I. Purpose
Counting and reporting results are essential to evaluating a fundraising program. It is also critical to the acknowledgment of the full participation of all donors in those fundraising results. To accomplish these outcomes, fundraising results must be clear, transparent and easily understandable. At its core, counting is the numeric summary of activity and progress toward goals and reporting is the process of conveying to a lay audience clearly and transparently what has happened during a specific timeframe.
There are many legitimate methodologies for counting and reporting fundraising results and several reasons that different methodologies may be employed. Key distinctions among the various methodologies relate to how gifts are “valued” and “credited.” The College recognizes and will adhere to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Management and Reporting Standards for Annual Giving and Campaign in Educational Fund Raising, 4th Edition.
II. Policy
The following guidelines apply to all internal and external counts and reports, unless a given report specifies a different set of guidelines be applied.
Legal Credit vs Soft (Recognition) Credit
In all reports, only legal credit is counted. Legal credit is granted to the donor who gives the gift. When there is a potential for multiple constituents to be granted credit, legal credit will go to the person who signs the check, is listed as the account holder, or is the person facilitating the transaction (ex: the person handing over the cash). This is in accordance with IRS regulations.
Soft (recognition) credit may be granted to anyone per the guidelines set forth in the Recognition and Stewardship Policy. Soft credit is combined with legal credit for discerning a donor’s qualification for Annual Gift Leadership Clubs and Benevolent Lifetime Giving Societies.
Benchmark, Annual, and Campaign Reporting
Benchmark reports are run weekly or monthly. These reports should reflect new activity for that period by grouping (gift/pledge/constituency/campaign/fund/appeal/solicitor, this year/last year, total/goal, etc.) Benchmark reports should only reflect legal credit. These are generally only internal reports.
Annual reports reflect only legal credit (unless specifically reporting on clubs and societies) and only reflect actual gifts received. These are generally external reports. Annual reporting is based on the College’s fiscal year which runs July 1 to June 30.
Campaign reports reflect donor activity over a longer period of time. They include out-right gifts, planned gifts, and pledges. They exclude a number of fund types based on CASE guidelines. They will document year over year comparisons as well as progress towards the campaign goals.
Gift Types
As outlined in the Gift Acceptance Policy, the following types of gifts are accepted by the College. The section below notes special considerations taken when counting these gift types.
- Out-Right Gifts
- Cash or Cash Equivalent
- Mail cash gifts are reported on the date they are received. Electronic cash gifts are reported on the date the money is transferred. Credit card gifts are reported on the date the charges were processed.
- Donor Advised Funds
- Donor advised fund gifts are treated gifts from the foundation with soft credit to the individual.
- Third Party Assignment of Income
- As long as the paying institution lists the donation as payment of income to the donor, the donor receives legal credit. Otherwise, the institution receives legal credit and the donor receives soft credit.
- Matching Gifts
- The corporation or foundation making the matching gift receives legal credit and the initiating donor receives soft credit.
- Real Estate
- Valuation of real estate will be set at the appraised value as determined by the appraisal acquired by the donor.
- Property
- Valuation will be set at the receipt value if the donor can provide it or will be set at fair market value as determined for insurance purposes.
- Gifts-in-Kind
- Valuation will be set at $1 for all gifts-in-kind that are submitted without apurchase receipt or formal appraisal.
- Publicly Traded Securities
- Physical securities are reported on the date the College takes possession.
- Electronically transferred stocks are reported on the date the transfer took place. Valuation is determined on the average of the high and low as of the report date.
- Mutual Funds
- Mutual fund shares will be valued at the public redemption value, which is the net asset value of the fund on the date of the gift. Net asset value is determined by valuing all securities in the fund at day’s end, reducing that value by expenses, and dividing that figure by the number of shares outstanding.
- Planned Giving
- Bequests and Estate Gifts
- Wills, trusts, and estate gifts are counted at full value as a testamentary pledge. If the bequest is realized without prior notice, it counts as the actual value.
- Life Insurance Policies
- Life insurance policy gifts are not counted until the money is received.
- Charitable Lead Trust and Charitable Lead Unitrust
- Charitable lead trusts and Unitrusts are counted as a pledge when initiated.
- Each trust payment is counted as a cash gift on the day it is received.
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Charitable gift annuities are valued at the amount of the gift to establish the annuity.
- Life Estate
- Life estate gifts are counted at the fair market value of the College’s remainder interest in the property and at the discounted present value. If the College is mnamed both owner and beneficiary, the value of the policy at the time of donation may be counted as well as each payment made when they are made.
- Bargain Sale
- Bargain sale gifts are valued at the difference between the fair market price and the purchase price.
- Charitable Remainder Unitrust and Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
- Charitable remainder unitrusts and annuity trusts are valued at the irrevocable amount of the remainder and are counted as a testamentary pledge.
- IRA Rollover
- IRA gifts count as a cash gift on the day they are received.
- Pledges
- Pledge amounts are not counted in annual reports. Pledge amounts are included in benchmark and campaign reports separate from actual dollars received. Conditional pledges will not be counted.
- Grants
- The College solicits grants from government and private foundations for a variety of reasons. Only grants that directly benefit the College’s current student population get counted.
- Non-Charitable Funds
- College Advancement processes a number of different funds that are given to the College that are not considered to be charitable (ex. Sponsorships, event registration fees, etc.). These non-charitable funds are not counted.
Donor (Constituent) Designations
When gifts need to be attributed to donor categorizations, the following hierarchy is used for determining a donor’s category:
- Alumni – any former student who has received credit from the College. Subgroups include:
- Alumni with undergraduate credentials
- Alumni with graduate credentials
- Alumni with no credentials
- Parents – any parent or grandparent of current or former students. Subgroups include:
- Current parents
- Former parents
- Friends – all other individuals who donate to the College. Subgroups include:
- Trustees – those who serve on the governing board
- Faculty/Staff – those who are employees of the College serving full time or part time as faculty or administrative staff. Subgroups include:
- Faculty
- Staff
- Former faculty
- Former staff
- Friends – all other individuals.
III. Applicability
This policy applies to all gifts and pledges made to the College. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Vice President for College Advancement.
IV. Revision Process
The terms and conditions of this Policy are subject to change. Revisions must be approved by the Vice President for College Advancement, the President, and ultimately the College’s Board of Trustees.
Revision Approval Date:
Approved By: (Board of Trustees)
Adoption Date: (October 2019)