A gift category identifies the place, fund, or purpose to which a gift is applied. You must select a gift category when entering a gift; therefore, gift categories must be defined prior to entering gifts.
A gift category is composed of two codes: Component 1 and Component 2. Before you define your organization's gift categories, all component 1 and 2 codes must be defined (see Gift Category Component 1 and Gift Category Component 2). After the components are created, a gift category is created on the Gift Categories window by joining the two components and assigning required and any optional values. Once component 1 and component 2 codes are joined, the focus is narrower in comparison to the components alone.
The following items are required in the definition of a gift category:
· Business Office account numbers (G/L Accounts)
· Designations (Capital, Restricted, Unrestricted, etc.)
· CAE report group code and line number
Also, you can define optional items for a category. These optional items include codes for campaign, giving club, scholarship, and memorial/honor funds. You can also set goal amounts for the future. The value in the gift category Description column is the text that actually prints in the thank you letters.
Click here to view three ways (Letters, Numbers, and Combinations) components 1 and 2 could be combined to identify the gift category.
Gifts are accumulated in categories, and you can view the category "balances" with the system. You can analyze all of your organization's categories to see to which categories your donors gave over the past year or years. Categories are separate from the account number and summarize gift giving in the Development/Alumni system. The gift categories for your organization may look similar to your account numbers, but they can be more detailed and specific.
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You may have one account number assigned for all scholarships. However, you can assign several gift categories, one for each separate scholarship that would point to that one account number. All gifts would go into the scholarship fund in Business Office, but your records in Development/Alumni would have giving detail in each scholarship for which you defined a gift category. |
Click here for Category Component 1 examples.
Click here for Category Component 2 examples.
Click here for Category Component 1/Category Component 2 examples.
