Entering a Planned Gift

Planned Gifts

This article focuses on how to enter a Planned Gift. They are donations a donor makes, intended to be fulfilled at the time of his/her death and/or the death of one or more beneficiaries. The "Planned Gift" entry process enables you to:

• record pertinent details about the gift
• designate the gift to one or more fund accounts
• record the source (appeal or solicitor) of the gift
• establish a dedication and add soft credit recipients

The system offers two options for you to enter "Planned Gifts":

1. Via an "Individual Record"
2. Via the "Donation and Payment Entry" page within the "Fundraising" tab (Fundraising > Fundraising Functions > Donation and Payment Entry)

Entering Planned Gifts

1. From the Compass Dashboard menu, select "Fundraising"
2. Click on "Fundraising Functions", then select "Donation and Payment Entry" from the menu
3. In the "Find Party or Donation" section, locate the person, company, chapter or association that is making the Planned Gift via one of the following methods:
   • Name - Donor name whose record currently exists in Compass
   • Roll Number
   • Reference ID - Compass’ unique identifier
   • Donation Group Group - ID number
4. Upon selection of the appropriate donor, their personal information displays in the "Party Info" section and their previous donations.
   1. If the donor’s Address, Phone Number, or Email Address requires updates, follow the "Edit Information" procedure to make updates within Compass. NOTE - from here you are on an individual profile and can click their Fundraising Tab and Add Donation and follow the steps below to enter. 
5. Click "New Donation" - This allows you to add a new "Planned Gift" to the individual record.  

Note - You must complete the following three steps/pages to enter a "Planned Gift".

STEP 1: Complete "Pledge Information"

You must complete the following fields (underlined are required):

• Campaign - Select the appropriate "Campaign" from the available list
• Type - Select "Planned Gift"
• Entered On - Defaults with today’s date (For auditing and tracking purposes: therefore, you can NOT change this date)
• Pledge Date - Defaults to "Entered On Date" (You should change this date according to the Foundation policy and donor intent, if applicable)
• Send Thank You - Defaults to "Yes". Change, if necessary
• Default Letter - Select an appropriate letter from the list of active "Thank You" letters for the campaign. Not applicable if "No" displays in the "Send Thank You" field
• Legal Amount - If the "Legal Amount" is unknown, enter $0.00 or your organization’s default value established by Foundation policy. You can adjust the amount of the pledge when you receive the "Planned Gift"
  • Note - Planned Gifts are the only gift type that you may enter the dollar amount as $0.00.
• Count In Campaign Totals - Defaults to "Yes". Change to "No" if you don't want to add the "Planned Gift" amount to the ending total amount balance for the specific campaign. Choosing not to count this gift in the campaign total ends in it:
  • not counting in the donor's "Cumulative Giving Totals"
  • counting the gift in the donor's "Calendar", "Fiscal", and "Lifetime Giving Totals" depts
• Recognition Credit Amount - This field defaults to the amount that displays in the "Legal Amount" field, if applicable, and should only include the total dollar amount of the donor’s pledge.
• Tax Deductible - Defaults to "Yes". Refers to the "Legal Amount" (choose "No", if it isn't tax-deductible).
• Source - Select "Appeal" if the donation is a result of a specific appeal. Choose the appropriate appeal from the campaign’s drop-down list of applicable active appeals.
  • Select "Solicitor" if the donation is a result of someone asking the donor directly for the Planned Gift. Select the appropriate solicitor from the campaign’s list of explicit solicitors.
• Fund Account - Select up to five different "Fund Account(s)" for which the donor intends this pledge to support. Establish percentages for allocation to each appropriate Fund Account. The distribution percentage must total 100%. If not, an error message will display when you submit the form and you will have to make the correction.
• Pledge Notes - Add notes, if applicable

Click on "Next"

Step 2: Planned Gift Detail

Completion of the Planned Gift Detail page is not always possible during the setup of the pledge, as some information may not be available.

