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Frequently asked questions.

Answers to some frequently asked questions posted on listservs, topically related publications and some solutions to common problems faced in advancement and development. (Questions may sometimes appear in more than one category). Thanks to everyone regularly contributing your knowledge and expertise. Please feel free to submit comments and any additional questions/answers you'd like to see included.

Employment

How do you offer continuous giving for employees? How often should faculty-staff payroll deductions be renewed? What questions should you ask when hiring consultants? Where can I find sample job descriptions? Where can I find where all the jobs are? What leadership skills are useful for young advancement professionals? By Devin Mathias. Where can I post jobs I have available? What helps make a good office environment for support staff? Can employees donate their vacation time?

Gift Accounting, Acceptance, Policies, Processing, Valuation

Can an institution process gifts for another non-profit as an agent? Do airline upgrades count as gifts in kind? What do institutions typically count in their annual fund? What do we Mean by Annual Fund?   A comprehensive definition of what annual fund is by Alan S. Hejnal. Who should normally pay for a gift-in-kind appraisal? What is the average cost per dollar raised? Where would a new building fund be categorized? How do you handle cash received from donors? How are charitable gift annuities normally recorded for recognition purposes? How are check exchanges handled? What should you count towards your goal when starting a campaign? Should you have a maximum limit on credit card gifts? How do you evaluate data entry performance? When is a scholarship considered donor directed? Are EFT and automated credit card payments worth implementing? Is email acceptable as a confirmation of a donor pledge? How can endowment criteria be changed when the donor is deceased? How do you account for the difference between event proceeds and gifts? How do you value a gift-in-kind when the donor doesn't want to be bothered with valuing them? Language suggestions for refusing a gift-in-kind. Is a "Gift in Kind" the same thing as a "Gift of Property?"   Understanding non-cash gift terminology. By Alan S. Hejnal. Is a deep discount on a gift of services considered a gift? Can private matching money on government grants be counted as a gift? How should government grants be recorded? How should life insurance premiums and policies be counted? How should you receipt a gift for proceeds of a life insurance policy? What are the some of the pros and cons of lockboxes? Who should open the mail for gifts received by the gift processing area? Do matching gifts need to follow the designation of the donor? Should memberships and subscriptions be receipted? What is the minimum dollar amount you need to set up a named fund? For the purposes of gift reporting how do you count people with multiple affiliations? How do you handle One Gift "from Multiple Donors. By Alan S. Hejnal. If a gift is received via a company check for an employee's payroll deduction who gets the receipt? How are gifts in kind of personal papers valued? When do you use a presidential acknowledgement letter? What are the policies for refunding a donation? Does the donation of use of a residence qualify as a gift? How should gains, losses and costs be accounted for with securities gifts? If an institution sells pieces of a building as a fundraiser, is this a gift from a donor? How should gift processing be handled for special event fundraisers? How do you handle gifts from spouses? What is the best timing for a data conversion? Can employees donate their vacation time? What are some ways to help handle year end processing volumes?

Like Minded

How can I contribute to this site?

More with Less, Accountability, Budgeting and Finance, Policies

What do institutions typically count in their annual fund? What do we Mean by Annual Fund?   A comprehensive definition of what annual fund is by Alan S. Hejnal. Who should normally pay for a gift-in-kind appraisal? What is the average cost per dollar raised? What have organizations set as board giving standards? What are some questions I should ask during budget reduction times? Where are some of the areas that I can look to find cost savings? How can endowment criteria be changed when the donor is deceased?

Philanthropy

What is the donor charter of rights? Where can I find sources of philanthropic quotes?

Potpourri

What mediums are you publishing your alumni directories in? Where can I find sources of philanthropic quotes?

Records

Where do you find information on alumni participation rates? Do biographical update forms need to be encrypted? When should corporate entities be created on your system? How do you count grads for participation added during the year before the next solicitation cycle? What are the database standards and goals for addressable and other contact methods? How do you evaluate data entry performance? How do you define alumni? How are gifts from divorced couples handled? What are some security issues in sending donor information by email? What are some ways to make sure names published on a donor honor roll are accurate? What are some ways to find lost alumni? When should you purge records within your database? What are some policies for releasing alumni information? What would the approximate costs be to hire a company to screen for birthdates only? How do you handle gifts from spouses? What is the best timing for a data conversion? Is it worth accepting timeshares as gifts? Do you update your data with an automated/manual process from bulk corrections from vendors? What are some ways to help handle year end processing volumes?

Reporting

For the purposes of gift reporting how do you count people with multiple affiliations? Where can I find report samples?

Research

Where can I find out about aircraft pricing? What are some ways to find out if people are serving on boards? How can I find information on deceased individuals? What are some security issues in sending donor information by email? How do you find out information about a franchise owner? What are some ways to find lost alumni? How is the overlap between research and advancement normally handled? What are some strategies for sharing profiles with board members? What would the approximate costs be to hire a company to screen for birthdates only?

Revenue

Where do you find information on alumni participation rates? What do institutions typically count in their annual fund? What do we Mean by Annual Fund?   A comprehensive definition of what annual fund is. By Alan S. Hejnal. What is the role of annual fund in a capital campaign? By Mike Westfall. Who should normally pay for a gift-in-kind appraisal? What is the average cost per dollar raised? How do you offer continuous giving for employees? What should you count towards your goal when starting a campaign? Should you have a maximum limit on credit card gifts? When is a scholarship considered donor directed? Are EFT and automated credit card payments worth implementing? Is email acceptable as a confirmation of a donor pledge? How often should faculty-staff payroll deductions be renewed? How do you count grads for participation added during the year before the next solicitation cycle? How do you account for the difference between event proceeds and gifts? Should you use fiscal year or calendar year in your solicitations? How do you value a gift-in-kind when the donor doesn't want to be bothered with valuing them? Language suggestions for refusing a gift-in-kind. Is a deep discount on a gift of services considered a gift? Can private matching money on government grants be counted as a gift? How should government grants be recorded? What are some resources for finding information on constructing a green/LEED certified building? What are some ways to maximize matching gifts? By Mike Westfall. Do matching gifts need to follow the designation of the donor? Should memberships and subscriptions be receipted? Do you solicit memorial donors? What is the minimum dollar amount you need to set up a named fund? What are the best practices for a donor to pay for an event? What is the industry standard pledge collection rate? What is the optimal multi-year pledge schedule? When do you use a presidential acknowledgement letter? Are there restrictions on sending raffle tickets in the mail? What are the policies for refunding a donation? Does the donation of use of a residence qualify as a gift? How do you include a soft ask in reunion invitations? If an institution sells pieces of a building as a fundraiser, is this a gift from a donor? Is it worth accepting timeshares as gifts?

Systems

What is the best timing for a data conversion? When should you purge records within your database? Do you update your data with an automated/manual process from bulk corrections from vendors?

Volunteers

What have organizations set as board giving standards? What are some ways to find out if people are serving on boards? Where can I find volunteer job descriptions?

Web Sightings

What are the elements of an acceptable use policy for web site features? How can you improve your alumni and friends web presence? What do you do with alumni and friends web sites you don't control? What mediums are you publishing your alumni directories in? Do biographical update forms need to be encrypted? How can we make the rollout of a content management system successful? What are the policies regarding corporate logos on web sites. Should donor honor rolls be published on web sites? What are some security issues in sending donor information by email? Is email acceptable as a confirmation of a donor pledge? How can be improve our nonprofit website effectiveness?. Sargeant Associates. What are some guidelines for posting events on public events calendars? How do you rate your alumni and friends web site? Why am I getting spammed?

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