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I'm just wondering how many Funds people have/use?
At the moment we have about 10 restricted funds and 1 unrestricted.
Whenever we get gifts that go in the restricted funds, we also use Gift Subtype to further break down the restriction if necessary - eg The fund might be a regional office, and then the gift subtype would be the project.
The problem is we also use Gift Subtype to descibe other gifts - eg birthday gifts, gifts from churches etc, as well as pay method (though only on certain gifts) - eg CAF, so it might get a bit confusing later down the line. Or is this the right way to do it?
The other problem is, is that if instead of using Gift Subtype, we created Funds for all the regional offices and the different projects, we have the potential to have well over 60 Funds - is this normal/practical?
Thanks!
We currently have about 80 funds (down from a few hundred 5 years ago), which I think is is not typical to most organizations. We're a healthcare system that includes a hospital, nursing home/rehab, VNA & hospice, cancer center and two outlying clinics. Each of those subsidiaries has about 5 funds and the hospital has the rest. Our campaign structure is also not typical, we use Annual Fund, Memorial/Honor, Events, Leadership Giving (gifts of $10,000 or more) and Planned Giving. I use gift subtypes for only one purpose - pay method, e.g., CGA or bequest for planned gifts or payroll deduct for employee annual gifts. We handle gifts for which we have no fund with a "further restricted" fund and the subsidiary/purpose is entered in the reference line. This keeps them all in one place and makes it easier to reconcile with finance. This job is the only one I've held in fundraising and through forums and networking I've come to realize that we are outside the norm in the way we have structured our campaigns, funds and appeals, but it's been in place since the development office was created almost 20 years ago and works well. I hope this helps.
Leslie
We are a nonprofit nursing home and agency on aging. We restructured our funds a few years ago to break it down from several hundred to around fifty. We have categorized our funds into: Annual Fund (which encompasses all our unrestricted funds), Board Designated Endowment Funds and Restricted Funds. Then the fund is what we really deposit to. We use the gift subtype to specify if gifts are in support of named/specific programs. So for instance, Mr. Smith can make a gift to the Endowment but have it designated to support the Wolfson Active Life Program. So the subtype would be Wolfson Active Life Program. I can run my gifts for Annual Fund and then have a sub-sort on the subtype and the recognition lists and daily cash receipts work really well. We actually use gift code for the bequest, CGA, etc. that Leslie was talking about.
Good luck!
My rule of thumb regarding funds is where is the money going? What is it restricted for? Usually the creation of funds involves working with your financial office and you may set up funds per ledger. I work for a Healthcare system with 5 hospitals, 1 nursing home and 25 health clinics so I understand the hundreds of funds - for me it's normal. Our financial policy regarding restricted gifts or opening a new fund requires a specific donation amount to start the fund and an approved project. (Otherwise I just put the money in Annual Fund Restricted and use Gift Notes as the indicator where the money is to go)
I'm a big believer in using fields for what they are intended:(with some caveats - and my way isn't the only way)
Example:
Fund: What is the money going to do - where is it going? Is it restricted or unrestricted?
Appeal: What solicitation brought the money in
Pay Method: How was it paid for
Gift Type : What Kind of Gift is it?
Constituency: Who is giving the Gift and what is their relationship to the organization? If they are a general Public Donor - what kind (if an org -ie. Church, School, Foundation,)
Key Indicator: Individual or Organization?
I personally use Gift Subtype as a describer for my Gift Type 'Other' Gifts which we use for Planned Giving
Example: Charitable Remainder Unitrust
I use Gift Code for specific payment segmentation such as payroll deduction, scheduled credit card donors, etc. so that I can pull these folks easily out of the Pledge Reminder process
I have found over the years that it makes life easier if you use a particular field for one reason only because mixing it will only cause you more work down the line.
My two cents - hope it helps!
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We have around 25 funds in our database with some restricted to particular campaigns and the rest are open funds. When you say restricted funds do you mean they are restricted at campaign level? You are right using the Gift Subtype to break down further will mess up the system some point later. Gift Subtypes are meant to breakdown the Gift Types. In our case we use Bank Transactions, CAF, GAYE, Matched Giving, Website and JustGiving. I think, having 60 funds will be too much to handle it. We have around 60 Appeals, 25 Funds and 4 Campaigns. the Fund Structure varies depending on the size of the organisation and the fundraising strategy.
One more suggestion would be- to draw a relationship tree for Appeal, Funds and Campaigns. So that, you can print and paste it in your wall for reference. I recently did one and managers found very useful.
Cristabel - We have hundreds of funds, which I believe is "normal" for a hospital foundation. It really does depend on your organization & structure. Your finance people should be able to advise you.
Thank you every one for replying, it has been very helpful.
Laurel Quaintance:Our financial policy regarding restricted gifts or opening a new fund requires a specific donation amount to start the fund and an approved project.
May I ask what sort of criteria you have for this? As it seems like a good idea!
Here's a copy of our policy - the policies are reviewed and adjusted annually ( I suspect there will be some loosening of the rules because we're opening a Medical School and from my experience higher education tends to have more funds named after donors, etc. that may be restricted for the same purpose.)
TITLE: The creation, administration, allowable costs and closeout of restricted funds. PAGE:
1 of 3
A. GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT
There are occasions when a donor restricts the use of funds given to the Hospital. When these restrictions
occur, it is the policy of the Hospital to establish a Miscellaneous Specific Purpose Fund and/or General
Research Specific Purpose Fund. Further, these donor restricted funds must adhere to all other Hospital
Policies and Procedures with regard to receipts and disbursements from that fund. Generally accepted
Accounting Principles as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board must be followed.
B. SCOPE
This policy applies throughout Bassett Healthcare.
