Contributions received via Benevity and other platforms

Dianne Wilson

For donations received via Benevity and other such platforms, because the amount we receive is different from the amount given by the donor (fees taken by Benevity), our foundation credits Benevity for the actual amount received and soft credits the donor for the full amount they gave. Since this is not allowed in Raiser's Edge, we're wondering how other agency's handle such gifts.  All ideas/suggestions/feedback are appreciated.


Thank you!

William Henderson

RE allows us to soft credit a donor the full amount they give through platforms like that.

Dianne Wilson

Hi William, our RE design consultant told us that RE does not allow you to soft credit more than the gift amount.  And gifts that like this that were converted from our previous system converted with errors.

Judy Spigarelli

You are correct that RE does not allow you to soft credit more than the gift amount.  Some companies view the Benevity fees as 'cost of doing business', just as you wouldn't subtract credit card processing fees.  Others soft credit the individual donors the amount of their gift and reduce the soft credit for those coming from an organization.  If you search Benevity in the forums, you'll find much chatter on this topic.


Good luck!

Dianne Wilson

Thank you so much Judy!

Mary Schultz

We use the gross donation total as the gift amount in RE, and then finance reconciles out the fees on their end to match the net funds received.

Karen Hartt

As the donor receives a gift acknowledgment from Benevity and other such organizations we book the net proceeds on the donor record and note that the check is from Benevity.

Veronica DeFilippis

Hi Dianne,

Our organization recieves donations from Benevity and other charitable partners, too. How do you differentiate and classify that gifts come from here. Do you put them under appeals?

Sharon Campbell

Benevity took a chunk of change out of the gift if it was dispersed to us via a check. We signed up for PayPal and now we get 100% of what the donor actually donates.

Dianne Wilson

Hi Veronica - Since this post, we've revised how we handle these gifts. We now book the entire gift on the donor record and add a gift note that the check came thru Benevity. We do not differentiate any other way. Hope this helps.

Dianne Wilson

We have always had PayPal, but the gifts that come to us via Benevity are almost always initiated thru a company payroll deduction program. I'm not sure how/why the companies chose Benevity. I guess this might warrant some research!