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As I sit here wrapping up 2012 with this letter, I have the chance to reflect back on another successful year in preservation in Utah. Every day, our volunteers are out there giving tours, we’re giving technical assistance across the state to save historic buildings, making loans for rehabilitation and accepting easements to protect, and building new, fun programs to get more people involved in enjoying historic architecture.

During 2012, we’ve worked in over 75 communities in 18 of the state’s 29 counties (see our map of activities here). Our work has helped build the economy of Utah while simultaneously building better communities using historic places, planting seeds with our youth about the beauty and important of historic architecture and saving buildings. Our sixth annual preservation conference was a highlight, as well as the rehab work we’re doing on the Preservation at Work Project House in the West Capitol Hill neighborhood.

We have exciting, yet challenging opportunities ahead in 2013. In order to meet these head on, we need your help to continue the momentum for historic preservation through your giving a year-end gift.

This is where Utah Heritage Foundation comes in. We’re in local communities across the state and at the state legislature talking to community leaders and property owners. We’re helping provide solutions to complex issues that involve historic buildings and build information to create better policy. For example, Utah Heritage Foundation is taking the lead on the Utah’s first statewide economic impact study of historic preservation. We believe this will be an important tool to further discussions with elected officials, property and business owners, developers, realtors, and others involved in the preservation sector.

It’s no secret that historic preservation happens at a slow pace. Your support of Utah Heritage Foundation ensures that we are here at critical moments to strategize, advocate, and educate about the benefits of preserving historic architecture. Together, we can ensure that the future of Utah’s communities include preserving the landmarks we all hold dear.

By making a donation today, you will be playing an important role in the future of UHF and Utah’s preservation movement.

Check out our list of accomplishments from 2011:

• 1,572 people attended the various events of the annual Utah Preservation Conference;
• 936 schoolchildren took UHF tours, while 2,212 members of the general public attended our free tours;
• UHF volunteers numbered 296 during 2011 and were invaluable in our public outreach, mainly by guiding tours and researching and writing tour scripts;
• Within the K-12 education program, 51 curriculum guides were distributed by mail, and an additional 91 were downloaded from the UHF website;
• 221 "Time Travel on South Temple" self-guided walking tour brochures were provided to school groups;
• Within the public education program, approximately 1,500 print copies of the UHF Downtown Salt Lake City Walking Tour map were distributed and another 5,162 self-guided walking tours were downloaded from the UHF website;
• 30 issues of the UHF ENEWSletter were emailed to 1,200 subscribers;
• The quarterly Heritage print newsletter was mailed to 1,100 recipients;
• UHF Facebook "likes" currently number 447 (up 93 from same time in 2010) and Salt Lake Modern Facebook "likes" number 837 (compared to 683 at the same time in 2011)
• The UHF website receives an average of 90 visitors daily, with the most popular sections viewed being Guided Tours and Self-Guided Tours. Visitation to the UHF website increases sharply prior to the Utah Preservation Conference and Historic Homes Tour, with the year's high mark at 851 visitors on May 13, 2011, one day before the Annual Historic Homes Tour;
• Our office receives on average 17 phone inquiries a week regarding our public tours and technical preservation assistance.