A pledge is a fixed amount of money that a constituent promises to pay in a certain amount of time. Pledges are different from recurring donations, which may continue indefinitely.
Create Pledges
You can create pledges in constituent accounts.
To create a pledge:
Go to the constituent's account.
Click the down arrow and click New Pledge.
Enter the Date the pledge was made.
Enter the total pledged Amount.
Enter the Non-deductible. This is the donation amount that is not tax-deductible.
Select which Fund this money is going to. This carries over to all payments made on the pledge.
If a specific fundraising Campaign prompted the pledge, select it. This carries over to all payments made on the pledge.
If a specific Appeal prompted the pledge, select it. This carries over to all payments made on the pledge.
To autoprocess payments, select a Method:
Saved Payment: Select a saved credit card, EFT, or digital wallet (Apple Pay or Google Pay). Digital wallets appear if the constituent previously used a digital wallet for a recurring donation on your online giving form. If you select a digital wallet, the payment is processed in Bloomerang CRM.
Credit Card: Enter a new credit card.
EFT: Enter a new EFT.
To manually apply payments, click Method and select None.
In the Acknowledgements section:
Select whether to send an acknowledgement right after you save this pledge. Read more about this.
Important: If you use Journey Automation to automate email acknowledgements for pledge payments, do not select to send an acknowledgement now.To attach a previous acknowledgement interaction to this pledge, click the plus sign +. You can repeat this step to attach more acknowledgement interactions. Read more about this.
Add soft credits, tributes, or attachments as needed.
Fill in any transaction custom fields that apply.
Next, create the schedule:
Click the Schedule tab.
Enter the First Installment Date. This is the date for the first pledge payment.
Enter the Frequency. This is how often the constituent wants to make payments on the pledge.
Weekly: The payment is processed every 7 days.
Every other week: The payment is processed every 14 days.
Twice per month: The payment is processed on the same two dates every month.
Monthly: The payment is processed on the same date every month.
Every other month: The payment is processed on the same date every other month.
Quarterly: The payment is processed on the same date every quarter.
Every six months: The payment is processed on the same date every six months.
Yearly: The payment is processed on the same date every year.
Custom: The payments are processed according to the dates and amounts you manually enter. Skip to Create Pledges with Custom Frequencies to process with create a custom installment schedule.
Note: Payments scheduled on the 29th, 30th, or 31st will process on those dates. If the month does not have those dates, it will process on the last day of that month.
Tip: If the constituent wants to make a single, lump-sum payment, choose Yearly. If the constituent wants to make a multi-year pledge, choose Yearly, and adjust the Installment Amount.
Enter the Installment Amount. This is the amount of each expected payment. You may create up to 500 installments.
Click Generate Schedule to review the full installment schedule for your pledge.
To add or change installments prior to saving the schedule, in the Installment Preview section click Edit, the Edit Manually.
Click the plus icon to add an installment after this date.
Click Delete to remove the installment.
Change dates or installment amounts as needed.
Click Save to save the Pledge and return to the constituent's timeline.
Tip: In the Installments section, click Edit, then Change Schedule to change the First Installment Date, Frequency, or Installment Amount.
Create Pledges with Custom Frequencies
A pledge with a custom frequency allows you to define the schedule and installment amounts. Use this option when a donor wishes to pay with varying installment amounts and/or on an irregular time frame. After entering pledge details and selecting the Frequency of Custom, continue with these steps:
On the Schedule tab, select the First Installment Date. This is the date of the first payment.
From the Frequency drop-down list, select Custom.
Enter the First Installment Amount. This is the amount of the first payment.
Enter the Number of Installments. This is the number of payments needed to fulfill the pledge.
Click Generate Installments. The first row is populated with the First Installment Date and First Installment Amount entered.
Click the plus icon to add an installment after this date.
Fill in the remaining dates and installment amounts so the installment total equals the pledge amount.
Click Delete to remove an installment.
Click Change Schedule to edit the First Installment Date, Frequency, First Installment Amount, or Number of Installments.
Click Save to save the pledge.
Edit Pledges
To edit a pledge:
Go to the constituent's account.
On the Timeline, click the Pledge to open it. You can also click a Pledge Payment and then click Pledge.
Edit the fields as needed. The fund, campaign, and appeal apply to all payments.
If you edit the Amount, you must adjust the installment schedule so that the Installment Total is equal to the Pledge Amount. Read more about this.
If a pledge has a custom frequency or the installment schedule has been modified from a set frequency, you can edit the frequency to best reflect the modified schedule. Click Edit, select a new frequency and click Save. This doesn't affect the schedule itself.
Note: If you start autoprocessing a pledge, future payments process on the scheduled date for the scheduled amount. However, the payments will apply to the oldest unfulfilled installment.Click Save. The original pledge schedule and any prior payments remain.
Update the Payment Method
For information about how to update the payment method for a schedule, read Update the Payment Method for a Payment Schedule.