2025 Winnipeg Golf Tourney Raises Over $50,000.00 for Community Causes

While Tony March was winning big this past spring at the One-Eyed-Jacks “Spring Fling” poker tournament in Sarasota, Florida, bringing home a $53,000.00 cheque for charity, Winnipeg’s 7^th Annual Golf Tournament for community causes was well on its way to becoming the Foundation’s most successful local event to date!

And of all the beautiful coincidences, the total funds raised almost equalled that of Tony’s recent winnings – netting the Foundation an amazing $50,000.00 for its in need organization partners.

While Tony has pledged 100% of his most recent personal winnings be donated to charitable causes and needs within the Tampa Bay and Florida communities, the Pay It Backward Foundation Winnipeg team pledged that 100% of its event’s funds stay right here at home also, supporting the communities, organizations and programs that truly need our help!

Kudos to our Corporate Community Sponsors

Each new tournament event year, our Winnipeg corporate community sponsors step up big through their loyalty and unwavering support for our causes. We are both inspired and humbled by this at the same time, as without this reliable and trusted base of support, our tournament event organizers would be starting anew each year in an effort to match previous year’s campaign successes. Instead, this year over year loyalty fuels our tournament event organizers with an energy and confidence that simply can’t be measured! As we begin planning out each new year’s event, we are emboldened to spread the world even deeper into our local communities, in our quest to both spread the word of need and secure new partners and supporters for the mission ahead! So, thank-you, thank-you, corporate community. We see you and are so grateful.

*You can view all our amazing corporate sponsors online through our “Donor Wall” link at the top of our website.

Online “Live” Auction Breakthrough!

In 2024, our Pay It Backward tournament team took a big swing and made what would quite literally turn out to be a game-changing decision for our event when it moved the silent auction component of our annual event to virtual and online (“LIVE” for a full three weeks leading up to tournament day). This has served to not only help move our post-round dinner proceedings along, but more than that, open up a whole new world of potential bidders for our ever-growing lineup of in-kind gifts being donated by wonderful Manitoba sponsors and supporters each new year.

This year, the Foundation was able to partner with one of Manitoba’s premier online auction companies – Grunthal Auction Service, resulting in a big-time revenue bump for our tournament, ensuring we were able to surpass $50,000.00 in net fund proceeds for the first time in our event’s history!

*If you know of any companies in Winnipeg or the province (or beyond, for that matter) who might be willing to donate “in kind” gifts to our annual event, please forward contact information to Grace Kline at grace@qpower.ca.

Our tournament goal for 2026 is $75,000.00! You can help us get there!

So, Who Did We All Support This Year!

Siloam Mission: Our Winnipeg Foundation leadership team were proud to hand deliver a cheque for $30,000.00 this year, along with 200 pair of high quality, “year-round” (winters are tough here) merino wool socks to Siloam Mission, our longest standing community partner. Siloam was beyond thrilled with this significant gift and their gratefulness was expressed in speaking with Rachel Villamangca, the shelter’s community engagement coordinator, who shared, “without organizations with big hearts like yours, Siloam Misson would simply not be able to meet its annual budgets, as 80% of all annual revenues collected, come from private donors.” So, to our annual golf tournament and events supporters, we share a huge, “thank-you.” Your kindness and good charity is so appreciated and respected!

MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: Pay It Backward Winnipeg has always had a heart for all community citizens and in need programs and peoples. Our indigenous friends at the “National Family and Survivors Circle” are among those we are so honoured to be able to support for the work they are doing in our communities with the families and loved ones dramatically impacted by the systemic violence that has indiscriminately followed them for far too long. We will soon be presenting NFSC with a cheque for $7,500.00 to further support their many care-giving and emotionally life-sustaining programs, and we stand behind them in their quest to rid our communities of this terrible injustice.

S.H.A.D.E. Inc. (Safe Housing And Directed Empowerment): As we announced during our 7^th annual tournament dinner, we are introducing an additional community partner into our gifting fold this year. SHADE is a small, but wonderful organization led by a selfless community servant, Sherrie Winstanley, who works with immigrant and refugee women and their children who have been impacted by domestic abuse, family violence, and gender-based violence. Their intentional, “hearts all in” programming includes both psychosocial support and practical support. In meeting with Sherrie and her team, our Foundation leadership was overwhelmed by the personal attention all of their in-need families receive. This year, as a launch year, SHADE will be receiving a $5,000.00 cheque to kick start our new community partnership, however, we’re looking forward to providing even more support in the years to come.

Genesis School of Dance: Those of you who golfed the tournament this year would have no doubt come across a delightful young lady by the name of Jodi Kristjanson, who represented another more recent addition community partner of ours – Genesis School of Dance. Jodi was doing her cheery day-of best to entice our tournament players (and volunteers!) to open up their wallets and their hearts, in support of our “50/50” raffle. In true win/win fashion, and in appreciation of their volunteer support, the Foundation gifted Genesis with 50% of the pot for this year’s tournament, while we were able to add another $635.00 to our “funds raised” total for the day as well!

Genesis School of Dance is a comprehensive, community-oriented Christian dance school, with a focus on excellence. Class offerings include creative, mix ‘n’ match, jazz, ballet, modern, tap, rhythmic gymnastics, acro, hip hop, musical theatre and specialty teams/companies.

The super cool thing about Genesis and why the Pay It Backward Foundation was “moved” to locally support them, is their focus on making dance accessible to everyone. They are truly all about community building and committed to removing financial barriers manifested by socioeconomic factors and realities. As a result of this unique vision and mission, they provide sponsorships, subsidies and work for trade options for those who are eligible.

Pay It Backward Foundation: With a number of new Foundation programs and events planned for the year ahead, including a growing and evolving “Street Socks for the Homeless” commitment to our in-need communities, we are pleased to be allocate $7,500.00 to the Pay It Backward Foundation (Winnipeg, Canada) this year as well!

All in all, it was it was an amazing year for our Winnipeg Pay It Backward Foundation and communities! Thanks to everyone who contributed to our successes! Let’s keep giving like there’s no tomorrow!