LGL Pro Tip: Managing and reporting on pledges

Donor management systems like Little Green Light help you track the value each donor brings to your organization. This includes future value by way of pledges. Since pledges represent gifts that you have not received yet, managing them can be confusing—but it doesn’t need to be.

Here we answer 4 common questions about managing pledges in LGL:

What is a pledge, and when should I enter one?

Starting with the basics, a pledge represents a donor’s promise to contribute a specific sum of money over a period of time. Pledges allow an easier pathway for donors to make major gifts because they can be paid in smaller installments. You should enter a pledge in LGL only when a donor makes a formal commitment, most often in writing, that includes a defined gift amount and an expected timeframe during which the pledge will be paid.

Note: An informal mention of a gift that your organization has not received yet, such as a donor stating their check is in the mail, is not a pledge.

What if I have pledge payments that are not connected to pledges?

In LGL, a pledge is a gift type that you can select when entering a gift record. When you receive a pledge payment, you will enter it as a separate gift record and connect it to the pledge to pay down the balance.

If you have pledge payments that were not connected to the original pledge, the pledge/goal connector offers a quick and easy way to clean up your data. This feature allows you to connect gift records to open pledges or goals from the same constituent. After you search for gift records on the Fundraising > Giving page, choose the “Connect to pledge/goal” option from the View menu:

If a donor has an open pledge, you’ll see the option to connect their gift (if multiple open pledges are present, be sure you’re selecting the correct one):

This feature is especially helpful if you have pledge payments coming through LGL Forms.

Can I see the balance due on pledges in LGL?

Yes! Pledge records in LGL will always display two amounts. The first amount you see represents the amount that the donor promised to your organization. The second amount in parentheses is the remaining balance due on the pledge:

How do I create a report that lists the balances due on open pledges?

You can create this report from a search on the Fundraising > Giving page using the criteria “Gift types: Pledge” and “Pledge status: Open”:

When you export your results and customize the report in step 2 of the report builder, you will have a variety of pledge-specific fields to choose from in the “Pledge/Installment Fields” section:

In addition to the pledge date, amount, and balance, you may also want to see details about the pledge payments that you have received. Including the “Payments” field will allow you to do this, and you can customize that field to export multiple payments per pledge:

Conclusion

You can use features like LGL’s pledge/goal connector and gift reporting fields to manage your pledges accurately, from start to finish, with confidence.

Check out our LGL Pro Tip Archives for even more ideas!