint.
• YMCA of Metropolitan Washington: Multi-site youth and family services nonprofit that runs First Tee community programming at its branches while also delivering competing youth recreation, sports, and life-skills programs across DC, Northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington: Regional youth-services nonprofit that is both a First Tee community-program partner and a competitor for youth-development donations, grant funding, and volunteer hours in the DC metro.
• LPGA-USGA Girls Golf: Female-focused junior golf program run jointly by LPGA and USGA; competitive overlap with FTGWDC's LPGA-USGA Girls Golf and Girls Golf coordinator function, particularly in the DC metro area.
• Youth on Course: Nonprofit that subsidizes junior rounds ($5 or less) at partner courses and supports under-resourced youth's access to golf; comparable youth-golf access mission funded through philanthropy and facility partnerships.
• Drive, Chip & Putt (PGA / USGA): Joint PGA / USGA initiative for ages 7-15 emphasizing fundamentals and access; operates as a complementary, not always substitutive, channel for the same junior-golf entry segment First Tee serves.

Emerging players

• The ANNIKA Foundation: Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam's nonprofit focused on women's and junior golf development; smaller and more event-driven than FTGWDC but pursues overlapping donor, sponsor, and girls-golf participation pools.

Broad incumbents

• USGA Foundation: Charitable arm of the USGA funding junior-golf, school, and inclusion programs nationally; broader incumbent in the golf philanthropy space with curriculum and grant-making capabilities overlapping FTGWDC's activities.
• First Tee (National): National youth-development umbrella and effective parent organization of FTGWDC; operates 150+ chapters delivering the same Nine Core Values/Nine Healthy Habits curriculum through on-course, school, and community programs.

Others

• National Golf Foundation: Industry trade association providing research, advocacy, and growth initiatives for golf participation; adjacent ecosystem participant that informs junior-golf strategy, donor reporting, and participation-trend analysis used by FTGWDC.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/firstteedc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCY0pmqxn0AhHvUBR1Z0CNtQ?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstTeeDC
• Instagraminstagram.com/firstteedc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firstteedc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The First Tee Of Greater Washington Dc