how are spouse soft credits used

ShawnAlis Cusato

Does everyone automatically soft credit spouses?  Why or why not?  I can't think of a way that we use this information.  Given that it makes some reporting more challenging, it's occurred to me that maybe we don't have to do it.  Fiscal year-end is approaching which would be a good time to start a new policy.   Am I missing the obvious, or just crazy?

Nicole Bessert

Ugh, I'm trying to determine the very same thing. We are not consistent with keeping all gift records on one spouse record, so I'm leaning toward auto soft-crediting at this point.  Not quite ready to make that jump yet though, so I'm curious as to what others have to say!!

Gina Gerhard

My response would be that it relates to your organization's definition of what a soft credit is.  That definition will determine when and how you assign them.  

• For those in charge of gift entry as well as your fundraising and management professionals, familiarize yourselves with the definitions and different ways to approach soft crediting. 
• For the most part, soft credits relate specifically to recognition of the gift, so where in your processes will that recognition come into play? 
• When your organization make the decisions and comes to consensus around soft crediting, they should be well documented and your gift entry staff should be crystal clear on the rules.  
• If you start to have other staff reviewing and questioning the way gift entry has assigned the soft credits, you start running into muddy territory. If there are issues, then you probably need to revisit your assumptions (as an organization) and adjust your rules.  

Nicole S

We auto soft credit, unless we are told otherwise by the donor - but as Gina said that is because of our organizations definition and use of soft credits.



One thing that I use is a business rule when adding gifts on non-HOH records that is based on a query.  It's basically pops up and tells the person entering the gift that this is not the HOH record and to enter the gift on the primary record unless there is a specific purpose for entering on the non-HOH record.

JoAnn Strommen

We also auto SC spouses.  In situations where each has a record it just provides a much more accurate picture of giving history when looking at either record.  (Not sure exec would think of looking at spouses record to see giving history - much easier to have it on both for us.)  Also,  more accurate report for solicitors as can pull SC and/or HC for giving history or either prospect. 



As we are not as report dependent as some orgs, it hasn't been a huge issue when it comes to reporting.  



If you choose not to SC, be sure to have a procedure set for SC when there's a death of constituent that has gifts on their record.  



Gina, mentioned recognition being a factor.  I don't see that as a factor for us as including spouses names on recognitions occurs whether they have their own record or are only a relationship.  

Alan French

We don't automatically soft credit spouses. It's a little bit annoying that when a new spouse is added, the box "automatically soft credit this individual for gifts" is ticked by default on the General 2 tab of the relationship, and there is no way to change it to default to unticked. It's sometimes overlooked during data entry and then we find we're soft crediting when we don't want to be.

ShawnAlis Cusato

Alan French:

We don't automatically soft credit spouses. It's a little bit annoying that when a new spouse is added, the box "automatically soft credit this individual for gifts" is ticked by default on the General 2 tab of the relationship, and there is no way to change it to default to unticked. It's sometimes overlooked during data entry and then we find we're soft crediting when we don't want to be.

Alan, because I'm considering not soft crediting spouses, do you have any advice about reports, acknowledging gifts?  Any trouble spots?

Also, do you always credit one spouse, or do you put the gift on the spouse who made it?  For example, if gifts are credited to the male, but the female is a board member, does she get the hard credit all the time, some of the time, none of the time?  In our case, when the gift shows up under the man's name and the board member isn't on the report, everyone gets nervous.  And, what if they have separate checking accounts?



Thanks!

Gina Gerhard

ShawnAlis - 



In these decisions about soft-crediting, it's almost like you are making an assumption about the gift.  

• Was the intent of the gift to include only one or both spouses?
• Just because the check only shows one spouse, does that mean that you should/should not soft-credit the other?
• If the gift comes in under the business, should you also soft-credit the business owner? And the business owner's spouse?
• Do you have specific information from the donor about how they want this handled? (We have a few donors who specifically request to NOT soft-credit their spouses).

It seems like just getting a check through the door doesn't answer these questions. For every gift, do you have to ask these basic questions? Do you run each gift through this questioning process to come to a clear decision about soft-crediting?

 

ShawnAlis Cusato

Gina Gerhard:

ShawnAlis - 



In these decisions about soft-crediting, it's almost like you are making an assumption about the gift.  

• Was the intent of the gift to include only one or both spouses?
• Just because the check only shows one spouse, does that mean that you should/should not soft-credit the other?
• If the gift comes in under the business, should you also soft-credit the business owner? And the business owner's spouse?
• Do you have specific information from the donor about how they want this handled? (We have a few donors who specifically request to NOT soft-credit their spouses).

It seems like just getting a check through the door doesn't answer these questions. For every gift, do you have to ask these basic questions? Do you run each gift through this questioning process to come to a clear decision about soft-crediting?

 

 

Exactly! 



