Earned Income vs. Special Events

ShawnAlis Cusato

I understand it's at cross purposes to enter non-gift info into RE.  However, if we enter special event purchases (gala tickets, auction purchases), what is the problem with earned income?  Sometimes we'd like to capture the bio information for prospect purposes, and it seems more efficient to enter it and the gift info at one time rather than separate it between RE and FE entries.  Also, we've got a situation presently where people are paying to become a member of a club, but also paying for attendance at an event, which isn't a special event--it is earned income.  So the deposit sheet and the gift record don't match if only the contribution portion is entered into RE. 

Does this matter? Can anyone direct me to (non-accounting) information that would explain the reasoning behind all of this?  If i've made any sense, your help would be appreciated!

Shawnalis

Melissa Glenn

Shawnalis Cusato:

I understand it's at cross purposes to enter non-gift info into RE.  However, if we enter special event purchases (gala tickets, auction purchases), what is the problem with earned income?  Sometimes we'd like to capture the bio information for prospect purposes, and it seems more efficient to enter it and the gift info at one time rather than separate it between RE and FE entries.  Also, we've got a situation presently where people are paying to become a member of a club, but also paying for attendance at an event, which isn't a special event--it is earned income.  So the deposit sheet and the gift record don't match if only the contribution portion is entered into RE. 

Does this matter? Can anyone direct me to (non-accounting) information that would explain the reasoning behind all of this?  If i've made any sense, your help would be appreciated!

Shawnalis

Hi Shawnalis!

 You could enter gala tickets, auction purchases, etc into The Raiser's Edge as the gift type "Other" and even code a second level like the "subtype" to show exactly what that gift type is. Then, you can leave the gift amount at $0 and set the Post Status to Do Not Post so nothing is posted to General Ledger but this information is coded on these constituent records without affecting finances. This also allows you to easily include or exclude these gifts from reports based on the gift type Other or it being a $0 amount gift (many reports have "Exclude $0 amount gifts" checkbox on the Gift Types tab)

If you do not want to add these add gifts, another great option is the Attributes tab. You could make an attribute/desription to code this information without having it live on a gift record. Attributes can be reported on as a whole (total # for of records that have an attribute) in Demographic reports, or you can output the specific constituents and their attributes in a constituent export.

Please contact support if you have further questions and we'd be happy help you further if needed!

Stephanie Roland

Shawnalis Cusato:

I understand it's at cross purposes to enter non-gift info into RE.  However, if we enter special event purchases (gala tickets, auction purchases), what is the problem with earned income?  Sometimes we'd like to capture the bio information for prospect purposes, and it seems more efficient to enter it and the gift info at one time rather than separate it between RE and FE entries.  Also, we've got a situation presently where people are paying to become a member of a club, but also paying for attendance at an event, which isn't a special event--it is earned income.  So the deposit sheet and the gift record don't match if only the contribution portion is entered into RE. 

Does this matter? Can anyone direct me to (non-accounting) information that would explain the reasoning behind all of this?  If i've made any sense, your help would be appreciated!

Shawnalis

We don't have FE, but for RE when people buy tickets to events like a Gala, we enter the full gift amount in Raiser's Edge. Then we apply Benefits, which is an option in the Gift Record. You'll have to populate the Benefits table with your Gala or membership information. Then we apply the Gift to the appropriate benefit and the Receipt Amount of the gift becomes zero. Using benefits has really helped us keep straight what is tax-deductible and what is not. Then at the end of the year when we run our donor giving statements, it shows all the transactions on the statement, but clearly states which are tax deductible and which are not. Whether it's an event or a membership, Benefits should be a field that can handle it.

ShawnAlis Cusato

Stephanie Roland:
We don't have FE, but for RE when people buy tickets to events like a Gala, we enter the full gift amount in Raiser's Edge. Then we apply Benefits, which is an option in the Gift Record. You'll have to populate the Benefits table with your Gala or membership information. Then we apply the Gift to the appropriate benefit and the Receipt Amount of the gift becomes zero. Using benefits has really helped us keep straight what is tax-deductible and what is not. Then at the end of the year when we run our donor giving statements, it shows all the transactions on the statement, but clearly states which are tax deductible and which are not. Whether it's an event or a membership, Benefits should be a field that can handle it.

I appreciate your suggestions.  I'll see if these will fit our needs.  Thanks!

Shawnalis