How do I Cancel or Write-Off a Pledge?

Pledges represent commitments from your Donors. Despite their very best intentions, there will be times when Donors do not follow through on those commitments. When that happens, you'll need to either cancel or write-off a Pledge.

If you have not opted to track Pledges as receivable, then Pledged Amounts are not already included in fundraising totals. So, you can simply cancel the Pledge. This will wipe out all outstanding expected payments.

For organizations tracking Pledges as receivable, the consequences of an unfulfilled Pledges have a larger impact. Since the Pledge Amount is counted as raised as of the Pledge date, and payments that will not be collected need to be deducted from your organization's reported totals. In these cases, you will need to write-off an unfulfilled Pledge.

To cancel a Pledge, select the three dots to the right of the Pledge, then choose Edit.

On the Edit Pledge screen, scroll to the bottom and then select"Cancel Pledge." You will see a message asking you to confirm the cancellation. Choose "Cancel Pledge" again to confirm the action. Note that once a Pledge has been cancelled, it can no longer be edited. All cancellations are final!

For organizations tracking Pledges as receivable, you will see a "Write-off Pledge" button instead of the "Cancel" option. Select to write off a Pledge.

In order to write off the remaining balance on a Pledge, users will be required to provide a reason. These reasons are available for export from the results of a Pledge query, if desired. Enter a note documenting the reason for the write off and then slect "Write off Pledge" to confirm the action.

As with cancellations, Pledge write offs are final. Once a Pledge has been written off, no further changes can be made.

What Next?

Managing Pledge Payments

What are Pledges?

Guide to Pledges vs. Recurring Gifts