Foundation Grants recorded in RE

Sharon Anderer 2

I'm in my first month of FE and RE Integration. I was told by my BB consultant that it's best not to record Grants in RE, however our CEO wants to be able to see the giving history of foundation grants. Prior to the implementation of FE, all grants were recorded in RE. 


Anyone out there recording grants in RE that integrates with FE? What are the issues?


Thank you

Sharon

JoAnn Strommen

We integrate with FE and have not been recording grants in RE. However, due to a fundraising effectiveness program for the national YMCA, I will be putting grants in RE. Our plan is mark the gift status as 'Posted' when we enter them as they are already entered on financial records and we do not plan to record any details other than amount received and from whom.


Based on other posts I've read there are a number of RE users that do record their grants and details in RE. I don't know if they're integrated with FE or not.

Christine Cooke 2

Sharon Anderer:

I'm in my first month of FE and RE Integration. I was told by my BB consultant that it's best not to record Grants in RE, however our CEO wants to be able to see the giving history of foundation grants. Prior to the implementation of FE, all grants were recorded in RE. 


Anyone out there recording grants in RE that integrates with FE? What are the issues?


Thank you

Sharon

That seems like odd advice from your BB consultant.  I believe that many orgs, especially small ones, track their grant process through/in RE.  Whether they are or are not linked to FE.  That is one of the things that folks track in the Prospect Module, which is linked to Gifts and Actions, they are all designed to work together.  It is fundraising income, why would it not be?

Gracie Schild

At my former org, we recorded the grants in RE and posted in FE. We didn't record the grant application process, only the actual grants that we won. The grants and government programs manager was in a different department - long story, not relevant here. 

The grants were set up in FE first as "projects" with all the GL codes needed. Then I would get a copy of the Project Profile and create a fund in RE (and add the granting agency as a constituent, if necessary) and enter the amount of the grant as a pledge, "irregular" payment schedule (is that what it's called?). When the Finance Office drew down the government payment or received the grant payment. it was entered in RE, deposited in the appropriate bank account, and reconciled in the normal fashion. 

At some point, it was decided not to enter the grants in RE anymore, only in FE. The money was being entered as a "gift" to the college rather than the Foundation, and since most of it was drawn down by the Controller and distributed directly to the departments, entering it in RE would have been double entry and require more reconciliation. The majority of this money was from a couple of federal agencies and wasn't "raised" at all, so it was deemed a waste of time to fool around in RE with it. Some grants from private foundations were still entered in RE because we had a relationship with those organizations and wanted to track what they had done over the long haul. But for the most part, instead of entering the actual "gifts" (which they weren't), I added a copy of the FE Project Profile to the constituent's Media, and created an Attribute that had a table defining the different kinds of grants, then the dollar amount, and the name of the grant in the comments. We could run a report on who had that Attribute and get an idea of total grants rather than all the gifts down to the penny. It made sense in some ways, but I was always advocating for keeping all incoming money from outside sources (not students, I mean) together in one place. It's too easily lost if each type of income is treated differently.


Gracie Schild

Bluebird Business Services

Santa Fe NM