Designation codes (examples) are used primarily for reporting purposes. It is through the use of these codes that gifts and pledges can be summarized into larger groupings. Once you have received and entered gifts, you can see summary information by designation code for a donor.
Designations are defined on the Designation Definition window and stored in the Designation Definition table. The number of designation codes used is normally small, so there is generally no need to add additional groupings since this will be done at various points for particular reasons (e.g., Gift Category Component 1, 2, or Gift Category).
After your designations are defined, you must assign a designation code to go with each gift category. When you enter a gift and select a category (or account number) to which the money will go, the designation will be assigned to that gift.
By using designation codes in conjunction with gift set codes, a donation can fall into an imaginary grid such as the following: