Do you link pledges & pledge payments to proposals?

Corinne Shannon 2

Hello!

A quick question/survey - when you link pledges and proposals together, are you also linking the pledge payments?

What are the pros/cons of linking or not linking the pledge payments?

Thank you,

Corinne

John Heizer

If the Pledge is linked to the Proposal, the Pledge payment will automatically get linked to the Proposal if the payment is entered via Batch (I'm pretty sure it also works on direct non-batch Gift entry also).  I don't see any cons to linking Pledge payments to the Proposal.  Pros would depend on whether you ever needed to track specific payments (were payments on time, etc.) belonging to the Proposal.

Jen Claudy

They automatically link with direct Gift entry, as well.  I'm a big fan of "if it's easy enough to enter it, enter it" because you never know what might come in handy later.

Nicole S

Jennifer makes a very good point. I see so many organizations have a lack of analytical data because of info that would have taken just a few key strokes.

Jane Owsley

Is there a way to both attach the pledge to the Proposal and as a Pay-Cash gift towards a Pledge?  It would be great to have the "Amount Committed" field reflect the actual total of Pay-Cash Gifts that have been received towards the proposal and not just the whole Pledge amount.  When you attach the Pledge to the Proposal, the Pay-Cash gifts can be viewed, but the Amount Committed remains the total pledge amount.  Our MGOs would like to see what has actually come in the door towards a proposal and I'm finding this can only be done if either:

 - Option 1: you don't create a pledge in the system, but instead attach all gifts received for the proposal to the proposal

                  - Cash gift amounts then auto-generate the amount as a running total in the Amount Committed field

                 -  Downside is that no pledge record is created on the Gift tab which makes the donor's giving/reminders et al difficult                        to track

- Option 2: you do create a pledge in the system but do not attach the pledge to the proposal

                 - Instead you manually enter the pledge amount in the "Amount expected" field

                 - Then enter gifts as Pay-Cash towards the pledge and manually enter the amount to the running total in the Amount                         Committed field


Both options seem difficult to maintain!  We rely heavily on Pledge records to track aniticapted revenue and for stewarship, but really would like the Proposal records to more accurately reflect money that has been received as oppossed to money that has only been committed towards the pledge.


I've attached a Word document with screen shots to detail this out further if anyone has time or interest to review.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  We've been working to establish a better tracking system for the MGO's, etc.


Thanks,

Jane


 

John Heizer

Jane Owsley:
Is there a way to both attach the pledge to the Proposal and as a Pay-Cash gift towards a Pledge?  It would be great to have the "Amount Committed" field reflect the actual total of Pay-Cash Gifts that have been received towards the proposal and not just the whole Pledge amount.  When you attach the Pledge to the Proposal, the Pay-Cash gifts can be viewed, but the Amount Committed remains the total pledge amount.  Our MGOs would like to see what has actually come in the door towards a proposal and I'm finding this can only be done if either:

 - Option 1: you don't create a pledge in the system, but instead attach all gifts received for the proposal to the proposal

                  - Cash gift amounts then auto-generate the amount as a running total in the Amount Committed field

                 -  Downside is that no pledge record is created on the Gift tab which makes the donor's giving/reminders et al difficult                        to track

- Option 2: you do create a pledge in the system but do not attach the pledge to the proposal

                 - Instead you manually enter the pledge amount in the "Amount expected" field

                 - Then enter gifts as Pay-Cash towards the pledge and manually enter the amount to the running total in the Amount                         Committed field


Both options seem difficult to maintain!  We rely heavily on Pledge records to track aniticapted revenue and for stewarship, but really would like the Proposal records to more accurately reflect money that has been received as oppossed to money that has only been committed towards the pledge.


I've attached a Word document with screen shots to detail this out further if anyone has time or interest to review.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  We've been working to establish a better tracking system for the MGO's, etc.


Thanks,

Jane


 

I can certainly see where the MGO's might want to know what's come in the door for a Proposal, but from a "Proposal point of view" once the Pledge has been committed the Proposal's "work" is finished.  At that point it becomes an Accounts Receivable process.


Your Option 1 would be a non-starter here.  We MUST reflect the Pledge in RE to show our auditors that a commitment has been made.  Option 2 seems like a nightmare to maintain.


