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  • 1.  Campaign Reporting Restrictions on Unrealized Bequest Endowments

    Posted 02-13-2023 12:10 PM

    Hello.    I am currently reviewing our planned gifts, specifically bequests, and have come across an issue as we head into a campaign.

     

    We have several unrealized bequests recorded in our system that the donors have indicated will be permanently restricted to named endowments.  Even though we have the necessary paperwork, our current policy is not to create the named endowment account until the bequest is realized because there are times when the funds received do not meet our $100K endowment minimum.  When recording the permanently restricted bequests, we use an account "Bequest Expectancy – Permanently Restricted".    Previously, this process has been sufficient.  However, now we are heading into a comprehensive campaign, it is necessary to identify which campaign "bucket" each of these unrealized bequests fits into.

     

    Has anyone else come across this issue?  How do you handle recording unrealized permanently restricted bequests?   Do you create the named endowment at the time of the Expectancy or is there another way to are able to report on the restriction?

     

    Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

     

    Margaret (Peggy) McGraw

    Special Gifts Administrator

    The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

     

    Phone:  (757) 565-8605

    Email:     mmcgraw@cwf.org

     

    Our Mission:  That the future may learn from the past.

     

    Help support the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational institution.


  • 2.  RE: Campaign Reporting Restrictions on Unrealized Bequest Endowments

    Posted 02-13-2023 01:58 PM
    This is where you can "divorce" yourself from the accounting system.

    You do not mention the CRM you are using. However, many allow you to be creative when creating accounts (or funds) within the Advancement CRM. I've created accounts with all the characteristics for what the fund will look like when the bequest (or future pledge payment) is realized. But, for now, it is not tied to the GL. It exists only in the Advancement CRM for reporting purposes.

    When the cash comes in the door, and a true account number is assigned, you can update the fund header with that info and then connect it to the GL.

    If this doesn't make sense, feel free to call me this afternoon after 5!

    John


    John H. Taylor
    Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier St.
    Durham, NC   27705
    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987






  • 3.  RE: Campaign Reporting Restrictions on Unrealized Bequest Endowments

    Posted 02-13-2023 03:03 PM
    We create the endowment at the expectancy level so advancement reporting is accurate.  The tie to the general ledger is not as important since they don't count on the books testamentary commitments.

    When the eventual gift/cash comes in we would look to make the appropriate ties to the GL.

    Thanks

    Tom

    --
    Thomas Chaves
    Associate VP for Advancement Operations
    Office of Advancement
    Saint Joseph's University
    5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
    O: 610-660-1255 | M: 610-316-6541 | tchaves@sju.edu
    SJU.edu





  • 4.  RE: Campaign Reporting Restrictions on Unrealized Bequest Endowments

    Posted 02-14-2023 08:03 AM

    To piggy back off this topic, we are currently in a campaign and have been tracking what percentage of our campaign dollars are coming from bequest expectancies as a contribution type. This is to monitor and ensure we don't have too much of our campaign relying on revocable pledges. My question is what to do once the bequest is realized. In our system, it is still considered "bequest expectancy" dollars but should we be updating this breakdown so it's clear how many dollars are truly unrealized, revocable pledges vs. the revocable pledges that have been fulfilled and no longer have the same risk factor? For instance, should we move these dollars out of the bequest expectancy bucket to our commitment/pledge bucket?

    To get back to the original question, we create the shell of a designation record with all the attributes we know of the fund (as John indicated) so that when the purpose has been declared, it reflects correctly in our reporting. Once the bequest is realized, we'll work to have the fund created with our finance partners and update the designation record with the appropriate fund number.

    Leah



    ------------------------------
    Leah Richards
    Director of Advancement Services
    St. John Fisher University
    lrichards@sjfc.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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