Constituents might have donations that they want to apply toward a pledge or recurring donation instead. This can happen when:
Constituents donate online to fulfill a pledge payment or recurring donation.
You import donations that should apply to a pledge or recurring donation.
This article explains how to permanently convert donations to pledge or recurring donation payments. To convert donations to membership dues payments, read Add, Edit, or Apply Membership Payments.
Convert a Donation
You can convert a donation when:
The constituent has an active recurring donation schedule, pledge, or membership.
The constituent is a household member, and another household member has an active pledge. You can convert the donation to a payment on that pledge.
Household Example
Chris and Avery are in a household together. Chris has an active pledge with a balance of $10,000. Avery makes a one-time online donation of $1,000 and enters a note that this donation is meant to be a pledge payment. You convert Avery’s donation to a pledge payment on Chris’ pledge, which reduces the pledge balance to $9,000. Avery’s payment also affects other pledge information (status, installment status, amount paid, and amount in arrears).
The $1,000 payment remains on Avery’s timeline and now appears as a pledge payment. When you open that transaction, the pledge balance appears and you can click to view the pledge. Avery’s payment appears in the Payments Received list in the pledge. If you remove either Chris or Avery from the household, the payment remains part of the pledge. In transaction reports, Avery appears as the constituent who made the pledge payment.
To convert a donation:
Open the donation.
Click Actions.
Select Convert to Payment.
Select whether to convert the donation to a Recurring Donation Installment or a Pledge Installment. You can only convert a donation to a recurring donation installment or a pledge installment if the constituent already has a recurring donation schedule or pledge.
Click Next.
If you are converting the donation to a pledge installment, click Save.
If you are converting the donation to a payment on a recurring donation schedule, do the following extra steps:
Select whether to apply this donation as an Additional Payment or a Scheduled Payment.
Click Next.
Review the Current Donation and Converted Payment columns to verify your changes.
Click Convert Payment.
Click Save.
The donation is converted to a payment for the recurring donation:
Payments applied to a schedule fulfill that schedule. For example, the Next Payment date on the schedule is 1/1, and it's set up on a monthly frequency. When selecting the prepay option, the Next Payment date updates to 2/1.
Extra payments do not affect scheduled payments. For example, a constituent donates online on the 10th and you apply the donation to a recurring donation that processes on the 15th. The recurring donation processes on the 15th, and the donation from the 10th is an additional payment.
What Data is Kept
Information from the pledge or recurring donation schedule overwrites some of the donation information:
Fund (pledge payments only)
Campaign (pledge payments only)
Appeal (pledge payments only)
Non-deductible amount (recurring donation payments only)
Tribute
QuickBooks Account
The following information is kept from the donation:
Date
Amount
Payment method
Note
Acknowledgment info
Custom fields
Attached files and links
Non-deductible amount (pledge payments only)
Soft credits from the donation are added to the pledge or recurring donation schedule.
Report on Constituents with Recent Online Giving Form Donations
Quickly see constituents who have recently donated through an online giving form. You can then apply those donations to a pledge or recurring donation schedule.
Click Reports.
Click New Report.
Click Start from a Template.
Click the Online Donations tile.
Click the Online form is any value filter.
Select the forms you'd like to report on, and then click OK.
Click the Date is this month filter.
Change the date settings to the time frame you would like to report on, and then click OK.