Lesson 6.2 – Recording Donations and Receipts

Welcome to Module 6! Once your campaigns and gifts are established, you are ready to start recording the money you receive. FastFund Raising’s Donations/Receipts screen is your central hub for entering cash donations, processing pledge payments, and generating donor acknowledgments.

In this lesson, we will explore the different transaction types, how money flows into your accounting system, and the step-by-step process for recording a donation.

1. Transaction Types

When you open the Donations/Receipts screen, the first thing you must define is the Type of transaction you are entering. FastFund assigns unique codes to separate your revenue streams:

• Cash Gift: This is the default setting. It is used for all tax-deductible charitable donations (including checks, cash, and credit cards) related to your fundraising activities.
• Cash Receipt: This is used for non-deductible payments, such as merchandise sales, seminar registrations, or membership dues. While it tracks in the donor’s history, it is excluded from their yearly tax-deductible gift totals.
• Pledge Payment: This is used strictly to apply a payment against an outstanding donor pledge. (If you select a donor who has an open pledge balance, FastFund will automatically prompt you to apply the payment to their balance).

2. The Undeposited Funds Account

If your system is integrated with FastFund Accounting, it is crucial to understand how donations affect your general ledger. When you save a Donation or Cash Receipt, the system does not immediately put the money into your checking account.

Instead, all receipts are automatically posted to a system holding account called Undeposited Funds. The money stays in this holding account until you use the Bank Deposit function to group your stack of checks and cash together into a single bank deposit, which then moves the total amount into your actual cash account.

3. Key Data Entry Fields

Entering a donation follows a logical flow. Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required to save the transaction:

• Donor: Begin typing the constituent’s name, and the system will auto-fill matches. (Note: Inactive donors will not appear). If the donor is brand new, simply type their full name, and a quick-add pop-up window will appear allowing you to create their constituent profile on the fly without leaving the screen.
• Reference: This is usually the donor’s check number. If it is cash, type “Cash.” If it is a credit card, type “CC” (e.g., CC Visa). FastFund features Duplicate Reference Checking and will warn you if you attempt to use the exact same check number twice for the same donor to prevent double-entry.
• Amount & Deductible: Enter the total amount. The deductible field will automatically match the total, but you can manually adjust it if the donor received goods or services in exchange for their gift.
• Appeal & Gift: You must link the donation to an active Appeal and a specific Gift designation. If the donor wants their money to go to multiple designations, you can use the Gift Split feature to add additional distribution lines until the total transaction amount is fully allocated.

4. Recording Credit Card Fees

If you use a third-party processor or a “Text to Give” application, they often deduct a processing fee before depositing the net amount into your bank account.

Crucial Rule: You must always give the donor full credit for their gross donation amount. Do not enter the net amount as their donation. Instead, save the gross donation, then click the Credit Card Fees button above the gift distribution grid. This launches a pop-up window allowing you to record the specific processing fee. FastFund will log this fee as an expense, ensuring both the donor’s tax receipt and your eventual bank deposit perfectly match reality.

5. Saving and Generating Receipts

At the top right of the transaction screen, you can check the Print or Email boxes in the Options area to queue up a donor acknowledgment letter based on your selected Receipt Template.

• Click SAVE & NEW to post the transaction and immediately open a blank screen for your next entry. Time-saving tip: SAVE & NEW automatically carries forward the Date, Receipt Template, Appeal, and Gift from the previous entry!
• Click SAVE to simply post and close the entry.