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  • 1.  Gift Processing Error Rate

    Posted 10-28-2025 01:35 PM

    Good Afternoon!

    I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share a target error rate that they set for gift processors?  I'm referring to just avoidable type errors made during gift entry (typo, processed a pledge payment as an outright gift, etc.).

    Thanks!

    Jen



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    Jennifer Schillaci
    Sr. Director of Gift Administration
    The University of Chicago
    jschillaci@uchicago.edu
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  • 2.  RE: Gift Processing Error Rate

    Posted 10-28-2025 02:22 PM
    This is a tough nut to crack. There is no formal definition of "error." And some institutions operate differently: some gift entry folks must also track down and record appeal codes, while others don't. Some update bio info and others don't.

    And when I have audited gift processing programs due to suspected high error rates, I have found many cases where the errors were not the fault of the gift entry staff but of the gift officer who incorrectly completed the gift transmittal.

    I wish you luck tracking down this information - and suggest that you dig deeply to understand what errors are being reported and whether they are the "fault" of gift entry staff or those providing the backup.

    John

    John H. Taylor, Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier Street
    Durham, NC     27705

    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Gift Processing Error Rate

    Posted 10-29-2025 07:58 PM

    When I worked in a former role as a gift entry specialist, leadership scored our errors based on how severe they were. The scale was:

    1. We discovered our own error - the error never got reported
    2. Our supervisor discovered the error - low severity
    3. The director of our department discovered the error - medium severity
    4. Someone in a different department discovered the error - high severity

    I really liked this because it made me and our team more accountable for my own work. John is right, though - some "errors" don't actually belong to the data entry person. Our team had systems in place to pre-solve for this. As an example, all large checks were emailed to the events team or their gift steward for coding before entry. If there was no response within two business days, the check was input as an unrestricted general donation. If that was later changed, the error was not applied to the gift entry team.

    A good starting point for you in defining what an error is would be to audit what frequent changes are made. Define who actually owns those, how to prevent them, then how to check for them.



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    Erin Osenbaugh
    The Dallas Foundation
    eosenbaugh@dallasfoundation.org
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    Original Message


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