A new science building and a spreadsheet
The school's appeal for a new science building has been running for two years. Some donors gave a single gift. Many pledged an amount over three or five years, some monthly, some annually, some on a date of their choosing. A few have increased their pledge, one has reduced it after a change in circumstances. Some gifts have Gift Aid, some have been matched by employers.
The appeal committee meets each term and asks the same questions: how much is pledged, how much has been received, and what is outstanding. The answer is assembled from a spreadsheet by the development officer, and the numbers never quite match finance's.
Pledges are promises, not payments
A pledge is a promise of future payments, and most finance systems only record payments when they arrive. So pledges live in the development office's spreadsheet, and payments live in finance. Reconciling the two each term is manual, and it gets harder as pledges change.
- Pledge schedules are in a spreadsheet.
- Payments are matched against pledges by hand.
- Changes to pledges are not tracked with dates.
- Donors are not reminded before instalments are due.
- Committee reports differ from finance's figures.
What loose pledge tracking costs
Development time each term. Instalments that are missed and not followed up, because nobody noticed. Donors who feel chased at the wrong time, or not thanked when they pay. And a committee that cannot plan confidently because its figures are uncertain.
How pledges are accounted for is for your finance team and auditors. The system provides clear records for them to use.
Pledge tracking we build
- Each pledge is recorded against the donor with its total, fund, schedule and any Gift Aid declaration or matched funding.
- Payments arriving through any route are matched against the pledge's schedule, with unmatched payments listed for the development office.
- Changes to a pledge, such as an increase or a new schedule, are recorded with a date and note, and the old schedule is kept for reference.
- Donors receive a note before each instalment if they have asked for one, and a thank-you when each payment arrives.
- Missed instalments are listed for the development office to follow up personally.
- The appeal committee sees totals pledged, received and outstanding, by fund and by year, reconciled with finance.
| Question | Before | With pledge tracking |
|---|---|---|
| How much is pledged? | Spreadsheet total | Live total by fund |
| How much is received? | Finance's figure, different | Reconciled with finance |
| What is outstanding? | Worked out by hand | Listed by donor and year |
| Missed instalments | Noticed late | Listed for follow-up |
| Pledge changes | Overwritten | Recorded with date and note |
An appeal with numbers everyone trusts
The committee meeting starts with a report that matches finance's figures. The development office follows up a short list of missed instalments personally, and thanks donors when they pay. When a donor increases their pledge at a dinner, the change is recorded that evening with its new schedule.
The bursar benefits too. Building projects are paid for on a contractor's schedule, and knowing when pledged money is expected to arrive, year by year, helps the school plan its own cash commitments. A forecast built from real pledge schedules is far more useful than a total pledged figure with no dates attached.
Donors notice the care. A donor who has paid three annual instalments and receives a personal thank-you for each, with a short update on how the building is progressing, is much more likely to consider the next appeal than one who hears nothing until a reminder arrives.
Long after the building opens, the record of who pledged and paid remains, which is the foundation for the next appeal.
Signs your appeal needs pledge tracking
- Pledges are tracked in a spreadsheet.
- Payments are matched against pledges by hand.
- Committee figures differ from finance's.
- Missed instalments are noticed late.
- Donors are not thanked for each payment.