Best Practice in Pledge Reminders
Date: October 21, 2011
Prepared By: Gail Ferris
Category: Records Management
Comments To: Gail Ferris, Director, Development Services, The Catholic University of America
Comment Period: November 30, 2011
Description of Practice:
Gift processing departments serve a critical function in tracking pledges that are made, accurately applying payments as received and generating statements of balances due on pledges at required intervals. Donor relations departments serve as an interface between gift processing and fundraisers, reviewing the generated statements to determine the most appropriate means by which to apprise donors of the status of their commitments.
Prospective Users of Practice:
· Gift processors
· Gift accountants and gift processing managers
· Donor relations staff
· Fundraisers
· Fundraising managers
Issue Addressed:
Reminding donors of their pledges is a critical fundraising function, not only in making sure that the institution in fact received the funds promised by donors in the pledge commitments but also in ensuring that donors are properly stewarded so as to provide a foundation for cultivation for their next gifts.
Desired Outcome:
The desired outcomes of an effective pledge reminder process are to maximize institutional revenue by ensuring that donors fulfill their commitments and to build donor affinity by making the pledge reminder process an opportunity for stewardship and cultivation. The process can also help the institution appropriately manage its receivables.
Process:
A number of steps are required to have an effective pledge reminder process:
· Confirm that the terms of pledges accurately reflect the donors’ intent in the fundraising database, particularly in
o Pledge amount
o Pledge purpose
o Schedule on which pledge will be paid
· Create format(s) to reflect institutional preference, ranging from a “bill” format to a formal letter
· Develop report to extract pledge information in an easily understood format to inform staff and donors of the status of the pledge
· Make gift officers aware of the pledge reminders to be issued
· Ask gift officers to review information on donors to be sent pledge reminders and inform advancement services on issues relating to collectability, re-scheduling of the pledge, and information from the donor regarding payments. In some cases the reminders may be placed “on hold” givien a certain situation with the donor.
· Produce pledge reminders on a schedule that reflects donor intention, institutional priorities, and information in the gift agreement.
· Review pledge reminders to make sure that the process to be followed with individual donors is consistent with, and serves to optimize, ongoing fundraising activity
· Record in the fundraising database what action was in fact taken to remind each donor of the pledge, whether the reminders was sent or not
· Write off uncollectable pledges in a timely manner (procedure to be covered in a separate best practice)
AASP Recommendation:
Advancement services professionals with responsibility in the areas of gift processing and donor relations should play a leadership role in reminding donors of their pledge commitments, providing usable information to fundraising staff to enable them to maximize donor affinity to the institution. They should be primarily responsible for the effective operation of the pledge reminder process. It should be assumed that pledge reminders will be sent for all pledges, unless reminders are specifically requested not to be sent by the donor or gift officer, which exceptions should be noted in the fundraising database.
Sample Policies & Procedures:
· Pledge Reminder Policy: The Catholic University of America
· Pledge Reminder Procedure: The Catholic University of America