When we hear the term “gift agreement” in fundraising, we typically think of substantial gifts that require a lot of finesse and documentation to cover the specifics of the gift, how it will be used, when it will be fulfilled, and more. However, at Givzey, when we talk about gift agreements, we use the term to encompass any documentation exchanged between an organization and a donor to secure a gift.
This could range from a simple donor invoice, a gift pledge, gift bequest, or major gift agreement. Whether a gift agreement is for a large transformative gift or a smaller annual gift, all gifts need proper documentation so your organization can book revenue and your donor can execute their donation.
As a frontline fundraiser working to secure any gift, there’s a lot of intentionality and purpose to secure a verbal commitment from a donor. However, how long does it take for you to turn that verbal commitment into a bookable gift? Have you ever lost touch with a donor, lost a communication detailing a donor’s intent, or had a donor miss their pledge due date?
Digital Gift Agreements formalize this process with simple, user-friendly, and donor-centric functionality so you can scale multi-year giving in ways that grow your pipeline, increase bookable revenue immediately, and improve retention.
What is a Digital Gift Agreement?
To exceed your fundraising goals, you’re looking for ways to book more revenue. Soliciting more multi-year commitments is the leading way to get there, because they increase retention, grow your major and planned giving pipelines, and simultaneously increase the fundraising revenue you need.
However, current processes for multi-year giving strategies are weighed down and halted by incomplete documentation, paper processes, asking donors to physically print PDFs, and version control. Additionally, sending pledge reminders, whether via snail mail or email, is a fulltime job.
Digital Gift Agreements cover all forms of gift documentation, such as pledges, LOIs, bequests, and major gifts. They are formalized digital documents that fundraisers can create and send to donors in seconds, with automated reminders to confirm intent. And, when it’s time for a donor to fulfill a gift, Givzey’s Digital Gift Agreements send automated pledge payment reminders, similar to the way an e-signature solution might remind you to sign a document.
How to Use Digital Gift Agreements
Digital Gift Agreements are useful solutions for frontline fundraisers, advancement operations professionals, and fundraising leaders.
Frontline Fundraisers
Digital Gift Agreements empower frontline fundraisers to create and send agreements in seconds, using your organization’s branded templates, complete with custom fields unique to your organization. Frontline fundraisers simply enter their donor’s information into an agreement and then customize it to match a donor’s intent.
For example, fundraisers often customize Digital Gift Agreements to split gifts between multiple funds, vary the amounts given and on which dates, and even direct gifts to multiple designations within each installment.
Because Digital Gift Agreements streamline the gift agreement process, frontline fundraisers use them to secure multi-year commitments from their entire portfolio and replace traditional annual solicitations with meaningful, impact-focused stewardship and engagement.
Advancement Operations Professionals
For advancement operations professionals, Digital Gift Agreements start by standardizing the way fundraisers and donors confirm gift intent and ensure that all of your organization’s gift documentation requirements are met – allowing you to book more gifts.
Digital Gift Agreements also aid operations by sending automated pledge reminders to donors as due dates approach. These reminders include custom links, bringing together all of your organization’s ways to pay in one convenient email.
Fundraising Leaders
For fundraising leaders, Digital Gift Agreements empower you to scale your multi-year giving strategies to all levels of giving.
By eliminating, streamlining, and improving the processes that once siloed most multi-year giving strategies to only major gifts, Digital Gift Agreements open a door of opportunity that did not exist before.