Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has added the matching gift amount to the annual giving of the donor for the annual report listing. I have never added the matching gift amount to the donors records and my supervisor wants it added. Any input would be appreciated.

Nancy Rice
Nancy Rice
Development Associate
Greater Boston Food Bank

Absolutely! We also add soft credits. Michael J. Sherman Donor Services Manager The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay 1307 N. MacDill Avenue Tampa, FL 33607 813.769-7533 [Email Removed]

Hi! I'd like to ask how school organizations handle soft credits in their annual reports -- especially when the alumni are married to each other. For example, we receive a check from Mr. & Mrs. Both individuals have hard records and are linked. The gifts are usually recorded in the husband's record and soft credited to the wife's record. Do you apply the full amount of the donation to both records? Or do you split the amount? Thank you.

For recognition purposes in the annual report, we apply the full amount of the donation to both individuals. Catherine Catherine Seebald Director of Advancement Services Houghton College One Willard Ave. Houghton, NY 14744 585-567-9395 [Email Removed]

We do not give the donor credit for the matching gift however we do give credit for soft credits. If we were to ever list them with the matching gift I would add a notation of some sort letting people know that the amount includes matching gifts. This does 2 things - keeps the integrity of being honest about people's actual gift amount and advertises matching giving as an option. Melissa S. Graves Manager, Development Database & Direct Mail Planned Parenthood of Connecticut [Email Removed] 203-752-2804 P.S. Over 30 RE Forum users have now decided to to meet while at the October Conf. Email me if interested in joining us.

Yes, we add the matching gift amount to the individual's record, then soft credit the company. In the annual report, the individual is recognized for the higher amount and at the end, we have a 'Matching Gift Companies' catagory. Rebecca L. Schafer Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana [Email Removed]

Rebecca - you soft credit the matching gift company? Sounds like you are not using matching gift pledges and payments. Have you tried using the Matching gift function on gifts and decided not to use them? Melissa S. Graves Manager, Development Database & Direct Mail Planned Parenthood of Connecticut [Email Removed] 203-752-2804 P.S. Over 30 RE Forum users have now decided to to meet while at the October Conf. Email me if interested in joining us.

Hate to broadcast my ignorance, but I'm not 100% sure how to use it. The first few matching gifts that came in were from the same company, but sometimes it is a 2:1 matching gift, sometimes a 1:1, sometimes 3:1, etc. It depends on the individual's salary. So I've not attempted to try to figure it out since then. Rebecca L. Schafer Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana [Email Removed]

Yes, we do add the matching gifts to the individual donor's total in the annual report, which obviously can affect where they wind up in the donor category breakdown. Plus, we list matching gift companies at the end, with no giving levels indicated. I actually had someone call after our last report went out, complaining that she couldn't find her name. As it turns out, she was in a higher giving category than she thought she would be, based on the matching gift! Mary Rindfleisch Ridgefield (CT) Library

Nancy, We add matching gifts to the individuals total in our Annual Fund reports. Also soft credits. Cindy Cindy American Civil War Center

Hi, I want to start (soft) crediting donors with the match amount. The school wouldn't receive the contribution without the individual, so give them the credit. I will use your responses to help my cause. Rick Campion Totino-Grace High School

The contribution comes from the matching gift company so they are the donor. You would not have received the donation were it not for the employee, volunteer etc so they are soft credited for the gift. If the donor makes a pledge, then we also build a pledge for the matching gift company. If it is an outright gift, we do it as stated above. We put all gifts including soft credits in the annual report. I don't mind listing people many times. Space in the annual report is not a premium. I can't thank my donors enough.

Both Donor and Soft Credit Donor would be recognized in our Annual report.