Following is a description of the pledge fields in DonorQuest. This list includes some fields automatically maintained by DonorQuest for reporting purposes, but not shown in the pledge form. For some background information about pledges and example use, please first read the Quick Start topic on the Pledges button.
Start Date
Starting date for a specific pledge. DonorQuest will normally accept only valid dates of the form (mm/dd/yy), however you can set the date validation to date standards for countries other than the U.S. by clicking on User, Change Your Personal Settings.
Stop Date
Ending date for a specific pledge. The start and end dates together define the period of time for which the pledge is active and regular payments are expected, based on the Payment Frequency.
Pledge Amount
DonorQuest will accept fixed 2-decimal place numbers, from 0.01 up to 9,999,999,999.99.
Payment Amount
This is the amount of the periodic payment expected from the donor. The payment interval is determined by the Payment Frequency.
Payment Frequency
This is the interval of time between pledge payments. Available periods are Monthly, Quarterly, Semester, and Yearly. DonorQuest also supports irregular pledge payment dates and amounts. An entire custom payment schedule may be created for each pledge, based on a donor's preferences. This is especially handy with very large pledges in which the donor has a particular budget they would like to follow over the course of years. Please see the sample pledge form shown in the Pledges Button topic for a sample screen and more discussion of this.
Pledge Type
The pledge type field is typically used to store the method of payment, such as cash, check, charge, etc. DonorQuest will accept ten alphanumeric characters for this field. The pledge type corresponds to the Donation Type field for donations, and the two share the same drop-down code table.
Pledge Account
Corresponding to the Donation Account field and using the same drop-down code table list, the pledge account is typically used for accounting purposes to track deposit account codes. This field is capable of storing a cash flow account number up to twenty characters long. Since pledges are simply promises to pay and not actual cash flow (they become cash flow as payments are made as donations), the pledge account field is used more for projection reports as opposed to actual cash received reports.
Pledge Stimulus
A character code up to 15 characters long for each pledge which identifies why a donor made the pledge. It corresponds to the Donation Stimulus field, and in fact shares the same drop-down code table. Since pledges are usually stimulated by campaigns, the pledge stimulus for each pledge is also normally the same as the donation stimulus of credited donations.
Pledge Fund
The Pledge Fund is used to categorize pledges -- usually how the money is to be spent. Think of it as the pledge designation, perhaps honoring an earmark the donor wishes to apply as to how the pledge is to be used. This is an alphanumeric code up to 15 characters long, and corresponds to the Donation Fund field, sharing the same drop-down code table. Here are some examples:
1000 Unrestricted Fund
2000 Building Fund
3000 Scholarship Fund
4000 Emergency Room Fund
5000 Memorial Fund
Pledge Appeal
A coded field up to 15 characters long for any appeal connected with receiving the pledge. DonorQuest has the ability to track each and every appeal you make for each campaign. As the donations and pledges come in, you will be able to print reports which show the percentage of response and dollar totals you are getting for each appeal, AND for each campaign (Stimulus) as a whole. These reports can be viewed and printed by selecting Reports, Donation/Pledge Statistics. From there you would open the Stimulus or Appeal tables to see statistics on response rates for both donations and pledges. There are columns showing projected revenue (i.e. if all pledge balances are fully paid) and actual revenue (outright donations not applied as pledge payments). Giving statistics are also maintained for Donation/Pledge Type, Account, and Fund codes. The Pledge Appeal corresponds to the Donation Appeal field, and shares the same code table.
Pledge Comment
Each pledge has space for an optional comment. This comment should specifically apply to the pledge, and not to the donor in general (general comments about the donor should go in the donor’s Notepad).
Renew
This is a yes/no field. If checked, the pledge will be automatically renewed after running a batch process. When pledges are renewed, a new and identical pledge is created (leaving the existing one intact), with new begin and end dates which span the same amount of time as the original pledge in the next year. The renewal process is convenient when using the pledge facility to accommodate recurring payments, such as annual membership dues for special clubs or associations. The batch process to renew pledges is initiated by selecting System, Renew Pledges Due For Renewal.
Pledge ID
This is a unique ID number within each donor account for each pledge, automatically assigned by DonorQuest when a pledge is created. This field is needed to unambiguously link incoming donations to existing pledges. It corresponds to the pledge to credit field for each donation.
Amount Paid
This field is maintained automatically by DonorQuest. Whenever a donation is applied as payment towards a pledge, the amount paid for the pledge is automatically updated. The pledge amount paid is also updated whenever a linked donation is deleted, or the dollar amount of a linked donation is changed.
Balance
This is the difference between the amount pledged and the amount paid.
Matching Gift Receipt
When a pledge is automatically created by DonorQuest as part of the matching gift feature, the receipt number of the donation which caused the matching pledge to be created is stored here. For more information on matching gift donors, see DonorQuest Linkages.
Matching Gift Percentage
When a pledge is automatically created by DonorQuest as part of the matching gift feature, the percentage of the donation which caused the matching pledge to be created is stored here. For more information on matching gift donors, see DonorQuest Linkages.
For some example pledge entry, including how to setup a schedule of irregular pledge payments based on donor preferences, please also see the Pledges Button topic of the Quick Start Guide.