best practice when donor changes recurring gift amount

Anna Silvestri · January 21

Hi,

I was wondetring what'd be the best way to record a chnage in a recurring gift amount. Last years we had a few donors who decided to increase the amount of their recurring gifts. My colleague have been recorded this on Re in this way:

put the recurring gift with the previuos amount as completed
create a new recurring gift with the new amount

However, I'm now running some reports on Individual Giving for last year, and in the reports those recurring gifts seemed to be new recurring gift, when in fact they were uplifts of existing donations. So I'm questioning whether we should have done it differently. Maybe creating amendments on the existing recurring gift? Would that be the best way to record these changes? Or is there another way?

Ibrahim Baidoo · January 21

When a donor increases the amount of an ongoing recurring gift in Raiser's Edge, the best practice is to amend the existing recurring gift rather than closing it and creating a new one. Amendments preserve the original start date and donor relationship, allowing the increase to be correctly reported as an upgrade rather than a new recurring gift. Closing the old gift and creating a new one is technically valid, but it causes reports, especially Individual Giving and retention reports to misclassify upgrades as new acquisitions.

The close-and-recreate approach should only be used when the donor truly ends one commitment and starts another (for example, after a cancellation, major payment change, or program shift). For historical data, it’s often safest to leave records as they are and adjust reporting logic to identify upgrades, unless the volume is small and corrections are feasible. Going forward, standardizing the use of amendments (with clear reasons) will ensure cleaner reporting and a more accurate picture of donor behaviour.

How to Amend Recurring Gift:

Open the existing recurring gift
Add an amendment:
- New amount
- Effective date (when the increase starts)
- Reason (e.g. “Donor upgrade”, “Annual uplift”, “Stewardship ask”)
Leave the recurring gift itself active.

RE will:

Keep the gift as one recurring commitment
Apply the new amount from the amendment date forward

This is the cleanest and most report-friendly method.

Anna Silvestri · January 21

Thank you so much @Ibrahim Baidoo, very clear and detailed reply. That's what I thought. From now on we'll make sure to follow this procedure.

Dariel Dixon · January 21

I think @Ibrahim Baidoo is right on the money, but let me state that documentation is IMO the most important step. It needs to easily seen why there was a change, and what was the catalyst. I'd even consider adding an action if there was a phone call or an email with the donor confirming the change.

Anna Silvestri · January 22

Hi @Dariel Dixon,

that's a very good suggestion. In theory, according to our internal CRM guidelines, we should create an action everytime there is a change, but in pratice, we really need to be better at that. So your is a very good reminder to follow guidelines and procedure!

best practice when donor changes recurring gift amount

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