Sharing data between departments or areas at nonprofit organizations is frequently desirable, yet not always a simple straightforward process. Attend this session to learn about the benefits, pitfalls and best practices to consider when sharing data is needed.

1. Sharing Data Between Development
and Other Areas
Cheri Weissman
June 5, 2012
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2. Protecting and Preserving the www.cjwconsulting.com
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Nonprofits Since 1993 (866) 598-0430
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3. Affordable collaborative data
management in the cloud.
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4. Today’s Speaker & Host
Cheri Weissman
President
CJW Consulting & Services, Inc.
Assisting with chat questions:
Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars
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5. Sharing Data
Between Development and Other
Departments

6. Development/Finance

7. Nonprofit Accounting
• Because there is no profit motive for nonprofits, accountability is
measured instead of profitability.
• The main purpose is stewardship of financial resources received
and expended in compliance with legal or other requirements.
• Financial reporting is directed at the public, fund contributors, or to
private members, who are concerned with adequate fund balances
or net financial assets to provide future programs and services,
rather than investors, who seek a profit or return on investment.
• Funds (a self-balancing set of accounts) may be established to
provide reporting of expenditure for designated purposes
depending on the needs of financial statement users.
• Fund accounting serves any nonprofit organization or the public
sector. These organizations have a need for special reporting to
show how money is spent, rather than how much profit was
earned.

8. In the beginning…
• Accounting Software told the whole story:
– Where gifts were going
– Who gave
– Why they gave
– When the money was given
– When the money could be spent
– What was given
– How gifts were made/paid
– Expenses

9. Several dozen decades later…
• Fundraising software was invented to track:
– Where gifts were going
– Who gave
– Why they gave
– When the money was given
– When the money could be spent
– What was given
– How gifts were made/paid

10. So let’s review
Accounting tracks: Development tracks:
– Where gifts are going – Where gifts are going
– Who gave – Who gave
– Why they gave – Why they gave
– When the money was given – When the money was given
– When the money can be – When the money can be
spent spent
– What was given – What was given
– How gifts were made/paid – How gifts were made/paid

11. Perhaps it’s time to think about this another way
Who really needs to be tracking what?
And how?
How/when/why do you reconcile?

12. Development Software Tracks
– Where gifts are going
• Fund code
– Who gave
• Donor name, constituent or similar code
– Why they gave
• Appeal/response
– When the money was given
• Gift date
– When the money can be spent
• Campaign or similar code
– What was given
• Gift type (in-kind, cash, pledge, stock, etc.)
– How gifts were made/paid
• Payment method

13. Accounting Software tracks
– Where gifts are going
• GL account
– When the money was given
• Gift/deposit date
– When the money can be spent
• GL account
– What was given
• GL account

14. Interface v. Reconcile
• Interface
– Export data from one system to import into
another system
• Reconcile
– Prepare documentation for gifts entered in one
system to be compared against receivables
entered in another system

15. Can your software interface?
If your accounting software tracks: Can your fundraising software tell it:
– Where gifts are going – Where gifts are going
• GL account • Fund code
– When the money was given – When the money was given
• Gift date • Gift date
– When the money can be – When the money can be
spent spent
• GL account • This is often a challenge
– What was given – What was given
• GL account • Gift type

16. The Bare Bones
• FUND translates to GL account
– A fund in fundraising software designates the pot
into which the gift is going

17. The Bare Bones
• Gift Date
– Allows for daily reconciliation and easy
comparison between accounting and
development
– Keep in mind that the date a gift is received is not
necessarily the same as the date on which a gift is
posted/deposited

18. The Bare Bones
• Type of Gift
– Accounting systems frequently track cash gifts
separately from in-kind, pledges, stock
– Accounting systems usually track non-contributed
income separately from contributed income

19. Ways to Interface
• Direct link between fundraising software/GL
– Blackbaud
– Sage
– IRM Systems (association management)
– Fast Fundraising (Araize Software)
– Kintera
• Export/Import
– Export from fundraising software/import into GL

20. Reconciliation
• When electronic interface is not available
– Reconcile gift entry against bank deposits daily
– Keep a daily log of deposits/gift entry
– Prepare month-end report and compare against
GL totals

21. Challenges
• Our GL has different accounts for individual,
board, foundation, corporate and government
gifts
• Our fundraising software does not allow us to link
GL numbers to funds
• Our fundraising software does not allow us to
specify different GL accounts for different types
of gifts
• Our GL tracks credit card gifts in a different
account than cash gifts

22. Challenge the challenges
• Our GL has different accounts for individual,
board, foundation, corporate and government
gifts
– Why does GL need this information?
• Our fundraising software does not allow us to
link GL numbers to funds
– Is there a user field/attribute that can store this
information?
– Can GL codes be used for fund codes?

23. Challenge the challenges
• Our fundraising software does not allow us to
specify different GL accounts for different types
of gifts
– Is there a user field or attribute that can be used for a
GL code?
• Our GL tracks credit card gifts in a different
account than cash gifts
– Do you have a report that will summarize giving by
payment method?
– Is there a user field or attribute that can be used for a
GL code?

24. Other Data Shares
Students/Patients/Volunteers/Members
And more…

25. Linking Records
• Types of data to link
– Specific Data Areas
• Students
– Date Entered, Date Graduated, Date Left, GPA, Major
– Parents, Siblings
• Patients
– Admit Date, Release Date
• Volunteers
– Start Date, Interests, Job Assignments, Skills
• Members
– Join Date, Membership Level, Benefits

26. Linking Records
• How do I do this?
– Ask your software vendors
• What can we export from external system?
• What can we import into fundraising system?
• What do I need to know to do this right?
– Learn how your data sets are structured
• Flat file
• Relational data
• Required fields

27. Learning Limits
• Your fundraising software will dictate what
you can import and maintain within it.
– Differing products have differing capabilities
• Avoid polluting your fundraising data with
additional data that isn’t really needed
• You may be better off importing minimal
information from outside databases that will
allow you access to data in other applications

28. Other Import Examples
• Convio/Kintera
– Online Contributions/Event Participation
• EventBrite
– Event Registrations
• Website activity
– Gifts, Registrations, etc.

29. Questions?
• Cheri Weissman
• 866/598-0430
• cheri@cjwconsulting.com
• @cjwconsult

30. Find listings for our current season
of webinars and register at:
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