Overview
Gift Accounting is the clearinghouse for all private support of the University. They record all gifts, pledges, and deferred gifts made to the UGA Foundation and direct to the University, as well as UGA-affiliate organizations such as the 4-H Foundation, Friends of the State Botanical Garden, and the UGA Athletic Association. Gift Accounting provides gift receipts and pledge reminders to donors and various fund-raising reports to both internal and external constituents. In addition, they record non-gift revenue related to fundraising and alumni events.
Confidentiality in Gift and Payment Information
Gift Accounting works with sensitive donors and payment information. Any personal requests for access or changes to an individual’s giving or payment information must be requested or confirmed by that individual. This applies to giving information such as gift history and payment information such as personal account information. The requester should verify their identity by providing their name and graduating year, if appropriate, and then by verifying the previous giving or payment information being changed.
Changes to Biographical Information
Gift Accounting partners with the Advancement IT Records Management team to perform biographical updates to donor records. Updates are generally requested or confirmed by the individual. The individual should verify their identity by providing their name and graduating year, if appropriate, and then by verifying the previous biographical information being changed.
To comply with the FTC’s “Red Flags Rule,” this policy applies to updates to name, address, phone number, email address, and any other biographical information which may be used to confuse one person’s identity with another’s.
Confirmation to record updates does not apply to those solicited through mailed surveys or acquired from independent or institutional sources, such as other UGA systems, USPS, or data service providers. Updates may also be made based on information obtained from publicly available sources, such as obituaries
Other Income
Gift Accounting is the central depository for all income related to fundraising events associated with the Division of Development & Alumni Relations and other non-gift revenue to the Foundation. This includes payments for event registrations, purchase of merchandise, rent income, etc.
Reporting
Gift Accounting is responsible for the Foundation’s gift reporting for the University of Georgia. Reports include:
- Weekly Fundraising Report
- Monthly Development Detail Report
- Annual surveys, such as the Voluntary Support of Education Survey (VSE)
- Ad hoc responses to various fundraising inquiries
The Weekly Fundraising Report and monthly Development Detail Report are used by UGA administrators to monitor the progress of annual University-wide fundraising efforts. The VSE is the benchmarking report used by UGA administration and the USG Board of Regents to compare the fundraising results among peer institutions. Gift Accounting also performs a review of any reports which reflect giving, whether for internal staff purposes or for use by outside entities.