Knowledge Base Article

Overview, Working with Fiscal Donations

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A donation is a gift made by an individual, household, or organization to a nonprofit. Argenta has a Donation Management system built in to help you manage your donors and donations in one place. Like all financial systems in Argenta, the donation manager is fully integrated with our accounting system so contributions can be entered in one easy step. Argenta allows you to:

  • Extensively track information about your donors.
  • Accept and process donation payments with branded public forms.
  • Build fundraising campaigns.
  • Setup recurring donations.
  • Track analytics and metrics using built-in reports.
From the Argenta dashboard on the left-hand side of any screen, select Fundraising >  Donations:
 
 
This opens your organizations full list of all entered Fiscal Donations:


This lists of all of your Fiscal Donations with a quick summary of how many donations you’ve received and the total of those donations.

It also gives an overview of each donation including:

  • The Donation ID
  • The date the donation was made
  • The amount of the donation
  • Details about the donation such as the type, the category, and whether a thank you was sent
  • Information about the donation, such as any related events or campaigns associated to the donation and whether it has been entered into the general ledger
  • The donor information
If you’re looking for a specific donation, you can search for it using the ID or Donor Name in the Search field:
 
 
You can add a new Fiscal Donation by clicking the "Add New" button. For help adding a new donation please see our other KB Article - Add Fiscal Donations.
 
Using Argenta’s powerful Filter tool, you can select as much, or as little, criteria to create a custom view of your donation data. You can filter your donations by several data points, like: Donation Code, Donor and Donation Type, Donor and Donation Category, Donor Level, and whether the donation was added to the General Journal. You can also narrow the data by Date and/or Amount range. If you regularly filter using the same, or similar, criteria, you can save your filters to use when you need them. Filter list panel:
 
 
For help filtering your Fiscal Donations, please see our other KB Article - Filter Fiscal Donations. Above every list is the total of all items currently displayed in the list. If you filter the list by specific criteria, the totals will change to reflect the filter. This is a very quick and easy way to count or sum list items.
 
Like all modules in Argenta, you can easily export the list to Excel. Whatever data is currently displayed in the list is what is exported to Excel. This means you can filter the list prior to exporting to narrow your data accordingly. To export this list to Excel simple click the "Export To Excel" Button:
 
You can change the sort order of the list by choosing various data points and determining whether to display items in ascending or descending order:
 
 
Another important feature of Argenta lists is the ability to perform Bulk Actions on your data. You can use in-line check boxes to select the records you want to take action on, or you can use the bulk action drop down list to select all records meeting the appropriate criteria. Once you’ve done this select the action you’d like to take and click the Run Bulk Action button. All the available bulk action items are:
 
 
 
 All Argenta subscriptions come with a public donation form where you can accept donations using our Stripe integration. Click the Public Form Link button at the top of the page to copy the link to the form. Once you copy the link you can add it to your website, send it to your supporters or share it on social media:
 
 
You'll notice two buttons associated to each donation:
  1. Delete Icon - Use this button to delete the corresponding donation 
  2. Open Icon - Use this button to open the donation workspace  
 
The Fiscal Donation Workspace
 
The donation workspace is where you view and/or edit any details of the donation:
 
 
This workspace has six tabs of information. Let's go tab-by-tab:

1.  Donation Details tab:
 
From this tab you can:
  • Set record level permissions. You can set the record to view only or locked.
  • You can designate if you want this donation in the General Journal. If there is a particular fund that this fiscal donation is to be allocated to, you can indicate that here. You can choose which bank account it is being deposited to and which account from your Chart of Accounts it is associated with.

  • Generate a receipt. By clicking the “Send Donor a Receipt” button, a receipt will automatically be sent to the donor. You can also print the receipt to PDF and send via email or US Mail.

  • You can update any of the following information about the donation:
    • The date the donation was made.
    • The donor who made the donation.
    • The amount of the donation.
    • The donation type and/or category.
    • The associated department, chapter, division, district or precinct, if applicable.
    • The donation code. 
    • The payment method used to make the donation.
    • The check or reference number for the donation.
    • The payment point of entry, e.g.: Online, US Mail, etc.
    • Whether or not a receipt was given.
    • Whether or not a thank you letter, or email was sent.

  • You can indicate whether it is a recurring donation and set the frequency. Argenta will even auto-input the donation for you, eliminating this time-consuming administration task.

  • If this donation was made with a credit card and has an associated merchant fee expense, it will display here and can be opened by clicking the 'Open Fee Expense' button.

  • If the donation was made in relation to a campaign or event, indicating that here will tie this donation to that particular campaign or event and with Argenta’s integration, you’ll be able to view any associated donations within the financial details of that respective campaign or event.

  • If a member of your team solicited this donation, you can indicate that.

  • If the donation was made in honor of someone or was given for a specifically designated purpose… that information can be added here.

2. Associations/Integrations tab:
 
 
On this tab you can attach any related campaigns, events or programs to the donation. To attach an association simply click the Lookup icon for the association you wish to attach.
  
3. Associated Refunds tab:
 
 
On this tab, you will see or add any refunds made to this donation. From here you can:
  • View or edit any refunds associated to the donation.
  • Add a new refund
    • Clicking the "Issue A Refund" button will open a panel that allows you to input the refund details:
      • Indicate if this is a full, or partial refund.
      • Assign a refund category.
      • Enter a description for the refund.
      • Enter the date and amount of the refund.
      • Select the method by which the refund was given.
      • Enter a check or reference number for the refund.
      • Click "Apply This Refund To This Donation" to add the refund.
 
4. Related Files tab:
 
 
Like all other modules and sections in Argenta, you can also add an unlimited number of related files to this Donation. If you need help adding a file please see our other KB Article - Add Related Files. Make sure to save your changes first before adding related files. If you would like to add any related files to this donation you can do so here. This could be a copy of the donation check. Simply click the "Browse" button to search for and select a file from your computer or drag and drop the file into the "Drag & Drop File Box".
 
5. Donation Notes tab:
 
 
If you would like to add any notes to the donation you do so in the Notes section. If you need help adding notes please see our other KB Article - Add A Note to the Notes Section. To add a note, click the "Add Note" button. This will open the "Add A New Note" screen where you can type a note. Click the "Save & Add This Note" button to save the note and be returned to your Fiscal Donation Workspace. 
 
6. Record Permissions tab:
 
 

This tab controls the record permissions for the donation.

 

6. A. View Only Access:

 

Sometimes you want users to be able to view a record but block them from modifying that record. Individual records can be set to View Only so only master admins and users who are listed here, can edit them. To grant users permission to modify this record simply add them here. Select a user from the "Select A User To Add" drop-down menu then click the "Add Selected User" button to add the user to the view-only access permissions.

 

6. B. Locked Record Access:

 

Individual records can be locked so only master admins and users who are listed here can view or edit them. To grant users permission for this record simply add them here. Select a user from the "Select A User To Add" drop-down menu, then click the "Add Selected User" button to add a user to the locked record access permissions.