Tracking Gifts may seem pretty straight forward on the surface, but there are many different nuances behind how you ask for a gift, the journey to actually getting that cash in hand, and potential deliverables associated with incoming money. This article will cover the best practices when using the Grant tracking feature and the Gift Ask Pipeline. Some use cases may not fit into one of these categories neatly. It's always best to document your organization's specific definitions and how the management process is executed for both use cases.
Grants
Grants are typically defined as money awarded to your organization that is not expected to be repaid. In many cases there is an application process associated with being awarded the money. Additionally, specific deliverables and metrics may be expected by the granting organization.
Example
Company ABC has put a call out for applications to be one of the recipients of their "Change Makers Grant" where they plan to award 10 nonprofit organizations $50,000 to be used for programs serving middle and high school ages students.
There will be two phases of the application process before a nonprofit organization makes it to the finalist group. Then, after delivering a presentation to Company ABC, the 10 winning organizations will be awarded the money.
After the money is awarded, Company ABC is requiring annual progress updates to demonstrate how the money is being used. Using the native tracking functions of the Grant module in Virtuous, your organization can centralize all content associated with the grant for ease of reference. Using the Task feature within the Grant module, you can keep track of all commitments to the granting organization. Company ABC is not expecting the funds to be repaid but they are expecting continued communication and updates between the receiving nonprofit and themselves.
Gift Asks
Gift Asks are typically defined as large requests for funding from any kind of donor. This may be asking a Major Donor for a one time $50,000 donation to a fund a new building project. It may also be a recurring ask, perhaps asking that same donor for a recurring donation of $10,000 per year for the next 5 years. One of the major differences in how you work with a Gift Ask versus a Grant in Virtuous is the Gift Ask Pipeline. This will allow you to track the various stages of stewardship, likelihood to close, and team member responsibilities like Notes and Tasks. You may ask a donor for a large gift in January but not actually land that gift till June after much conversation.
Example
The Major Gift Officer initially created their EOY fundraising plan in August and forecasted their remaining needs. After that, the MGO decided which donors in their Portfolio they want to approach with a major ask. The Smith family is a loyal donor and the MGO is courting them for a one time gift of $10,000 as an End of Year Ask to complete their fundraising goals. Before even sending out the first piece of communication, the MGO can organize all their different potential Asks in Virtuous! As conversations continue between the MGO and the potential donor, Notes can be logged on the specific Gift Ask. Tasks can also be set up to remind a user of upcoming conversations, follow-up needs, etc.
If the Smith family decides to donate $10,000 this will satisfy the Gift Ask and then impact the stats available in the Gift Ask Pipeline. If the Smith family decides not to donate, this will also reflect in the figures shown in the Gift Ask Pipeline. While a Major Gift doesn't REQUIRE further communication between your organization and the donor, using the Pipeline, Notes, and Tasks, can help you better steward future conversations and asks.
To learn more about working with Gift Asks and the Gift Ask Pipeline, check out the support articles linked below that provide further guidance on the topic.