The Toro Company
Continues Charitable
Grants to the Golf Industry

By Jodie Carter, regional editor

Toro executives present the grant check at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) show. Left to right: Bill Brown, Toro vice president and general manager, commercial division; Tim Ford, Toro group vice president; Stacy Bogart, president of the Toro Foundation; Steve Mona, GCSAA chief executive officer; and Ken Melrose Toro chairman and chief executive officer.

In February, the Toro Foundation awarded several charitable donations to the golf industry, including a $93,000 grant to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s Environmental Institute for Golf. These cornerstone grants will help establish a new golf enterprise management degree program at the University of Wisconsin Stout, strengthen compatibility between golf and nature, and bring golf to disadvantaged youth.

The Toro Company has a long history of charitable corporate gifts. Most recently, its altruism is focused in three main areas: organizations that support the relationship between golf and the environment; education and development of turf care professionals; and organizations that support golf charities.

Toro’s $93,000 grant to the Environmental Institute for Golf will fund an information initiative designed to gather extensive information on topics like wildlife/habitat management, water management, integrated plant management, energy and waste management and site design and construction. The mission of the project is to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment.

The University of Wisconsin Stout will use Toro’s $50,000 cornerstone grant and $50,000 matching gift to establish on-campus and distance-learning curriculums that focus on golf course management. The program should launch by the fall of 2004.

Toro’s $10,000 cash donation to The First Tee brings the game of golf to disadvantaged youth, and will be used toward a scholarship program. Toro, a founding partner of The First Tee, recently renewed its support for the next two years with product donations, valued at $20,000, given to two inner city locations.

“The Toro Company has a legacy of leadership in the golf industry,” said Tim Ford, Toro group vice president. “We believe that supporting the industry with charitable donations is just as important as providing state-of-the-art products and services to our customers. These prominent organizations are doing great things for the future of golf and we are pleased to participate in their growth.”

Other organizations supported by the Toro Company include the Communities for Agriculture Exchange program, National Amputee Golf Association, Sister Kenny Institute and schools and universities throughout the nation.

For more information visit www.thetorocompany.com.