Recording/Tracking Endowment Gifts

Jane Freitas:

Hello!


I am looking for some feedback/suggestions re: how others are recording and tracking endowment gifts. 


We have both unnamed/named and unrestricted/restricted endowments. If a donor chooses to restrict his or her gift, we have 11 "buckets" from which to select. Fund IDs have been established to appropriately code as unrestricted or restricted.  Currently, we are recording the restriction as an appeal ID and, if named, that is being recorded as a package ID.


However, I am considering changing this process as follows: establishing the endowment as its own constituent record, posting the endowment-related gifts on this record, and using the appropriate fund ID and appeal ID for tracking purposes.  The donor's individual constituent record would be soft-credited.


Two questions for the group: how are you recording and tracking your endowment gifts, and what type of agreement documentation do you require?


Many thanks, in advance, for your kind assistance.

Jane Freitas

Director of Philanthropy Services

Tidewell Hospice

 

All the endowment gifts I have worked with have been as follows:

All Endowment Funds are restricted funds in the eyes of Finance Dept and Development Dept.

The Org has guidelines/procedure/protocol as to what defines an Endowment Fund.  How one can start a new Endowment, minimum amount required to start a named endowment, and what requirement/restrictions the donor is establishing for that Endowment Fund. 


There is documentation kept for each Endowment Fund that is established with all of the above listed details.

In RE and in Finance, a Fund (Account on Finance side) is made for that named Endowment.

All monies received for that Endowment are entered in that Fund/Account.  The appeal is the source by which the $$ came in the door -- so that would be a personal ask, annual ask, some special occasion your org may have that asks for funds, IMO/IHO etc.


Since Endowments are already restricted funds, their really does not end up being added restrictions.  If you have donors giving for a targeted thing, as a one-time operating thing, that will most like be spent in the same year that you receive the $$, then those are really temp restricted funds with a designation on them.  Some orgs have a few or many of these temp restricted Funds that folks give to on a regular or semi-regular basis (for example: Athletics, Professional Development, Tuition Assistance etc.)  Those shoudl really be temp restricted Funds/Accounts on both the Development and Finance sides.


This will keep your reconciliation between the two departments clean and hassle free and there should be no confusion as to where the $$ were intended .


Make sense I hope.