FundSvcs Community

Hello All,

I'm reaching out for your perspective as a neutral, unbiased party regarding the correct gift date to record to help settle a debate in our office.

Facts:

1. Our Planned Giving team received a $20M bequest intention form and a copy of the donor's will in July 2025, prior to the donor's passing.
2. The Planned Giving office date-stamped the materials in July but did not forward them to Gift Operations until October 2025.
3. The gift officer continued discussions and finalized additional details related to the estate in October.
4. Our Gift Operations team recorded the gift using the July received date.
5. The gift officer and leadership are requesting the gift be recorded with the October date, citing that relationship and estate details were finalized then.
6. There is no gift agreement in place-only the bequest intention form and will, both received and stamped in July.  No other documentation or communication received by the donor/estate – only from the gift officer.   
7. Gift officer is stating the gift wasn't authorized until October because we needed to fulfill other obligation we committed to.

Based on this information, Gift Operations is using July as the appropriate gift date, as that is when we first received the signed documentation establishing the donor's intent, regardless of when internal processing occurred. 

Which date would you consider correct in this scenario, and why?

Thank you,

Michele

Michele Hicks, MPA | Sr. Director, Philanthropy Compliance | Philanthropy

Normal Business Hours:  M-F, 7:30a-4:30p

Hello All,

I'm reaching out for your perspective as a neutral, unbiased party regarding the correct gift date to record to help settle a debate in our office.

Facts:

1. Our Planned Giving team received a $20M bequest intention form and a copy of the donor's will in July 2025, prior to the donor's passing.
2. The Planned Giving office date-stamped the materials in July but did not forward them to Gift Operations until October 2025.
3. The gift officer continued discussions and finalized additional details related to the estate in October.
4. Our Gift Operations team recorded the gift using the July received date.
5. The gift officer and leadership are requesting the gift be recorded with the October date, citing that relationship and estate details were finalized then.
6. There is no gift agreement in place-only the bequest intention form and will, both received and stamped in July.  No other documentation or communication received by the donor/estate – only from the gift officer.   
7. Gift officer is stating the gift wasn't authorized until October because we needed to fulfill other obligation we committed to.

Based on this information, Gift Operations is using July as the appropriate gift date, as that is when we first received the signed documentation establishing the donor's intent, regardless of when internal processing occurred. 

Which date would you consider correct in this scenario, and why?

Thank you,

Michele

Michele Hicks, MPA | Sr. Director, Philanthropy Compliance | Philanthropy

Normal Business Hours:  M-F, 7:30a-4:30p

Hi John,

As always, I appreciate your candor and quick response.

Yes, I understand that this is a revocable bequest expectancy and not a financial asset.

The question we are trying to resolve is the appropriate date to record the bequest intention. Because this crossed fiscal years, leadership's position is that the booking date should be October, after they addressed separate, unrelated donor obligations. The are citing this is the "Mailbox date".  Gift Operations' position is that we record the intention based solely on when the donor documentation is received.

At this point, the only documentation we have is the date stamp showing the intention was received in July, along with email correspondence from the gift officer instructing that the gift be booked in October. This raises the question: when is gift officer communication sufficient to override the documented date of receipt for booking purposes?

I believe I know the correct answer here, but I am looking for reinforcement from an unbiased CASE reporting perspective that I can share to help ensure consistency and transparency in our approach.

Thanks,

Michele

Michele Hicks, MPA | Sr. Director, Philanthropy Compliance | Philanthropy

Normal Business Hours:  M-F, 7:30a-4:30p

Hello All,

I'm reaching out for your perspective as a neutral, unbiased party regarding the correct gift date to record to help settle a debate in our office.

Facts:

1. Our Planned Giving team received a $20M bequest intention form and a copy of the donor's will in July 2025, prior to the donor's passing.
2. The Planned Giving office date-stamped the materials in July but did not forward them to Gift Operations until October 2025.
3. The gift officer continued discussions and finalized additional details related to the estate in October.
4. Our Gift Operations team recorded the gift using the July received date.
5. The gift officer and leadership are requesting the gift be recorded with the October date, citing that relationship and estate details were finalized then.
6. There is no gift agreement in place-only the bequest intention form and will, both received and stamped in July.  No other documentation or communication received by the donor/estate – only from the gift officer.   
7. Gift officer is stating the gift wasn't authorized until October because we needed to fulfill other obligation we committed to.

Based on this information, Gift Operations is using July as the appropriate gift date, as that is when we first received the signed documentation establishing the donor's intent, regardless of when internal processing occurred. 

Which date would you consider correct in this scenario, and why?

Thank you,

Michele

Michele Hicks, MPA | Sr. Director, Philanthropy Compliance | Philanthropy

Normal Business Hours:  M-F, 7:30a-4:30p

Hello All,

I'm reaching out for your perspective as a neutral, unbiased party regarding the correct gift date to record to help settle a debate in our office.

Facts:

1. Our Planned Giving team received a $20M bequest intention form and a copy of the donor's will in July 2025, prior to the donor's passing.
2. The Planned Giving office date-stamped the materials in July but did not forward them to Gift Operations until October 2025.
3. The gift officer continued discussions and finalized additional details related to the estate in October.
4. Our Gift Operations team recorded the gift using the July received date.
5. The gift officer and leadership are requesting the gift be recorded with the October date, citing that relationship and estate details were finalized then.
6. There is no gift agreement in place-only the bequest intention form and will, both received and stamped in July.  No other documentation or communication received by the donor/estate – only from the gift officer.   
7. Gift officer is stating the gift wasn't authorized until October because we needed to fulfill other obligation we committed to.

Based on this information, Gift Operations is using July as the appropriate gift date, as that is when we first received the signed documentation establishing the donor's intent, regardless of when internal processing occurred. 

Which date would you consider correct in this scenario, and why?

Thank you,

Michele

Michele Hicks, MPA | Sr. Director, Philanthropy Compliance | Philanthropy

Normal Business Hours:  M-F, 7:30a-4:30p