Tony Poderis's recent blog (July 31st: How Long Should Donors Have to Fulfill Fundraising Pledges?) proposes that the donor should be allowed to set the time limit for fulfilling any pledge they make. Some folks might, at first glance, think this will dramatically increase the amount of work necessary to manage the overall pledge campaign, as well as the individual pledges. With FundRaiser's Pledge Module, available in Select and standard in Professional, this should be of little concern and here is why:
1. Flexibility of pledge length. With FundRaiser, no two pledges have to be the same. You can set defaults that you'd like to use, but you can adjust each pledge, as needed, to suit the donor.
2. Flexibility of pledge payment intervals. There are several standard increments, from weekly to annually, to include anyone's preference for regular payment intervals. And any payment schedule can be adjusted to fit the donor's preference
3. Flexibility of pledge payment application. Most folks will make regular payments that decrease the amount due until the pledge is fulfilled. Some folks, though, may say something like this: "I know I can send at least (X) dollars each (month, quarter, year), but I might be able to do more from time to tome, so just take the extra as more pledged". FundRaiser's Pledge Module can accommodate even this situation, on a pledge-by-pledge basis.
4. Flexibility of pledge payment amounts. Most folks will want their payments to be the same amount each interval, but some (especially corporate donors, for tax purposes) may want to vary their amounts and dates according to some fiscal plan of their own. Again, FundRaiser's Pledge Module allows this, very easily, on a pledge-by-pledge basis.
So, consider taking Tony's advice, and, using FundRaiser's Pledge Module, you'll be able to keep track of it all with the special Pledge Reports section of the Print menu, too. You can learn more about the pledge module here, or sign up for a live class (Aug. 21st@10am or Sep. 17th@10am), or check out the video training in the Customer Portal section of our website.