Recording how the contribution is received

Stephanie Osborne · December 2017

Hi,

We would like to start tracking how we receive our contributions. For example, If it's received through the mail vs a credit card over the phone. Does anyone else do this? I'm trying to figure out the best option in the gift record to store this info. We were thinking of creating a gift attribute with a drop down of the different options. Or possibly using gift subtype since that can be pulled into reports easier. Does anyone currently track this and how so?

Amy Dana · December 2017

I would suggest either Gift Subtype or Gift Code. We use the Subtype to track how the Gift was submitted but the Code would work just as well (if you're not already using those fields for something else).

Barbara Schlichter · December 2017

We use gift code for this.

Ryan Hyde · December 2017

We use gift subtype for this. In fact, if your'e integrated with FE, this is what subtype is really for. It identifies merchant service accounts, and typically this is directly connected to the way a gift is received. So for instance, all online donations are processed (in our case) by Luminate, which uses BBMS as the backend. So I have a 'luminate' gift subtype that gets applied to all of these gifts, and this subtype is tied to a specific debit account that is shared with FE, so we can reconcile every distribution from BBMS with what's in RE by using this subtype.

So I would suggest using the tool that is built for this type of thing so that if you ever need to integrate with FE, all of the work will be on the backend while your data entry clerks can just keep on doing business as usual.

Beth Romano · December 2017

Stephanie Osborne:

Hi,

We would like to start tracking how we receive our contributions. For example, If it's received through the mail vs a credit card over the phone. Does anyone else do this? I'm trying to figure out the best option in the gift record to store this info. We were thinking of creating a gift attribute with a drop down of the different options. Or possibly using gift subtype since that can be pulled into reports easier. Does anyone currently track this and how so?

If you are only interested in trying to see how you received the gift and not how the funds need to be distributed you can use Appeals and packages.

Claudia Sauers · December 2017

We use the "source" on the micellaneous gift tab.

Lawrence Rush · December 2017

Depending on what you're looking for and your current data structure you might want to consider tracking some of these sources as packages in appeals. Otherwise gift subtype may be the way to go especially if you already use packages to segment your audience.

Stephanie Osborne · December 2017

Thanks all for all the feedback! We currently use appeals and packages so I was looking for further level of detail. Gift subtype sounds like the best way to go!

Ryan- We do integrate with FE so I will have to look into that further so everything maps over. That should help our finance team out as well. I'm not sure if that going over to FE now but if it's something we can change, that would be a great help!

Ryan Hyde · December 2017

Great that you integrate with FE already. Open up a fund in RE and look at the GL DIstributions tab. You'll notice gift types on the left, followed by Debit account # and Credit account #. Underneath any gift type you can insert a gift subtype, and then you can enter a custom debit account number that identifies that particular merchant service - fianance will know what that should be. In most scenarios I've heard of, you would never change the credit account number. The credit account should be unique to the fund, but not to the gift type or subtype within the fund, if that makes sense.

Also, in my example of using Luminate/BBMS, there's one wrinkle. We use BBMS both for Luminate gift processing and for one-off credit card gifts that we enter directly into Raiser's Edge. To be able to differentiate these different giving channels, I have two subtypes: Luminate and BBMS. Since both of these subtypes relate to the same merchant account, they each have identical deibt account numbers in my fund setup, but I like having them split out this way specifically so that I can easily query for any gifts made online.

Stephanie Osborne · December 2017

Great, thank you! I was thinking the same thing. We use BBMS for luminate, net community, and offline cc's so I was thinking of creating a subtype for each to help reconcile this with finance.

Melissa Steinbach · December 2017

We use gift subtype. Makes things easy when running reports.

Debra Holcomb · December 2017

Yosemite Conservancy uses an Attribute on the Gift Record that we've named Source of Gift. Since Gift Subtype is one of the few fields that carries through to your General Ledger when posting gifts, you might confirm with your Finance Department if they are interested in that information, too.

Cathleen Mai · December 2017

Ryan, can you have the subtypes show up in the GL journal reference? I would like to seperate the online gifts this way, but cannot get it to show up in FE. I am not very familiar with FE. I can see that the fields are being pulled from the configuration/ General Ledger area in RE but do not see the Gift subtype in the pull down menu for Reference field name.

Ryan Hyde · December 2017

Honestly I'm not super familiar with FE either. I do know two things though:

1.) If two or more gift subtypes have the same debit account number, you definitely won't be able to tell them apart in FE. However, if those different subtypes get paid via the same source, then they need to have the same debit account number for reconcilliation to work.

2.) The info you want to try to look for in FE would be either called "deibt account" or "merchant service account." I know that first term is used, but I don't know if that second term exists in FE or if it's just something my accounting department says all the time :P

Recording how the contribution is received

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