To stop some of this ceaseless questioning, I'm thinking along lines like this:

• All gifts are entered on the Head of Household's record
• Head of Household is the constituent with the closest relationship to us.  This can get messy, but we've tried to simplify to:
  •      Males are HOH unless the female is an Alumna, Faculty, School Board
  •      The exceptions remain the rule even if the male shares those constituency codes
  •      Couples of the same sex will be determined on a case-by-case basis
• Acknowledgements are sent to the couple regardless of which one made the donation
• Specific requests from donors will trump any and/or all of these rules

So, if we stop automatically soft-crediting the spouse, reports and exports should still work fine because the add/sal can be chosen almost always to reflect the couple.



We have no issues with soft credits around corporate donations, so I'm leaving that piece alone.



Is this sound?

ShawnAlis Cusato

Me, again.  I just read my last post and hope no one was offended.  When I said I wanted to stop the ceaseless questioning, I was referring to the internal struggle to answer unanswerable questions without some sort of guide.  But it sounded as if I wanted everyone to leave me alone, and that's the last thing I want!  Please look past my ambiguous word choice and keep those ideas and questions coming.

Karina Trujillo

We automatically soft credit spouses.  This is helpful to us when we are looking up patients to see if they are donors and it's the spouse who is a patient.  We can see all gifts in the spouses record and do not need to look at the other record.  We have not had a problem with reports because when we run gift queries and reports we make sure that the gift processing is only marked for the donor and does not inlcude soft credits gifts.  There is a way in the business rules to not apply soft credits automatically for spouses.  When we recieve business check we alway soft credit the business owner or partners if they have their own records.  



 

Christine Cooke 2

We soft credit the spouses on all activity and have at every org I have been at.  When it comes to fallout with reporting, when you are doing analytical things, if there has not been consistency in entering all activity on the HoH, then the reporting is not accurate, or if only one spouse (the non HoH) has purchased event tickets, those need to SC either direction so that when you report, it shows up.



Example of fallout from not SC all spouses -- running the Annual Report donor lists.  You HAVE to include both spouses and then manual go back throught the whole list and figure out which one falls in the correct giving level.  If all spouses are Soft Credited then they show up in the same place.



And often your Development team will not remember to look at both records for giving activity.



My two cents

Bernard Nemis

@Nicole Bessert
I think it's ok to record the gift on either spouse's record as long as you soft credit the other. At the end of the day, when you are reporting on gifts, they should have the same amount of gifts anyway (spouse = same household). There are certain cases that one might not want his/her spouse to be soft credited, but you just have to make a note of that. Another would be if giving history started prior to marriage, such as with Alumni.

If you do it this way, the biggest part of your work will be gifts coming in from a husband/wife's organization (ie. DAF, Foundation, etc.). Let's say you received a check from the husband's foundation, you hard credit the foundation and soft credit the husband (that's how we do it in our company). Unlike spouse relationships, the organization relationship (or any other relationships for that matter) doesn't have the option of auto soft crediting. So you have to manually soft credit the husband. AND… the auto soft crediting from the spouses only happens if the hard record is in either spouses. So in this case, you will have to also manually SC the wife.

JoAnn Strommen

@Bernard Nemis:
If you do it this way, the biggest part of your work will be gifts coming in from a husband/wife's organization (ie. DAF, Foundation, etc.). Let's say you received a check from the husband's foundation, you hard credit the foundation and soft credit the husband (that's how we do it in our company). Unlike spouse relationships, the organization relationship (or any other relationships for that matter) doesn't have the option of auto soft crediting. So you have to manually soft credit the husband. AND… the auto soft crediting from the spouses only happens if the hard record is in either spouses. So in this case, you will have to also manually SC the wife.

If I'm reading correctly, you're saying that one can not have an auto SC from a company/foundation record to the individual. That is not the case. But it is something to use carefully as if you have more than one person receiving gifts from the foundation, it would credit to all you have checked the box for. Works fine for family/individual foundations if you want only specific records to get SC.

It's at the bottom of org record, general 2 tab:

Dariel Dixon 2

@JoAnn Strommen:

@Bernard Nemis:
If you do it this way, the biggest part of your work will be gifts coming in from a husband/wife's organization (ie. DAF, Foundation, etc.). Let's say you received a check from the husband's foundation, you hard credit the foundation and soft credit the husband (that's how we do it in our company). Unlike spouse relationships, the organization relationship (or any other relationships for that matter) doesn't have the option of auto soft crediting. So you have to manually soft credit the husband. AND… the auto soft crediting from the spouses only happens if the hard record is in either spouses. So in this case, you will have to also manually SC the wife.

If I'm reading correctly, you're saying that one can not have an auto SC from a company/foundation record to the individual. That is not the case. But it is something to use carefully as if you have more than one person receiving gifts from the foundation, it would credit to all you have checked the box for. Works fine for family/individual foundations if you want only specific records to get SC.

It's at the bottom of org record, general 2 tab:

It's worth noting that in @JoAnn Strommen's example, that checkbox will only exist iff that contact/relationship is also a constituent. It might be worth checking if the organizational record is linked to the contituent record, or if there was a non-constituent record created for the contact.