Year-End Giving: Make Your Gift Count for Junior Golfers by December 31

Year-End Is When America Gives

Americans gave $617.2 billion to charity in 2025, and individuals accounted for $394.2 billion of it, nearly two-thirds of the total. Foundations and corporations matter, but most of the giving in this country still comes from ordinary people deciding a cause is worth it.

GivingTuesday has become the starting gun for the season. On GivingTuesday 2025, Americans gave $4.0 billion in a single day, 13% more than the year before. This year it falls on Tuesday, December 1, 2026, and the window to give for the 2026 tax year stays open through December 31.

Why Timing Matters for FGA Right Now

For Future Golfers of America, this is not an ordinary year-end. FGA is selecting its Founding Athlete Class, its first group of competitive junior golfers in San Antonio and the surrounding area. GATE reviews run through December 2026, the first athlete selections begin that same month, and tournament and development support runs throughout 2027.

Gifts made now arrive at the exact moment FGA is deciding how many athletes it can support next season, and how much support each one can receive. Because support depends on available funding, a year-end gift here is not abstract. It is capacity.

Plenty of year-end appeals are written to feel urgent. This one is urgent on the calendar, because the first class is being selected now and the 2027 season is being planned now.

Your year-end gift helps decide how many junior golfers compete in 2027.

What a Year-End Gift Can Cover

Selected athletes may receive individual support for tournament fees, training, equipment, travel and mentorship, and those costs are easy to put in real numbers. A national junior qualifier costs $95 to enter, a Junior All-Star event costs $285 and an Open or Invitational costs $295.

The bigger costs climb from there. Reporting on top junior golf puts a single lesson from a top instructor at $150 to $800, a full set of clubs at around $3,000 and an average tournament trip at around $3,000 as well.

Seen that way, a $100 gift is roughly one qualifier entry, and a $300 gift is roughly one entry into a top national event. Larger gifts begin to reach the bigger costs, such as equipment that fits and travel to the events that matter. And 100% of donations support junior golfers directly.

It helps to think about it the way a family does. A competitive season is not one bill but a string of them, with entry fees in the spring, a growth spurt that means new clubs over the summer and an out-of-town event that needs a hotel in the fall. Support that is in place before the season starts is what lets a junior plan a full schedule instead of one event at a time.

What You Should Know About Taxes

Future Golfers of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity (EIN 39-3445115). If you itemize deductions, you may be able to deduct gifts of money or property to qualified organizations like FGA.

There is also a change worth knowing about. Beginning with tax year 2026, people who do not itemize may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 if filing jointly) of cash gifts to certain qualified organizations. That could open the door for donors who were never able to deduct a gift before, though whether and how it applies to you depends on your situation.

Gifts generally need to be made by December 31 to count for the 2026 tax year. When you give online, your receipt comes from Stripe, FGA's payment processor, so keep it with your tax records. Every situation is different, so please check with your tax advisor before you count on a deduction.

Ways to Give Before December 31

There is more than one way to make a year-end gift count. The simplest is a single gift of any amount from $1 to $10,000 on the donate page. A monthly gift that begins in December goes further, because it keeps working through the 2027 season and helps FGA plan support ahead of time. Either way, you can check the box to add the transaction fee so more of your gift reaches junior golfers.

Business owners can give through their companies, since companies, clubs and golf brands can become corporate or Founders Circle partners. And if the garage is full of golf gear nobody uses, it can do real good. New or gently used clubs, bags, balls, shoes, gloves, apparel and training equipment can be donated at Golf Club of Texas (13600 Briggs Ranch, San Antonio, TX 78245) or Edwin Watts Golf (1050 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78209). Just tell the staff it is for FGA.

Three Questions to Ask Before You Give Anywhere

Year-end is crowded. Your inbox fills with appeals, and many of them are built to look good. Fewer are built to show you exactly where the money goes.

The choice between charities is a real one. A large national charity offers scale and a long track record, and your gift joins a very big pool. A young, focused organization like FGA offers closeness, because your gift goes toward specific juniors, specific entry fees and a specific season at the moment the program is being built. Both are good choices, but they are different ones, and whichever you choose, three questions are worth asking.

The first is where the money goes. Look for a specific answer, not a slogan. At FGA, 100% of donations support junior golfers directly, toward tournament fees, training, equipment, travel and mentorship.

The second is who decides who gets help. A serious program has a real process, and FGA selects athletes through nomination and GATE (Golf Access Through Evaluation), which looks at competitive potential, commitment, character and verified need.

The third is whether the organization is honest about its limits. Be wary of anyone promising outcomes. FGA does not promise scholarships or results. Its aim is to put support where talent and need meet, as far as funding allows.

Make Your Gift Before the Year Runs Out

You can give on GivingTuesday, December 1, or on any day before December 31. Either way, your gift to #DriveForJuniors lands while FGA is selecting its first athletes and planning their 2027 season.

If you live in the San Antonio area and know a competitive junior who is being priced out, a nomination could matter as much as a gift. Nominations for the Founding Athlete Class are open through November 30, 2026, it costs nothing to make one, and you can submit one here.

To understand the problem your gift helps solve, read why talented junior golfers walk away and the power of a $1 gift.

Common Questions

Sources

• GivingTuesday, 2025 Results
• Giving USA 2026 Report
• IRS, Charitable Contribution Deductions
• IRS, Tax Topic 506: Charitable Contributions
• American Junior Golf Association, Tournament Fees and Benefits
• GOLF.com, "How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Top Junior Golfer?" (2022)
• Future Golfers of America, Nominate a Competitive Junior Golfer
• Future Golfers of America, #DriveForJuniors National Fund