Unfulfilled Bequests

Jeff Beachy

We are in the process of expanding our use of the planned gift module in CRM, and I have a question about the bequest way to handle bequests that have been recorded as revenue, but we do not expect them to be fulfilled. We have a number of older bequests where the constituent is deceased, we have received no payments, and don't expect any. How are other institutions handling these both on the revenue record and the planned gift record? We don't want to completely lose the history, but at the same time, we don't want these hanging out there as expectancies. Unlike pledges, there does not appear to be a way to write off planned gift revenue, only delete it.


Thanks.


Jeff


Jeff Beachy

Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services

Santa Clara University

 

Clint Grossnickle

Hi Jeff, Blackbaud offers a customization to adjust posted planned gift records. This solution requires the planned gifts, recorded as revenue, are posted. If you are not currently including planned gifts in your GL post processes, you could setup a separate GL post process for planned gifts that is not sent to the finance system, but simply marks the planned gift revenue records as "Posted" to enable auditing and to track adjustments. While this solution does not write-off a portion or all of the planned gift revenue, it does allow you to adjust the amount down to $0.00 or the actual amount received. The original amount of the planned gift will be maintained for historical reference and the adjusted amount can be used for reporting. The recognition amount can either reflect the adjusted amount or original amount based on your preference.