Standard Donor and Gift Codes

Donor and Gift Code Maintenance is used to maintain the code tables used in the Donor and Gift Management module. The same codes also may be used in other modules. To access Donor and Gift Code Maintenance, select File Maintenance > Donor and Gift Code Maintenance, and then select the code table you want to work with from the sub-menu that opens.

The process for maintaining these codes is the same as other codes in FIMS. Refer to Maintaining FIMS Codes in the Introduction for more information on configuring code tables.

NOTE: As of FIMS 14.00, the following additional Gift codes can be set to inactive:

• AcknowledgementDonor ClassDonor RankEthnicGift TypePurposeSecurities

Note: If you have the optional Stock Gift Management module, refer to File Maintenance – Stock Gifts for more information about maintaining Stock Gift codes.

• Donor Class: These codes are used to indicate the type of Donor (for example, Corporate, Family, Individual, or Interfund).

• Occupation: These codes are used to indicate the type of occupation held by a Donor (for example, Business, Education, or Medical).

• Solicitor: On the Donor record, these codes are used to identify the person who introduced a Donor to the organization or has been assigned to cultivate the relationship with a Donor. On the Gift record, these codes are used to identify the person who solicited the Donor for that specific Gift.

• Staff: These codes are used to identify the primary staff person who is assigned to work with a particular Donor.

  Note: If you use DonorCentral, you can also add each staff member’s Business Title, E-mail address, ID Code (if the staff member has a Profile record), and FIMS User ID (if the staff member is a FIMS user), along with the code and description.

• Source: On the Donor record, these codes are used to describe the means by which a Donor was introduced to the organization (for example, Annual Appeal or Personal Reference). On the Gift record, these codes identify the source for that specific Gift.

• Acknowledgement: These codes are used to indicate the type of acknowledgement letter a Donor should receive when they make a Gift to the organization. The selected code is used as a control field in mail merges to create acknowledgement letters. Refer to Using FIMS with Microsoft Office for more information on creating acknowledgement letters.

• Purpose: These codes are used to track the intention of Gifts in FIMS (for example, Challenge, Addition to Fund, or Special Project).

• Donor Rank: These codes are used to track a Donor’s contribution potential to the organization (for example, Less than $10K or More than $10K).

• Gift Type: These codes are used to indicate the type of Gift (for example, Cash, Work of Art, or Real Estate).

• Ethnic: These codes are used to classify Donors by (for example) nationality, culture, race, or religious affiliation. This code table also includes an optional Budget amount (for use in creating Grants for a specific group).

• Match: These codes are used to indicate the type of matching Gift that a particular Gift (or all Gifts from a particular Donor) qualifies for.

  Note: In addition to the code and description, you can also indicate whether you want FIMS to automatically create a Pledge for the matching amount when the initial Gift is posted, and you can indicate the Matchor and Matchee ratio that will indicate the Pledge amount. For example, if the Matchor is set to 1 and the Matchee is set to 2, the Gift will be matched at a 1 to 2 ratio (Donor gives $40 and Matchor gives $20). If the Matchor is set to 2 and the Matchee to 1, the Gift will be matched at a 2 to 1 ratio (Donor gives $40 and Matchor gives $80).

• Soft Credit Types: Starting with FIMS 14.0, Soft Credits are supported.  The type of Soft Credit is entered via this menu item for (optional) use in order to codify automatically assigned soft credits.

• IRS Gift Types: The IRS has added a regulation requiring foundations to provide information about the types of gifts that were made during the tax year. Rather than creating a separate IRS Gift Type field and putting it on the screen, FIMS uses an IRS Gift Type code table, linked to the FIMS Gift Type code. When you select a Gift Type, the IRS Gift Type is automatically assigned at the same time. This helps ensure greater accuarcy in FIMS IRS 990 reports.

As of 2008, the current default IRS Gift Type codes should suffice. However, when and if you add additional IRS Gift Types, each should be linked to a FIMS Gift Type. When the FIMS Gifts Type is chosen, its IRS code will as well.