How many gifts can one person enter?

Megan Ollivier · May 2018

Hi all,

I've been asked to poll other charitable organizations regarding how many gifts they process in a year and the # of people they have doing it.

I'm wondering if anyone here has stats for their organization (or knows of a source of information) regarding:

Average number of gifts entered per data entry officer per year
Average number of receipts issued per officer per year.
It would be helpful to know how "automated" your entry is as well.

Many thanks!

Megan

James Kew · May 2018

This seems to depend heavily on the scope of the data entry officer's duties. For example, is the person simply entering simple, unambiguous gifts in a Batch? Do they need to phone donors to ask about unclear designations? Are they valuing securities donations and splitting them among multiple funds/pledges? Do they maintain constituents' biographical information in the system? Do they scan and save documentation on the Media tab? Do they need to confer with accounting frequently to balance accounts or perhaps request a general ledger number for a brand-new endowment a donor is establishing? Etc., etc.

Here is a link to a 2014 discussion on this topic on the fundsvcs listserv. Within it is a link to a survey spreadsheet someone put together at some point in the past. It may be of some help to you.

http://listserv.fundsvcs.org/scripts/wa-FUNDSVCS.exe?A2=ind1403&L=FUNDSVCS&P=R82937

JoAnn Strommen · May 2018

I somehow closed the window without hitting post for my reply. So here I go again with a shorter version as James brought out lots of the same points.

I hope you can find value in a poll like that but IMO not much value as there are far too many variables:

definition of gift? pledge, payments to pledge, including large biweekly payroll lists...etc...etc cash? GIK
# of people? strictly full time? other job responsibilities also, part timers? 1 FT could equal 3 PT
to enter gifts, does user have to create records? Update records? How much info to enter? Package? Appeal? Soft credits?
Automation: wide open to define from processing one gift at a time on a record to batch to bank drop boxes to importing spread sheets to online gifts to scanning bar codes.

Thanks James for finding the other post. I knew it was out there hadn't searched it out.

Sheila Lutz · May 2018

Is your organization trying to decide if they should add a new data position? I was finally able to get a second person, keeping track of how long it took me to process every day was helpful in providing a case. Also, a list of the things I could have got done (reports, better stewardship support, etc.) if my whole day wasn't subjected to the whim of how many donation we had that day.

Megan Ollivier · May 2018

Thanks so much for your insight and the link James. These are all very valid points - I wish this was an easy question! -Megan

Edit: thanks to all of you for your help, suggestions. (also, clearly I need to learn how to reply properly in this forum

Aimee Snyder · May 2018

Megan Ollivier:

Hi all,

I've been asked to poll other charitable organizations regarding how many gifts they process in a year and the # of people they have doing it.

I'm wondering if anyone here has stats for their organization (or knows of a source of information) regarding:

Average number of gifts entered per data entry officer per year

Average number of receipts issued per officer per year.

It would be helpful to know how "automated" your entry is as well.
Many thanks!

Megan

Megan,

In the very simplest of terms - I can tell you that I entered over 7,500 gifts in 2017. The stipulation is that, as JoAnn Strommen mentioned, I am also responsible for other projects, so I am not entering gifts 40 hours / week.

Updating records, playing detective for fund designation, tracking down stock transfers, etc - all takes additional time as well. Take care, Aimee

Claudia Sauers · May 2018

Like others have mentioned this is by no means a simple question, but for practical purposes here are some numbers:

Person 1, Gift entry by csv import, 50,000+/year (These are direct mail gifts processed by a lockbox, we process the gift files in house) (Full time employee)

Person 2, Gift entry by batch/individual entry, 15,000+/year (Full time employee)

Person 3, Gift entry through online express, all portals (benevity, truist, etc.), 8,000+/year (Part time employee)

All three of us have additional responsibilities. One person is responsible for running all acknowledgments and a different person runs our year end tax letters and any oddball letters.

Hope this helps!

How many gifts can one person enter?

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