Hollingbury Park Bowling Club has raised £875 for Brighton lifeboat station where its captain's grandson is a volunteer crew member.
Each year's captain selects the charity for the year and this year's chose Brighton Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as his grandson Dan Gurr, 25, has volunteered there for five years.
Burt Gurr, 74, of Jevington Drive, Brighton, said: “After 30 years in the fire brigade everyone expected me to choose a fire service charity but I decided to go for the lifeboat.”
Most of the money was raised at the club's annual charity day on Saturday, September 13 through bowling competitions, collecting and raffles.
Various other ways were also used including a horse racing night, a weekly draw, selling books and the captain imposing a fine if a player did something wrong.
The £1 fines raised £74 and Mr Gurr said: “At the club they were saying are our bowlers really that bad!”
Several businesses in Fiveways, Brighton donated raffle prizes including Fiveways Fruits, the chiropodist Sole Sister and Nicky's hair studio.
Jade Cohen, of Brighton RNLI, said: “It is a huge and very generous amount of money to be donated to the RNLI and will help in funding the day-to-day running of Brighton lifeboat station. Without donations we could not run!”
Mr Gurr's grandson was at the helm when Brighton lifeboat crew were scrambled in the early hours of Sunday, April 13 to help rescue those in a car which had plunged 100ft off the cliffs at Roedean.
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