PLEDGES

Pledges are commitments to give a specific dollar amount to one or more designated funds within a specified period of time, generally over a span of years.  Only pledges of at least $1,000 to be paid in multiple installments will be booked for accounting purposes.  Pledges totaling an amount less than $1,000 should generally be considered as annual gifts with an expectation of fulfillment within the same fiscal year the pledge is made.  All pledges other than those made via the Annual Giving phone campaign are required to be in writing.

SUBSTANTIATION REQUIREMENTS

The following minimum information must exist to substantiate a pledge:

• the amount of the pledge must be clearly specified;

• there must be a clearly defined payment schedule or a specified end date;

• the pledge designation(s) must be identified;

• the donor may not proscribe contingencies or conditions; and

• the evidence of the pledge should include words such a "promise," "agree," or "will" rather than "intend," "plan," "hope".

RECORDING PLEDGES

Written Pledge

The Gift Accounting Office enters pledges into the ASCEND database for written, documented pledges transmitted from the donor.  The amount of the pledge recorded represents only the amount the donor personally plans to contribute.  It does not include any anticipated matching gifts from the donor's employer.  A donor cannot obligate a company to continue to match his/her gifts.  Therefore, any matching gift revenue that is received will be designated to the same fund(s) the donor has identified and will 'count' toward the donor's support of that particular project or program but will not be applied as a pledge payment. TOP

At the time the pledge is entered into the ASCEND database, an installment schedule, based on the number of anticipated payments and the beginning and end date of the pledge, is established.  Installment information is used to generate pledge aging reports for the Gift Accounting Office use in monitoring the progress of pledges and for writing-off pledges as described in the next section (IV. H.) TOP

Phone Pledge

Phone pledges are electronically transferred from the phone-a-thon vendor to the Gift Accounting Office and are recorded in the ASCEND database.  These pledges are held active for approximately eight months.  If not fulfilled within that timeframe, phone pledges are automatically identified as historical.  TOP

Acknowledging Pledges

The Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship will be notified of all new pledges of $10,000 or more and will send a written acknowledgement to the donor. TOP

Pledge Reminders

All donors with an active pledge(s) to Arch will receive a Pledge Reminder generated by the Gift Accounting Office in the month(s) indicated in their original commitment documentation.  The pledge reminder will include the following information relative to his/her commitment:

• Pledge established date

• Pledge designation

• Total pledged

• Total paid to date

• Balance Outstanding

• Total Currently Due

The amount currently due is based on the original payment/reminder schedule that the donor requested when the pledge was established.  If payment is not received within three months of the first reminder, a second request reminder will be sent as follow-up. TOP

Once a pledge has been paid, the outstanding pledge is shown as paid.  Any additional contributions to that fund are recorded as outright gifts.

Payment reminders for Annual giving phone campaign pledges are generated by the phone-a-thon vendor; not the Gift Accounting Office.  These are automatically managed on a 30-60-90 day cycle. TOP