BLAINE, Minn. – Last year the 3M Championship reached a huge milestone. The tournament passed the $20 million mark in charitable giving. Since the inception of the tournament in 1993, an emphasis has been put on charitable giving as it is at all tournaments associated with the PGA Tour. “It’s everything we’re really about. Putting on a great event, bringing great economic impact to a city,” says 3M Executive Director Hollis Cavner.
The tournaments main beneficiaries are four hospitals in the Allina Health System – Abbott Northwestern, United, Mercy, and Unity. Cavner is grateful for the partnership the tournament has developed with Allina over the last 20 years. “They give so much back in free healthcare,” he says. Proceeds from 2013 will be used is a variety of ways.
United will use their portion towards an expansion of their surgery center. Abbott Northwestern will expand and renovate the emergency department. While Mercy and Unity will bring services to the North Metro that was not previously available “the proceeds that will be benefiting Unity and Mercy will go to mother baby programs” explained Joseph Strauss, President of the Mercy and Unity Hospitals Foundation.
One of the main goals of the 3M Championship is to create a sizeable economic impact for the community each year and they believe that directing the majority of their charitable dollars to one of the largest employers in the state can help accomplish that goal. Cavner explains, “This is one of the only tournaments that has just one major charity that they work with—the relationship with Allina has been a tremendous relationship.”
Even with yearly charitable donations of more than a million dollars, the tournament can still be experienced by a local family for little to no cost. “We’re giving back plus we’re putting on a great show, and it’s free,” says Cavner. The tournament’s 150 sponsors play a huge role in keeping the spectator cost down and the charitable giving up. And, with more than 100,000 people attending each year, the 3M Championship is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Related Links
3M Championship
Mercy & Unity Hospitals Foundation
