Overview
Both Gift Accounting and Development will monitor formal pledges made to the Foundation. Following the formal establishment of a pledge, it may be deemed necessary to alter the original terms of the commitment. In such instances, the installment schedule, installment amounts, and/or overall pledge amount may be modified with some form of written correspondence with the donor. In some cases, an entire pledge or a portion of a pledge may be written off if requested by a donor or deemed necessary by Donor Relations & Stewardship and/or Development. Pledges resulting from phone campaigns will be written off automatically two months after the end of the established fiscal year. The following polices apply to larger, multi-year pledges.
Pledge Monitoring
Gift Accounting will produce a quarterly report for all pledges 3 months past due. The pledge installment profiles found on the reports will be sorted by account and will be grouped under the appropriate school, college, or unit constituency area. The reports will be distributed to the unit-based development officers for their review. A comprehensive copy of the report, encompassing all constituency areas, will be forwarded to the Senior Director for Constituent-Based Programs, the Associate Vice President for Development, the Executive Director of Gift and Estate Planning, the Senior Director of Leadership and Major Gifts, the Senior Director of Annual and Special Gifts, and the Executive Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship.
The expectation is that the various development officers will review the past due pledge(s) and take the most appropriate course of action. In some instances, the development officer may contact the donor in order to ascertain current intentions. All follow-up conducted on these pledges should be routed through the Gift Accounting and they will update the pledge.
Pledge Modifications
Should a donor indicate that an existing pledge requires modification, a written confirmation outlining the altered conditions, such as changes in pledge period, installment amount, or fund designation, must be forwarded to the Office of Gift Accounting. Documentation relating to minor alterations may originate from either the donor or the development officer. No significant alterations will be made, however, without receipt of appropriate documentation from the donor. Staff from the Office of Gift Accounting will be responsible for making all necessary modifications and GAIL entries relating to requested pledge alterations.
Pledge Write-offs
If deemed appropriate by the Foundation or Donor Relations & Stewardship and/or Development, Gift Accounting may terminate a donor’s pledge. If requested, an entire pledge balance, or the remaining portion of a pledge, may be written off. Such requests may originate with either the donor or a development officer. The Donor Relations & Stewardship and/or Development will accept written write-off requests and will coordinate with Gift Accounting on implementing the write-off. A request must be in writing and should include a brief statement of justification.
All pledges provided by Gift Accounting to Development on the quarterly monitoring report will be written off before the end of the fiscal year of the report unless Gift Accounting is notified that the pledge is still collectible.
Pledge write-offs associated with previously assigned naming opportunities will be handled in a manner appropriate to the particular pledge, and on a case-by-case basis, initiating with the Gift Acceptance Committee as these situations may involve Regents policies and procedures as well as amendments and/or adjustments to financial statements, bond issuances, etc.
A statement addressing the total of pledge balances written off during the course of a fiscal year will be included in an annual report to the Foundation Board of Trustees.