[jtomalak]

Hi all,

We've been searching this forum and Blackbauds for information about the Planned Giving Tracker for Raiser's Edge 7.81. We have it but are really having difficulty figuring out the best way to report on the Planned gift, and then the Cash gift that comes in when the gift is finally realized.
Version 7.81 does have the new abliity to link gifts to the original Planned Gift, but reporting has been difficult for us. I'd love to hear how anyone else does this.I need serious help.

Thanks.

[Virginia Steger]

This reply is a few months late, just joined the BUS last week, but I hope I can be of some help in this area.

First, a little history. My company, Wycliffe Foundation, performs the Planned Giving function for several affiliates within Wycliffe Bible Translators family of organizations (5 separate entities). We share a Raiser's Edge database with Wycliffe Bible Translators. The Foundation is a little company working with a big company, using the same RE. We (WF & WBT) have many unique situations since we all report out of the same database, so we all are learning to "play nice in the sandbox" so to speak.

WBT has a "Current Gifts" receipting function that runs through Raiser's Edge, and WF uses RE to report Planned Gifts. We use the PG information in RE to compile Production Reports and track successfulness of our Field Reps and Marketing Campaigns. Our PG operations team uses separate accounting software to manage PG distributions, asset allocation, etc. We have a modification of the PG Module in RE, and I manage the processes for the Planned Gifts side of the RE.

For all of our Planned Gifts, I enter a Gift Type of "Planned Gift," using Subtype of "Cash" (for uniformity). We use Gift Amount to record Original Cash Value for our Gift Annuities and Donor Advised Funds, and we enter an amount of $0.00 when we enter a Bequest or Outside Managed agreement. I record an Expectancy Value in an Attribute, then write my own Crystal Report to report on a formula field:

IF ({Gf.Gf_Amount}=0) then {GfAttrCat_3.GfAttrCat_3_Description} else {Gf.Gf_Amount}

Once a PG is realized, we click the "Gift is Realized" checkbox, and then distribute the check to whichever affiliate is the beneficiary. If WBT is the beneficiary, then the check is recorded as a Current Gift in our same database, hence the reason for the $0.00 bequest amount.

Sorry for the long response! I am always interested in collaborating with other Planned Giving orgs, best practices, RE tips, etc.

Thanks!
-Virginia

Virginia Steger
Wycliffe Foundation, Inc.
Orlando, FL