C. ADMINISTRATION and ACCOUNTABILITY
The Research and Special Funds Analyst and the Director of Corporate Finance in conjunction with the
Corporate Vice President and CFO are responsible for the coordination and administration, compliance to,
questions regarding and the altering of provisions therein this policy.
D. PROCEDURE
Fund Administration:
Request for Specific Purpose Funds:
All requests for Specific Purpose Funds must be made in writing and submitted to the Director of
Corporate Finance and/or Research and Special Funds Analyst. Submitted with each request should be the
specific detail with respect to the fund restriction, a copy of the donor’s written request for restriction of the
funds, the source of funding and estimated life of the fund. The request must be signed by the individual who
would administrator the fund and by that individual’s Vice President or Clinical Chief. Also included should
be a listing of individuals with signature authority (not to exceed three (3) individuals), signed contracts and
appropriate departmental sign-off.
1. A new fund will NOT be established for a fund if the estimated life of that fund would be less than one
year..
2. A new fund will NOT be established for an initial gift of less than $1,000.
3. A new fund will NOT be established if there is an existing fund with the same or similar restriction.
4. A new fund will NOT be established without the appropriate documentation and sign-off.
5. To establish a restricted fund in the name of an individual an initial gift of $10,000 must be given.
6. To establish a new Permanently Restricted Endowment Fund an initial gift in the amount of
$100,000.00 must be given.
for non-patient activities, etc. cannot be used to establish a restricted fund. These funds must be
booked as unrestricted non-patient income to the institution under the appropriate cost center.
BASSETT HEALTHCARE POLICY #: PAGE #:
POLICY and PROCEDURE 1 - FIN 2 of 3
The Creation, Administration, Allowable Costs and Closeout
Of Restricted Funds
Establishment of the Fund:
Written notification signed by the Director of Corporate Finance or the Corporate Vice President & CFO
will be sent to the requesting party notifying them of the establishment of the fund and the new fund number or,
if the request is denied, the reason for the denial. It will be the joint responsibility of the requesting party and
the Fund Development office to apprise the donors of their request to establish a special fund. If a request for
the establishment of a fund has met all of the guidelines, the fund will be created. It is recognized that there
could be instances where the fund would be established without the cash being deposited (such as in the case of
a pledge receivable or a grant award notification). However, no expenditures can be made from the fund until
the actual cash has been received to cover those expenditures.
Allowable Expenses:
Expenses charged to the fund may only be for the original restricted purpose. They must be within general
allowable expenses based on Hospital policies regarding the procurement of goods and services (See
Administration Policy & Procedure IV-A). This includes items constituting capital expenditures.
Reporting:
Monthly computer generated reports will be submitted to the Fund Administrator with significant detail as
to allow for the verification of fund activity (additions/deletions). Any corrections should be submitted to the
Research and Special Funds Analyst within thirty (30) days of the receipt of this report. Interest is applied once
period. The December year end report details the amount of interest applied to the fund.
Changes in Fund Administrator:
When a Fund Administrator leaves Bassett Healthcare the fund will remain at Bassett Healthcare. It is the
responsibility of the Vice President or clinical chief to assign a new Fund Administrator when the Fund
Administrator is no longer responsible for the restricted fund. The Research and Special Funds Analyst must
be notified of this change in writing of this change as soon as possible.
Close Out:
1. When the funds have been depleted and no additional funds are expected, the fund will be closed with
notification to the Fund Administrator.
2. Every effort should be made to expend the funds with respect to the original restriction. When the
specific purpose for which the fund was created has been met, the original donor of the funds should
be notified and at their approval the balance of the funds should be used to offset operations. If written
confirmation to use the restricted funds for operations cannot be obtained from the original donor and
the purpose for which the fund was created has been met, the funds should be returned to the original
donor per Accounting guidelines for donor restricted donations.
3. If the fund does not have any activity except interest income for 2 consecutive years, it will be deemed
to have met the purpose for which it was created and the funds will be used to offset operations in the
area that the fund was restricted for. If there are no operating disbursements that would meet the
restriction, then closeout procedures in number 2 above should be followed.
have met the purpose for which it was created and the funds will be used to offset operations in the
area that the fund was created for. If there are no operating disbursements that would meet the
POLICY and PROCEDURE 1 - FIN 3 of 3
E. IMPLEMENTATION
The Director of Corporate Finance is responsible for the implementation of this policy.
F. ENFORCEMENT
It is the responsibility of all Fund Administrators in conjunction with the Research and Special Funds Analyst,
and the Director of Corporate Finance to ensure enforcement of the policy and to report non-compliance to the
Corporate Vice President and CFO as well as the appropriate Vice President.
G. DISTRIBUTION
This policy shall be distributed to all persons having an Administrative Policy and Procedure Manual.
H. REVISIONS
It shall be the responsibility of the Director of Corporate Finance and the Research and Special Funds Analyst,
in conjunction with the Corporate Vice President and CFO to initiate revisions to this policy.
It is normal/practical if your finance office also has that many cost centers in the budget. What fund in RE is doing is creating a link to the place in the budget where finance should be putting the money. The more exactly you mimic the funds that finance has then the more "normal" your database will be.
A donor has the right in the Donor Bill of Rights to expect that their money is going to be used in the way they ask. If you are not putting it exactly in the correct budget line where it can only be used for that you will have a tough time proving that you used the money properly.
Want to know how many funds you need? Ask your finance office for their list of cost centers.
I would definitely try to re-think how you use Gift Subtype. It is an important field that is often under-utilized. The GL structure you can add to every fund in your database is (or can be) influenced by what gift subtype you add to the gift. I suggest you limit what you use Gift Subtype for to only those things which effect what the GL code is for the gift. For most of what you are using I would suggest new funds, appeal code/package for birthday gifts, constituent code for church gifts, etc.