When you're in the Proposal record I don't think it's that hard to click on the "Linked Gifts" button to see what Gifts are associated with the Proposal (after all, there's only so much you can see on one screen at a time, clicking on the "Linked Gifts" button is no more difficult than clicking on another tab on the Proposal).


To the issue of running reports, I've found that because of serious weaknesses in RE trying to get relevant information from Proposals requires creating Custom Reports.  Even that is made difficult because there is no such thing as a Proposal Query or Export.  You have to work at a Constituen or Gift level and then work back to the Proposal.

 

Jane Owsley

Thank you, John, very helpful feedback.  It is the reporting feature that most limits us since our MGOs prefer receiving information in this format.  Knowing the limitations of the system can help advocate for the best/most accurate way to provide these details - and provide direction for training staff to navigate the gift and proposal records to gather specific information they want to see.

Jane

Jane Marvin

Corinne Shannon:

Hello!

A quick question/survey - when you link pledges and proposals together, are you also linking the pledge payments?

What are the pros/cons of linking or not linking the pledge payments?

Thank you,

Corinne

I found more helpful information on this thread than in any documentation I could dig up! Thanks, all for clarifying!

Tammy Yugin

John Heizer:

Jane Owsley:
Is there a way to both attach the pledge to the Proposal and as a Pay-Cash gift towards a Pledge?  It would be great to have the "Amount Committed" field reflect the actual total of Pay-Cash Gifts that have been received towards the proposal and not just the whole Pledge amount.  When you attach the Pledge to the Proposal, the Pay-Cash gifts can be viewed, but the Amount Committed remains the total pledge amount.  Our MGOs would like to see what has actually come in the door towards a proposal and I'm finding this can only be done if either:

 - Option 1: you don't create a pledge in the system, but instead attach all gifts received for the proposal to the proposal

                  - Cash gift amounts then auto-generate the amount as a running total in the Amount Committed field

                 -  Downside is that no pledge record is created on the Gift tab which makes the donor's giving/reminders et al difficult                        to track

- Option 2: you do create a pledge in the system but do not attach the pledge to the proposal

                 - Instead you manually enter the pledge amount in the "Amount expected" field

                 - Then enter gifts as Pay-Cash towards the pledge and manually enter the amount to the running total in the Amount                         Committed field


Both options seem difficult to maintain!  We rely heavily on Pledge records to track aniticapted revenue and for stewarship, but really would like the Proposal records to more accurately reflect money that has been received as oppossed to money that has only been committed towards the pledge.


I've attached a Word document with screen shots to detail this out further if anyone has time or interest to review.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  We've been working to establish a better tracking system for the MGO's, etc.


Thanks,

Jane


 

I can certainly see where the MGO's might want to know what's come in the door for a Proposal, but from a "Proposal point of view" once the Pledge has been committed the Proposal's "work" is finished.  At that point it becomes an Accounts Receivable process.


Your Option 1 would be a non-starter here.  We MUST reflect the Pledge in RE to show our auditors that a commitment has been made.  Option 2 seems like a nightmare to maintain.


When you're in the Proposal record I don't think it's that hard to click on the "Linked Gifts" button to see what Gifts are associated with the Proposal (after all, there's only so much you can see on one screen at a time, clicking on the "Linked Gifts" button is no more difficult than clicking on another tab on the Proposal).


To the issue of running reports, I've found that because of serious weaknesses in RE trying to get relevant information from Proposals requires creating Custom Reports.  Even that is made difficult because there is no such thing as a Proposal Query or Export.  You have to work at a Constituen or Gift level and then work back to the Proposal.

 

 

I just wondered if anyone has heard any mutterings about the possiblity of proposal queries and whether they are being developed? It's really time consuming working around this lack,

John Heizer

Tammy Yugin:

 

John Heizer:

Jane Owsley:
Is there a way to both attach the pledge to the Proposal and as a Pay-Cash gift towards a Pledge?  It would be great to have the "Amount Committed" field reflect the actual total of Pay-Cash Gifts that have been received towards the proposal and not just the whole Pledge amount.  When you attach the Pledge to the Proposal, the Pay-Cash gifts can be viewed, but the Amount Committed remains the total pledge amount.  Our MGOs would like to see what has actually come in the door towards a proposal and I'm finding this can only be done if either:

 - Option 1: you don't create a pledge in the system, but instead attach all gifts received for the proposal to the proposal

