Clovis West grad named president of top fundraising company

Aaron Lynn of Clovis was recently designated as President of Great American Opportunities. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Clovis native Aaron Lynn was appointed June 18 as President of Great American Opportunities, one of the largest fundraising companies in the United States.

GAO is a branch of The Southwestern Family of Companies, one of the oldest private corporations in the state of Tennessee.

Lynn is now in charge of a firm that has successfully raised over $5 billion for schools and non-profit organizations since 1975. In his new role, he will focus his efforts on talent recruitment, company sales growth, management of a 300-plus sales team and further building Great American’s culture.

A 2009 graduate of Clovis West High School, Lynn went on to study finance at Fresno Pacific University before joining Great American in 2011. During his time at FPU, he also competed on the baseball diamond for the Sunbirds.

Since joining the company, Lynn has proven to be a rising star with becoming the youngest $1 million producer in the history of the company, the top sales rep two years in a row and Great American of the Year for highest recognition of individual achievement and career production. Lynn also lead his team in growing their personal sales by over 50 percent this past year.

“With his grandfather, Ralph Lynn, being one of the founders of the fundraising industry, you could say that fundraising is part of Aaron’s DNA,” said Dustin Hillis, CEO of The Southwestern Family of Companies. “Aaron is an exceptional leader and has contributed to the success of our company through his ability to recruit exceptional sales people, effectively manage top producing teams and drive significant results for his customers. We look forward to his continued success in his new role.”

As president, Lynn aspires to add another $3 billion of profits raised for schools in the next 10 years and grow Great American’s revenues 26 percent per year.