On September 14th in Toronto, we held our first event in a new FrontStream series: Realize Toronto (#RealizeTO).

This exclusive evening for nonprofit professionals featured a roundtable discussion with industry experts Mimosa Kabir, Brady Josephson and Sarah Golan, as well as prime networking opportunities for our guests ... Not to mention some really, really nice cheese plates!

Here's three things we learned at #RealizeTO:

Nonprofit pros are a great audience

During both our introduction and the discussion panel, the full room listened intently, applauded, and asked thoughtful questions during the Q&A period towards the end. We learned we probably could have kept the questions going for even longer than we did! (Big thanks to everyone who brought important points and insights to the discussion; you helped elevate our topics to new heights.)

Donor profiles are a must - if they're correct

Here's a great point from Brady Josephson, one of our speakers for the evening:

Donor profiles need to be useful - your donors may not be who they think they are if data is not trustworthy - @bradyjosephson #realizeTO

— FrontStream (@FrontStream) September 14, 2017

A big part of the discussion revolved around using donor profiles to help inform your nonprofit's target marketing, but the important part is that the data and information needs to be kept correct and updated. Otherwise, the practice just becomes a waste of time. Make sure you're constantly auditing your donor profiles!

Keep the networking coming

It gave us all the warm fuzzies to see so many people networking, interacting, exchanging business cards and making new friends. That's exactly what we wanted out of the night: An opportunity to connect the nonprofit community in Toronto and give them the chance to discuss ideas! (We're sure the delicious snacks and drinks didn't hurt, either.)

Can't wait to see you in the Windy City!

Next up for our road show is Chicago, stay tuned for more details! (When you subscribe to the FrontStream blog you'll be first to hear about our upcoming events.)

Check out our slideshow of great photos from the night:

Get the latest trends and topics delivered to your inbox!

Subscribe to FrontStream's Blog