                  - Cash gift amounts then auto-generate the amount as a running total in the Amount Committed field

                 -  Downside is that no pledge record is created on the Gift tab which makes the donor's giving/reminders et al difficult                        to track

- Option 2: you do create a pledge in the system but do not attach the pledge to the proposal

                 - Instead you manually enter the pledge amount in the "Amount expected" field

                 - Then enter gifts as Pay-Cash towards the pledge and manually enter the amount to the running total in the Amount                         Committed field


Both options seem difficult to maintain!  We rely heavily on Pledge records to track aniticapted revenue and for stewarship, but really would like the Proposal records to more accurately reflect money that has been received as oppossed to money that has only been committed towards the pledge.


I've attached a Word document with screen shots to detail this out further if anyone has time or interest to review.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  We've been working to establish a better tracking system for the MGO's, etc.


Thanks,

Jane


 

I can certainly see where the MGO's might want to know what's come in the door for a Proposal, but from a "Proposal point of view" once the Pledge has been committed the Proposal's "work" is finished.  At that point it becomes an Accounts Receivable process.


Your Option 1 would be a non-starter here.  We MUST reflect the Pledge in RE to show our auditors that a commitment has been made.  Option 2 seems like a nightmare to maintain.


When you're in the Proposal record I don't think it's that hard to click on the "Linked Gifts" button to see what Gifts are associated with the Proposal (after all, there's only so much you can see on one screen at a time, clicking on the "Linked Gifts" button is no more difficult than clicking on another tab on the Proposal).


To the issue of running reports, I've found that because of serious weaknesses in RE trying to get relevant information from Proposals requires creating Custom Reports.  Even that is made difficult because there is no such thing as a Proposal Query or Export.  You have to work at a Constituen or Gift level and then work back to the Proposal.

 

 

I just wondered if anyone has heard any mutterings about the possiblity of proposal queries and whether they are being developed? It's really time consuming working around this lack,

 

If you go to https://community.blackbaud.com/products/raisersedge7/ideas and search for "proposal query" you can find many folks have requested this (and Blackbaud needs to get them all combined into a single request).  Add your vote, but I doubt we'll see any advancement on this for a long time.

Melissa S Graves

There are so many duplicate ideas. (Complaint already registered with BB).


The oldest and best one to vote for is this one - https://re7.ideas.aha.io/ideas/RE7-I-38

Tammy Yugin

Jane Owsley:
Is there a way to both attach the pledge to the Proposal and as a Pay-Cash gift towards a Pledge?  It would be great to have the "Amount Committed" field reflect the actual total of Pay-Cash Gifts that have been received towards the proposal and not just the whole Pledge amount.  When you attach the Pledge to the Proposal, the Pay-Cash gifts can be viewed, but the Amount Committed remains the total pledge amount.  Our MGOs would like to see what has actually come in the door towards a proposal and I'm finding this can only be done if either:

 - Option 1: you don't create a pledge in the system, but instead attach all gifts received for the proposal to the proposal

                  - Cash gift amounts then auto-generate the amount as a running total in the Amount Committed field

                 -  Downside is that no pledge record is created on the Gift tab which makes the donor's giving/reminders et al difficult                        to track

- Option 2: you do create a pledge in the system but do not attach the pledge to the proposal

                 - Instead you manually enter the pledge amount in the "Amount expected" field

                 - Then enter gifts as Pay-Cash towards the pledge and manually enter the amount to the running total in the Amount                         Committed field


Both options seem difficult to maintain!  We rely heavily on Pledge records to track aniticapted revenue and for stewarship, but really would like the Proposal records to more accurately reflect money that has been received as oppossed to money that has only been committed towards the pledge.


I've attached a Word document with screen shots to detail this out further if anyone has time or interest to review.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  We've been working to establish a better tracking system for the MGO's, etc.


Thanks,

Jane


 

You could always do a gift export based on a gift query which includes 'proposal is linked gift to gift=yes' in its criteria. Then on gift export include fields for constituent, proposal details, gross amount, gross balance, and installlment schedules if you want to see them. That will show the amount pledged plus the balance. Hope that helps. 



Regarding the ideas for proposal queries on ideasbank, I've previously voted on a handful of them but Blackbaud havent responded to any of them. It would be great if they could! I have added a comment in one of them today just to try and bump it up....