With the dust settled after three hectic days of wheeling, dealing, working and talking, the Care Data Systems team can reflect on a successful return to the ranks of exhibitors at the Institute of Fundraising's national convention.
Jo Davies, Patrick O'Donnell, Steve Mason and Mark Higgitt shared information and insight with many friends among the dozens of existing clients who attended, and forged new links with prospective users in the glamorous surroundings of the London Hilton Metropole.
Away from the Expo floor, the convention delivered impressively on its promise to provide opportunities for delegates to network, to gain great insight from sessions, and to bond at the evening socials.
Each morning plenary also hit the target. Dan Pallota's passionate call to change the way people think about charitable fundraising raised the bar following the event-opening address from Nick Hurd, the new Minister for Civil Society.
But Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh justly prompted the longest and loudest applause for sharing her remarkable story. Truly inspiring.
"The chat didn't stop with old friends and new," says Mark Higgitt. "The Expo floor also provided a chance for us to talk to like-minded specialists about future development collaboration – and, of course, to keep an eye on how the opposition were doing, and get a feel for what sits behind their marketing material. All very interesting."
The donorflex team will be back on the conference road – albeit only as far as Stratford-upon-Avon – as headline sponsor of the Hospice Lotteries Association's Conference 2010 on Wednesday, September 15, and Thursday, September 16.
Slotting neatly between the two halves of our run of Regional User Group roadshows, it's an event that we're looking forward to with great anticipation.
For more details of each, please click the relevant links.