Gifts Overview
Gifts in DonorDock represent donations and other contributions your organization has received and wants to track as part of a contact's giving history. Each gift is connected to a contact record and can include information such as the amount received, gift date, payment type, Campaign, Appeal, Fund, Gift Tags, processing fees, and other transaction details.
Gift records may be entered manually, imported in bulk, created automatically when a donor gives through a DonorDock Online Giving Page, or added through supported integrations.
Once created, gift details can be viewed from Transactions > Gifts, from the associated contact record, Gift reports, and from related Campaign, Appeal, Fund, or Pledge records.
Adding Gifts to DonorDock
You can add gift records to DonorDock in several ways, depending on how the donation was received.
Method | How It Works |
|---|---|
Manual Entry | Team members can create individual gift records directly in DonorDock from the Gifts page, a contact record, or the Quick Add menu. If your organization uses Gift Batches, you can also create batches manually using the Gift Batches entry tool. |
Online Giving | Gifts made through DonorDock Online Giving Pages are automatically created in DonorDock when the donation is successfully processed. Depending on the Giving Page configuration, tracking information such as Campaigns, Appeals, Funds, and Gift Tags may also be applied automatically. |
Import | You can create or update gifts in bulk using the DonorDock Import tool. When creating a new gift through an import, Gift Date and Gift Amount are required. |
Integrations | Supported DonorDock integrations may automatically create gift records when they receive transaction information from another platform. The information added to the gift depends on the integration and how it has been configured. Examples include GFM Pro, OneCause, FundraiseUp, Zapier, etc. |
Viewing Gift Records
You can find a quick list of gift records in DonorDock under Transactions > Gifts. From this page, you can search, filter, and open individual gift records. Gift records can also be accessed from other areas of DonorDock when they are connected to those records, including:
The associated contact's profile
A Campaign
An Appeal
A Fund
A Pledge
Gift Reports
Opening a gift takes you to the Gift details page, where you can review transaction details and update editable gift information.
Gift Types
Gift Types identify the general type or purpose of a gift. These are not customizable.
Gift Type | Description |
Donation | The standard gift type used for charitable contributions received from a donor. |
Membership | Used for payments associated with memberships or membership levels. |
Event Ticket | Used for payments or contributions associated with an event. |
Grant | Used for funds received as part of a grant. |
💡 Gift Type and Payment Type are different fields. Gift Type describes what kind of gift was received, while Payment Type describes how the donor made the payment.
Understanding Gift Amounts
Gift records can include several amount fields to help your organization accurately track the transaction.
Field | Description |
Received Amount | The total amount contributed by the donor. |
Fee Amount | Any processing fee associated with the transaction. |
Non-Deductible Amount | The portion of the gift that should not be treated as tax-deductible. |
Soft Credit Amount | An amount used to provide recognition for a gift without changing who made the donation. |
Net Amount | The amount remaining after the Fee Amount is deducted from the Received Amount. |
💡 Net Amount and Tax-Deductible Amount are calculated automatically in DonorDock and cannot be entered or edited directly.
Net Amount = Gift Amount − Fee Amount
Tax-Deductible Amount = Gift Amount − Non-Deductible Amount
If either calculated amount is incorrect, edit the underlying Gift Amount, Fee Amount, or Non-Deductible Amount instead.
Campaigns, Appeals, Funds, and Giving Pages
Gifts can be associated with several designation fields to help your organization understand how a donation was generated, what it supported, and where it should be directed.
A simple way to think about these options is:
Designation Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
Campaign | What your organization is raising money for |
Appeal | How your organization solicited the gift |
Fund | Where the donation is intended to be used |
Giving Page | Which DonorDock Online Giving Page the gift came through |
When a donation is made through a DonorDock Online Giving Page, the Giving Page field is populated automatically with the page used for the donation. You can also set or change the Giving Page field manually when creating or editing a gift. This allows you to associate a manually entered gift with a specific Giving Page when needed.
A gift may be connected to any combination of Campaign, Appeal, Fund, and Giving Page fields depending on your organization's tracking needs. All four designation options are also available for filtering and reporting on gifts.
Gift Tags
Gift Tags provide an additional way to categorize gift records when Campaigns, Appeals, and Funds do not fully describe the transaction. For example, an organization might use Gift Tags such as Major Gift, Matching Gift, Silent Auction, or Sponsorship.
Gift Tags can be assigned individually, added in bulk, included during gift imports, or automatically applied to gifts received through specific Online Giving Pages.
Gift Custom Fields
Gift Custom Fields allow your organization to capture additional information about an individual gift when DonorDock's standard gift fields don't cover the details you need.
Examples of Gift Custom Fields may include:
Event table assignment
Auction item information
Sponsorship benefits
Payment references
Internal tracking codes
Gift Custom Field responses are stored directly on the gift record and remain associated with that specific transaction.
When viewing a gift, Custom Field responses appear on the left side of the Gift Overview near the Payment Note field.
💡 Gift Custom Fields are best used for information that applies to a specific transaction. If the information should remain associated with the donor over time, consider using a Contact Custom Field instead.
Gifts and Pledges
A gift can be associated with a Pledge when the payment fulfills all or part of a donor's previous commitment to give. Gifts connected to a Pledge contribute toward the amount received and the remaining balance of that Pledge.
Online and Recurring Gifts
When a donor gives through a DonorDock Online Giving Page, DonorDock automatically creates the gift record. Recurring donations processed through DonorDock's Giving Pages create gift records as recurring payments are successfully processed. Changes to the underlying recurring subscription, such as updating, pausing, or canceling the subscription, are managed separately from the individual gift records in the payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) where the subscription is housed.
Receipts and Thank-You Communications
DonorDock creates gift receipts and gift-specific thank-you communications using Transactional Templates. Receipts may be sent for individual gifts, sent in bulk from Gift Reports, or configured to send automatically for gifts received through DonorDock Online Giving Pages.
Transactional Templates can also use gift-specific merge tags to personalize receipts and thank-you communications with information from the gift record.
Gift Reporting
Gift Reports allow your organization to review and analyze giving information across your DonorDock database.
Gift reports can be filtered, grouped, and customized using information such as:
Gift date
Gift amount
Gift Type
Payment Type
Campaign
Appeal
Fund
Giving Page
Processing fees
Soft credits
Tribute information
DonorDock also includes preformatted reports for common fundraising and giving needs.