• Gift Type
  • Bequest – The act of making a gift via the donor’s Will
  • Beneficiary Designation – A benefactor names your organization as the recipient of any money that remains in an account after his/her death.
    • Examples: 401K Plan, Pension Plan, IRA, etc.
  • Gift Annuity – Donor transfers cash or property to the charity in exchange for a partial tax deduction and a lifetime stream of annual income from the charity. When the donor dies, the charity keeps the remainder.
  • Charitable Trust – Used when the gift is in the form of either a Charitable Lead or Charitable Remainder Trust.
  • Life Insurance – Organization receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the insured’s death.
  • Other – Select if the "Planned Gift" does not fit into the above categories
• End Date - This is an optional field that is useful to record a specific date the Foundation will cease performing activities for a Gift Annuity or Charitable Trust, as per their agreement.
• Gift Type Notes
  • Enter notes regarding the gift type. Examples:
    • If the "Planned Gift" is an annuity, record the amount of the annuity
    • Include the name and contact information of the person who will handle the estate, etc.
• Payout Rate - Amount of earnings paid out.
• IRS Discount - Annual rate of return that the IRS predicts the gift assets will earn during the gift term.
• Present Value Amount
  • Depending on your Foundation policy, you may record the gift based on its expected return at the donor's time of death. However, you may also find it useful to track the value of the gift at the time the donor makes the gift.
    • For example, a $100,000 life insurance policy is worth much less when the donor makes the gift at age 45. Defaults to $0.00; change if applicable
• Present Value Notes - Include notes, if applicable, regarding the "Present Value Amount"
• Appraised Value - The amount property is worth, per the opinion of an appraiser. Defaults to $0.00, change if applicable
• Salvage Value
  • Estimation of an asset’s value at the point of sale once its useful life ends
    • Accounting uses the value to determine depreciation amounts and deduction amounts in the tax system. A regulatory body, such as the IRS or a best guess, may determine the end value. Defaults to $0.00; change if applicable
• Charitable Deduction - IRS’s allowable deduction for the donation of property or money to a qualified tax-exempt organization
• Property Type - Description of property (i.e. land, house, vehicle, etc.)
• Estimated Useful Life
  • Number of years of use, as set by the IRS, for depreciable business equipment or property
    • The IRS has a depreciation table for most items, incl. computers, vehicles, and other equipment
• Expectancies - Amount the organization expects to receive upon settlement of the individual’s estate
• Number of Beneficiaries - Total number of people, organizations, etc. who will benefit financially from the estate settlement
• Documentation on File - Defaults to "Yes"; change to "No" if applicable

Note - If the donor provides Planned Gift documentation, you may scan it and attach it to a Fundraising Contact Log via the donor’s Summary page > Snapshot page

• Beneficiary Notes - Record notes regarding the terms of the settlement, if applicable

Once you complete this page, select "Next".

Step 3: Recognition and Dedication

Within Step 3, you can tie a dedication to the "Planned Gift," If the donor does not request a dedication click on "Next" to skip this step.

• Recognize As
  • If left blank, once you proceed to the next field, the Donor’s full name defaults.
  • If the donor requests recognition by a different name for this particular pledge, such as their nickname, or their name with a spouse or child’s name, then enter that particular name in this field. Recognition name populates in custom Thank You letters and exports upon payment of the Planned Gift.
• Dedication
  • Defaults to "No".
    • An acknowledgment will display in the "Thank You" letter export. Preferable for the Dedication Report (Access via Campaign -> Reports)
      • In Honor Of - To honor a living person
      • In Memory Of - To honor a deceased person
• Matching Gift Eligible - Defaults to "No". Select "Yes" if another party will match the Planned Gift

Step 4: Payment Information

Enter the payment information for the planned gift on this tab. If no payment was received yet, click "Submit." 

If payment is received at a later date, click into the PLanned Gift>View Transactions and apply the payment.