Hi all,
Quick question here...it's nearing the end of our fiscal year, and our Finance office has decided to transfer all "extra" income from ticket exchanges, money on account, etc. into our Foundation as a donation. In order for us to keep our books reconciled, they would like for me to enter this "donation" into Tessitura. I'm trying to think of the best way to do this (perhaps setting up a bogus account and a misc. fund)....I guess I'm reluctant because I don't want this bogus record to keep popping up in lists that I build (I know I can exclude it from extractions, but I use a lot of lists and reports to report on contributions). Any ideas on how I should handle?
Thanks,Anthony
Hi, Anthony -
Is the money still associated with the individual patrons' records? If so, I would suggest entering the "donations" there. If you created a special campaign and fund for this type of contribution, you could exclude that fairly easily from your regular reporting, memberships, renewal solicitations, etc. We have a separate campaign for Ticket Turnbacks that works this way, and it has been useful for recognizing the contribution without mixing it up with a patron's Annual Fund support.
You could then send a special acknowledgment letter that both explains why they no longer have money on account to use for future ticket purchases (if that would be helpful for your patrons to know), and thanks them for their gift (even if it was unintentional). If their money is being recognized as a contribution, they should know that for tax purposes. And it never hurts to say thank you!
Good luck,
Sarah
Thanks Kathleen and Sarah,
Actually the money is not still associated with the patrons, it's basically one big lump sum that is getting transferred over. So I would create a dummy account to place the contribution in. But Sarah, I like your idea of setting up a separate campaign. This way, I can still see the money in the Fund Activity Report to give me a bottom line, but when I build lists or run other reports, I won't select that campaign. Seems like a good way to keep it separate from the Annual Fund.
Thanks!
Anthony