Augusta National announces $5 million donation for hurricane relief

The Augusta community’s rebuild efforts from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene received a big boost on Thursday, courtesy of the area’s golf neighbors.

Augusta National Golf Club and the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) announced a joint $5 million donation toward local relief efforts, the latest initiative to help rebuild the Augusta area after the devastation caused by the category 4 hurricane.

“I was in Augusta in the days immediately after the storm and have seen firsthand its devastating impact,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said in a release announcing the donation. “Our employees, neighbors, friends and business owners need, and deserve, immediate and meaningful assistance to overcome the hardships being experienced at this moment throughout Augusta.”

Helene tore a destructive path through much of the American Southeast, downing scores of trees, causing intense flooding and leaving millions without power. The Augusta area was in the heart of the storm path, and the city faces a long road back after many of its homes and businesses suffered ‘catastrophic’ damage.

In addition to the $5 million gift, the club, CSRA and Medical College of Georgia Foundation announced separate contributions to response and recovery efforts currently being led by the American Red Cross, including a mobile feeding truck and recovery center in the Augusta downtown area.

“Augusta National and the Community Foundation each take to heart our obligation to care for our community,” Ridley said. “Our goal is to make a difference when it’s needed the most, and we hope that our gift may inspire others to assist or ask how they may contribute to this critical mission.”

The money is intended to “provide immediate access to essential services and resources available throughout greater Augusta,” the release said.

Few organizations in the golf world possess the financial might to make an in-kind donation of $5 million overnight, but Augusta National is not most organizations. Under Ridley, the famed club and Masters host has taken on a more public-facing role in supporting causes that align with its values in the hopes the club’s public status will help draw additional support to the efforts — a strategy Ridley referred to during his annual press conference in April as “one plus one equals three.”

The Helene donation represents a painful extension of that strategy as the club and its home city recover from a storm that has left thousands without power.

In a separate press conference earlier this week, Ridley said the Club also sustained damage from the hurricane, but that the Masters will go on as planned next April.