Today, I had the great pleasure of speaking at the Utah Society of Fundraiser’s in Salt Lake City. A flight delay and a few travel hick-ups later we had an amazing session.

As we all know, the best tips and advice don’t come from “experts”… they come from those that are doing the campaigns day in and day out.

I have taken the liberty of compiling my top learnings from the professionals at today’s session. They are not all about year-end fund-raising, but they do all tie together because as we all know the success of our year-end campaign ties very closely to the success of our program.

1. CRM. The ability to analyze, mine, and share data is so important. I know it is a challenge to get everyone on the same page, but the benefits of one database far outweigh the challenges of implementation.

2. Tell a great story. Really work on solidifying your story. Think about what happens when your nonprofit ceases to exist. Do people die, do people starve, do people lose their jobs due to lack of education??? Share the realities of your story.

3. Share your impact. Hand in hand with the reality of your organization is the impact you are making. Is it that 85% of the children in your program find good homes, is it that your organization has provided 2000 free nights of hospice care, or is it that you have provided 27 scholarships to single moms? No matter the impact share what you are doing in a meaningful way.

As promised, here are the slides I shared during our class.

Take-away: Don’t let this year’s campaign season pass you by. Get out there and start sharing your story and raising some funds for your cause.