Processing Recurring Gifts from NetCommunity to The Raiser's Edge

Steve Sandie

"How can I tell if the credit card was charged?"  It is a common question asked by organizations when processing gifts from the NetCommunity plug-in into The Raiser’s Edge.  It is possible to process a Recurring Gift with or without a payment attached.  The key is to identify which Recurring Gifts in the plug-in include that first payment.  We’ll take a look at the two ways a Recurring Gift may be processed into The Raiser’s Edge so users can spot the differences.

Option 1:  Recurring Gift WITH the first payment 


When a donor sets up a Recurring Gift on the website, they will be charged for the first payment if the Starting date is the same day of the month when they will be charged, set in the Frequency field.




In the example above, the donor made the Recurring Gift on 7/9/2015 and decided to schedule payments on the 9^th day of every month.  Therefore, the donor will be charged for the first payment due on 7/9/2015.


We can also look at this Recurring Gift in the NetCommunity plug-in to see that the first payment is included with the Recurring Gift.




You’ll notice that the transaction from 7/9/2015 has “First payment processed” in the Gift Information column.  This tells us that the donor’s credit card was charged for the first payment.  When viewing the Recurring Gift in The Raiser’s Edge batch, you will not see a separate row for the first payment but you will instead see the Authorization Code field populated.  This tells us the credit card was charged.




After committing the batch in The Raiser’s Edge, you will see two gifts on the Gifts tab of the Constituent record: the Recurring Gift record and the first payment - the Recurring Gift Pay-Cash record.




Now we’ll take a look at Option 2, when a donor creates a Recurring Gift but is not charged for the first payment.

Option 2:  Recurring Gift WITHOUT the first payment 


It is possible that a donor can start a Recurring Gift on the website and enter credit card information but not be charged for the first payment just yet.  In this case, the donor created the Recurring Gift on 7/9/2015 but decided to be charged on the 1^st day of every month.




As the Starting date is not the same as the Frequency day, the donor’s credit card will not be charged.  When we view the transaction in the NetCommunity plug-in, we do not see “First payment attached” in the Gift Information column.  We also do not see an Authorization Code.




In the Raiser’s Edge batch, you will only see one gift row.  The credit card information will be included in the batch but the first payment is not included.




After we commit the batch in The Raiser’s Edge, we will see a Recurring Gift record on the Gifts tab of the Constituent record but we will not see a Recurring Gift Pay-Cash record.


Regardless of how the Recurring Gift is processed into Raiser’s Edge, you’ll need to charge the credit cards in a batch for future installments and at the appropriate frequencies.  Don’t forget this key step and lose out on that monthly donation to support your mission!


For more information please reference the following resources:

How do recurring gifts from Blackbaud NetCommunity process?

How to process credit cards and direct debits in The Raiser’s Edge?

Recurring Gifts in The Raiser's Edge


If you haven’t already implemented a solid Recurring Giving program at your organization (or maybe you just have a few kinks to work out), the best resource for you is the Regular Supporters Implementation Guide.