Community Event Gift Entry

Kylee Hamilton

Hi All, looking for some insight on how others track gifts coming in from third party (community) events. We've had a mixed bag of entry over the years, from adding in the event as a constituent, adding in individual contributors to the event, adding the gift as anonymous with an event code attribute and/or adding the gift(s) under the event organizer. What is the best option?! Help! ?

JoAnn Strommen

@Kylee Hamilton LOL Your list is similar to my experience as well. And there may not be a one fits all answer.
If gift is $250 or more and you know who donor is, record should be created and gift recorded as coming from the constituent, IMO.
If it's a collection of $ from various unknown folks, we use our ‘anonymous’/'unknown donor' record. We look at whose $ was it - who controls?
If someone collects the funds through their own event and then gives it to us, they control where the $ goes. They may or may not give it to our org. They become the donor.
If someone is working with us to organize an event where they do not have control of the $, we would not enter the $ on their record.
Many years ago, I had an instance of adding the event where we had a donation jar. I don't think I would do again, as record is useless. I can note event in reference or note field. I would use ‘anonymous donor’ if I did it again.

My 2 cents.

Dariel Dixon 2

@Kylee Hamilton The best way to try to combat this issue is to try to create a template for the third parties to use for your gift and data entry. This can be hard to control, but the method of entry will vary wildly depending on the quality of the data you receive. I think you have to try to make sure you get good data from those third parties are do the best you can. Also, your internal data governance rules will help resolve how the data will have to be entered.

Sunshine Reinken Watson

@Kylee Hamilton

I use a “Third Party Event/Fundraiser” appeal with detail of the specific events as the packages. If we receive donations directly from individuals, the gifts are recorded on their constituent records. They could donate again, and we will want the history of their first gift. If a lump sum is received from the organizer, it can be recorded under that record if it is a check/online gift. We will record the donation under an “Anonymous” record depending on the situation. And of course, we put detail in the reference field for the gift.

Candy Beckwith

@Kylee Hamilton We send acknowledgement letters for every gift, which includes a tax statement. Therefore, we only send annual statements by request.