Hello,

I am new to the Everson Museum and am finding that the way they have the campaigns, funds, appeals set up is inefficient.  I understand the concept these categories, I was just wondering if someone would be willing to share their general layout.  For example, do you make a new appeal each time you send a renewal letter?  Do you have separate funds/appeals for memberships, major gift memberships, board giving, etc.?  I am the only person in my organization that is using Raiser's Edge and I don't want to change things without some feedback and thinking it through.

 Thanks,
Cindy  

This is how I like to think about it:

Appeals = Solicitations: What solicitation was it a part of (whether mail, a newsletter, personal solicitation form a major gifts person, etc.) Example: Fall Direct Mail, Spring Direct Mail, etc.

Packages - breakdown of the soliciatation effort (renewal versus acquisition or breakdown of grouping such as bi weekly employees, monthly employees, Administration, Board Members)

Fund is what the money is restricted for. If the money is unrestricted it doesn't matter what the source of the money is - it should go in a single unrestricted fund.

Campaign can be used for a variety of things - the most popular being to track a Capital Campaign. (I use campaigns to house my Face Value Planned Gifts and my Goods & Services things separately from my *normal* gifts so that I can filter on Campaign in reports or use in conditional mail merges without having to update them all based on appeal everytime a new one is added)

Membership money may be a separately budgeted item requiring its own fund separate from unrestricted pure donation money for the Museum because it has goods and services and may technically not have any donative portion - just like your retail shop may be a separate fund.

It sounds like there may be some confusion as to basics - here's a quick guide I use to explain to the non-techy folks because they all remember the W's who, what, where, when & why from elementary school...

Constituency Code would hold the information on WHO the gift came from and their relationship to your org (Board Member)

Gift Type tracks the WHAT  as in What type of gift is it? Pledge, Recurring Gift, Outright Cash Gift, Pledge payment, Stock gift, etc.)

Fund is WHERE the money goes - what program or restriction does it support?

Gift Date is WHEN the gift was received

 Appeal & Package track the WHY did we receive this money (they were solicited using which reply device or what solicitation effort are they replying to)

hope this helps

Thanks Laurel.  I appreciate your input.  Right now the museum has not been breaking things out per year.   Their campaigns are Restricted, Unrestricted, Earned, Unres;Res, Members' Council Initiative, Donated Memberships.  Funds and Appeals are not consistent in the naming conventions.  Also, nothing is named by year...it is all in one fund or appeal.  I guess the intention is to use gift date to know what fiscal year to apply it to.  Problem is when someone pledges in one year, but it isn't paid off until a later year. 

Also, we don't have the event module.  How do you handle events - as funds or appeals?

In my previous experience things were named per fiscal year (09Annual Fund, 10Annual Fund, etc.).  Just feel that there is room to improve how things are managed. 

 I'm Cindy's boat ... no Events module but need to use CFAs to organize how we follow the money!

I'm thinking appeals will be mailings for each event, invitations, newsletters, but I get myself confused when trying to decide what the funds will be (gala, jamboree, membership, summer camp) or should the events be the campaigns??

 Ack!!