Welcome to the world of Donation Entry! Donation Entry will allow you to log contributions, making it a one-stop-shop for donor management and end-of-year tax statement generation. This article will walk you through the Donation Entry workflow from start to finish.
The batching process
Create a batch
Within the Batches section of the Dashboard, select Create Batch in the upper right corner.
Name the batch and select Save when finished. We recommend using a date range as part of the name, as it makes locating donations easier in the future!
You will be taken to a new page to begin entering the donations. However, back on the main Batches page, your batch will now appear under Active until it is finalized and committed, as shown below.
Enter donations
Select Create Gift in the center or upper right corner of the page
Enter additional applicable gift details
Donation methods
Donations fall into two main categories: tax-deductible and non-tax-deductible. Within each category, donations can be made through a variety of methods.
Non-tax-deductible contributions are not included on Giving Statements at this time.
Tax-deductible options
Check
Cash
Other
Non-tax-deductible options
Donor-advised fund (DAF)
Qualified charitable distribution (retirement IRA donation)
Cash equivalent (stock, bond, crypto)
In-kind (property, goods, services)
Other
There are many additional ways a donor can give a non-tax-deductible donation. If the method falls under the category of Other, we recommend noting it in the Description field, since this will appear on the Tax Statement.
Non-tax-deductible donations are counted towards the progress of a donor's pledge.
Adding a new Donor
If a donor does not exist within the Dashboard, select the "+ Create..." option to add a new donor.
Within the new pop-up, add the First and last name of the donor and select Create
We recommend taking note of new donors while gifts are batched. After a Batch is Committed, locate the donor in People and add additional information if applicable.
Split Donations
If a donor would like to allocate their gift to multiple funds, select the "+" icon to the right of the Amount Field to add a new fund. If you need to delete a fund row, select the "X" to the right of the Amount Field.
You may add as many splits as needed! Note: donations cannot be split within the same fund, it must be allocated to different funds.
Committing a batch
When viewing an Active Batch, select Commit Batch in the upper right corner.
Note: after committing a batch, entries cannot be deleted or added; however, they can be edited.
Confirm by selecting Yes, Commit or select No, Cancel to return to the Active Batch.
A few things occur when a batch is committed
The entries will be added to the Gifts and Analytics & Reports section of the Dashboard.
Additionally, they will be added to the donor's profiles in People and visible within their end-user accounts.
Lastly, the Batch will be moved from Active to Committed within the Batches section of the Dashboard.
Editing entries
Editing an Active Batch
Select the three dots in the upper right corner to Rename or Delete the Batch.
While a Batch is Active, you may delete the batch, rename the batch, and delete donation entries. Note, that donations cannot be deleted and a batch cannot be renamed once it is committed. Donation details of a Committed entry can still be edited.
Editing donations within an Active Batch
Select the entry within an Active Batch.
Click the three dots in the upper right corner.
Select Edit Gift or Delete Gift
Editing Donations within a Committed Batch
A committed batched donation can be found within the Gifts or Batches section of the Dashboard. Once found, select the gift to view its details.
Select the Pencil Icon in the upper right corner to begin editing the donation.
Remember, you cannot delete a committed entry; however, the status can be marked as Failed.
Marking an entry as failed will prevent it from appearing on the donor's giving statement.
The Adjustment History section in the upper right corner will log any change made to a committed entry.
Efficiency Tips
Before you begin, we recommend sorting gifts by type. This will allow you to have all of your cash/check donations grouped together inside the batch as you enter them.
Determine if cash will be counted per envelope or entered as a lump sum. Maintaining individual gift amounts can assist the finance team in determining the number of givers and the average gift amount.
You may record $0.00 for stocks, bonds, crypto, or in-kind donations and edit the value at a later date.
To log anonymous cash donations, consider creating a donor named ‘Anonymous Cash.’ This will allow you to keep track of all cash gifts in a simple, organized way.
To add funds or campuses, you will need to add them to the Funds or Campuses pages of the Giving Dashboard. These will automatically appear in the drop-down menus in Donation Entry.
FAQ
When recording checks, what is considered the donation date?
The donation date for a check is either the date the organization received it or the date it was mailed, whichever is earlier. This is especially important for donations made around the end of the year. For example, if you received the check in 2025 but it was mailed in 2024, the donation should be recorded as occurring in 2024. (Source 1 & Source 2)
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax advice. For questions about the legal or tax implications of a donation, consult a licensed accountant—ideally one with nonprofit expertise.