Active Pledge
Active pledge is defined as a pledge that is active, regardless if it has a payment schedule or not. Pledge Status = Active.
Annual Fund Pledge
At the close of the fiscal year, all unpaid annual fund pledges that do not have a payment schedule date greater than June 30 will automatically be written off. The Office of Advancement Services will conduct a semi-annual review of all active non-annual fund pledges to ascertain their viability and the likelihood of their fulfillment.
Conditional Pledge
Conditional pledges are those that place requirements on the institution to perform some task or take some sort of action that it might not otherwise initiate. A conditional pledge may also depend on some future event over which neither the institution nor the donor may have control.
Open Pledge
Open pledge is defined as a pledge that is active but has no payment schedule associated with it. Pledge Status = Active, Pledge Frequency = Open.
Pledge Intention
An intention to pledge will be entered into the Gift system the donor expresses intent to give but the pledge is not legally enforceable per the donor’s written agreement, or the donor has not provided the institution with a written intent to pledge, therefore rendering the pledge unenforceable. Intentions will be entered into the Gift system but will NOT count toward goals or attainment calculations.
Straight Pledge
A legally enforceable unconditional promise to give money to the University over a defined period of time (ideally not more than 5 years), to be paid solely with assets belonging to the individual or the organization. Straight pledges will count toward goals and attainment calculations.
A pledge can be made only by the entity exercising legal control over the assets to be given. Therefore, an individual cannot make a pledge that includes anticipated matching contributions from an employer or some other source. Nor can an individual commit funds that may be applied for through a donor advised fund or community foundation. An enforceable, countable pledge includes only those funds that will be given by that legal entity.
Will Commitment
An intention to give the University a gift after a person is deceased (through a will or estate plan) will be entered into the Gift system if the donor expresses intent to give and provides either a copy of his/her Will or signs a Letter of Intent regarding the Will. If the donor specifies an amount of the bequest donation, the Will Commitment will be entered at the amount provided by the donor. If the donor does not specify an amount, or provides an estimate of a percentage of his/her estate, then the will is entered at the value of $1 for internal purposes only. This amount should NOT be communicated to the donor. Will Commitments will be entered into the Gift System and will count toward goals or attainment calculations.
-From CASE Management Reporting Standards, Standards for Annual Giving and Campaigns in Educational Fund Raising, Third Edition, 2004, page 40. Advancement Services Orientation Manual