sharing data between development and other areas

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Sharing Data Between Development and Other Areas

Cheri Weissman

June 5, 2012

Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

Protecting and Preserving the

Institutional Memories of

Nonprofits Since 1993

www.cjwconsulting.com

(866) 598-0430

info@cjwconsulting.com

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Affordable collaborative data

management in the cloud.

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Today’s Speaker & Host

Cheri WeissmanPresident

CJW Consulting & Services, Inc.Assisting with chat questions:Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars

Sharing Data

Between Development and Other Departments

Development/Finance

Nonprofit Accounting

• Because there is no profit motive for nonprofits, accountability is measured instead of profitability.

• The main purpose is stewardship of financial resources received and expended in compliance with legal or other requirements.

• Financial reporting is directed at the public, fund contributors, or to private members, who are concerned with adequate fund balances or net financial assets to provide future programs and services, rather than investors, who seek a profit or return on investment.

• Funds (a self-balancing set of accounts) may be established to provide reporting of expenditure for designated purposes depending on the needs of financial statement users.

• Fund accounting serves any nonprofit organization or the public sector. These organizations have a need for special reporting to show how money is spent, rather than how much profit was earned.

In the beginning…

• Accounting Software told the whole story:

– Where gifts were going

– Who gave

– Why they gave

– When the money was given

– When the money could be spent

– What was given

– How gifts were made/paid

– Expenses

Several dozen decades later…

• Fundraising software was invented to track:

– Where gifts were going

– Who gave

– Why they gave

– When the money was given

– When the money could be spent

– What was given

– How gifts were made/paid

So let’s review

Accounting tracks:

– Where gifts are going

– Who gave

– Why they gave

– When the money was given

– When the money can be spent

– What was given

– How gifts were made/paid

Development tracks:

– Where gifts are going

– Who gave

– Why they gave

– When the money was given

– When the money can be spent

– What was given

– How gifts were made/paid

Perhaps it’s time to think about this another wayWho really needs to be tracking what?

And how?

How/when/why do you reconcile?

Development Software Tracks– Where gifts are going

• Fund code

– Who gave• Donor name, constituent or similar code

– Why they gave• Appeal/response

– When the money was given• Gift date

– When the money can be spent• Campaign or similar code

– What was given• Gift type (in-kind, cash, pledge, stock, etc.)

– How gifts were made/paid• Payment method

Accounting Software tracks

– Where gifts are going

• GL account

– When the money was given

• Gift/deposit date

– When the money can be spent

• GL account

– What was given

• GL account

Interface v. Reconcile

• Interface

– Export data from one system to import into another system

• Reconcile

– Prepare documentation for gifts entered in one system to be compared against receivables entered in another system

Can your software interface?

If your accounting software tracks:

– Where gifts are going

• GL account

– When the money was given

• Gift date

– When the money can be spent

• GL account

– What was given

• GL account

Can your fundraising software tell it:

– Where gifts are going

• Fund code

– When the money was given

• Gift date

– When the money can be spent

• This is often a challenge

– What was given

• Gift type

The Bare Bones

• FUND translates to GL account

– A fund in fundraising software designates the pot into which the gift is going

The Bare Bones

• Gift Date

– Allows for daily reconciliation and easy comparison between accounting and development

– Keep in mind that the date a gift is received is not necessarily the same as the date on which a gift is posted/deposited

The Bare Bones

• Type of Gift

– Accounting systems frequently track cash gifts separately from in-kind, pledges, stock

– Accounting systems usually track non-contributed income separately from contributed income

Ways to Interface

• Direct link between fundraising software/GL

– Blackbaud

– Sage

– IRM Systems (association management)

– Fast Fundraising (Araize Software)

– Kintera

• Export/Import

– Export from fundraising software/import into GL

Reconciliation

• When electronic interface is not available

– Reconcile gift entry against bank deposits daily

– Keep a daily log of deposits/gift entry

– Prepare month-end report and compare against GL totals

Challenges

• Our GL has different accounts for individual, board, foundation, corporate and government gifts

• Our fundraising software does not allow us to link GL numbers to funds

• Our fundraising software does not allow us to specify different GL accounts for different types of gifts

• Our GL tracks credit card gifts in a different account than cash gifts

Challenge the challenges

• Our GL has different accounts for individual, board, foundation, corporate and government gifts– Why does GL need this information?

• Our fundraising software does not allow us to link GL numbers to funds– Is there a user field/attribute that can store this

information?

– Can GL codes be used for fund codes?

Challenge the challenges

• Our fundraising software does not allow us to specify different GL accounts for different types of gifts– Is there a user field or attribute that can be used for a

GL code?

• Our GL tracks credit card gifts in a different account than cash gifts– Do you have a report that will summarize giving by

payment method?– Is there a user field or attribute that can be used for a

GL code?

Other Data Shares

Students/Patients/Volunteers/Members

And more…

Linking Records

• Types of data to link

– Specific Data Areas

• Students– Date Entered, Date Graduated, Date Left, GPA, Major

– Parents, Siblings

• Patients– Admit Date, Release Date

• Volunteers– Start Date, Interests, Job Assignments, Skills

• Members– Join Date, Membership Level, Benefits

Linking Records

• How do I do this?

– Ask your software vendors

• What can we export from external system?

• What can we import into fundraising system?

• What do I need to know to do this right?

– Learn how your data sets are structured

• Flat file

• Relational data

• Required fields

Learning Limits

• Your fundraising software will dictate what you can import and maintain within it.

– Differing products have differing capabilities

• Avoid polluting your fundraising data with additional data that isn’t really needed

• You may be better off importing minimal information from outside databases that will allow you access to data in other applications

Other Import Examples

• Convio/Kintera

– Online Contributions/Event Participation

• EventBrite

– Event Registrations

• Website activity

– Gifts, Registrations, etc.

Questions?

• Cheri Weissman

• 866/598-0430

• cheri@cjwconsulting.com

• @cjwconsult

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