Understanding Contribution Types and Records
Contribution Types and Records Overview
Contribution records are at the center of fundraising management in EveryAction. Every donation your organization receives — whether it's a one-time gift, a recurring commitment, a stock transfer, or a multi-year pledge — is stored as a contribution record tied to a donor's contact profile.
Having complete, accurate records means your team can always see a donor's full giving history, understand how different types of gifts are performing, and produce the acknowledgments, receipts, and reports that keep your fundraising running smoothly. The contribution record is also the foundation for built-in donor intelligence tools that help you identify giving capacity and make more informed outreach decisions.
EveryAction is designed to handle the full range of giving your supporters use. Standard monetary contributions, non-cash gifts like in-kind donations and stock transfers, pledges, recurring commitments, and gifts split across multiple funds or designations each have a dedicated record structure — so nothing gets recorded in a way that doesn't fit how it actually arrived.
Day-to-day, most staff and volunteers interact with contribution records by reviewing a donor's giving history before reaching out, recording new gifts as they come in, or running reports to understand how a campaign is performing. Each contact record includes a Contribution Summary that gives you a quick snapshot of key giving metrics, and built-in scoring tools surface additional insight to support solicitation decisions.
Use the sections below to understand what contribution records contain, which gift types the system supports, and where to go for step-by-step guidance on specific tasks.
What This Feature Helps You Do
- Keep a complete record of every gift your organization receives, regardless of type
- Review a donor's full giving history in one place before reaching out or sending communications
- Record non-standard gifts — like in-kind donations and stock transfers — with the same accuracy as cash contributions
- Use built-in scoring tools to understand a donor's capacity and identify an appropriate ask range
- Run contribution reports to support campaign analysis and compliance requirements
How This Feature Supports Your Work
| What the Feature Does | Why It Helps You | Real-World Volunteer Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Supports multiple contribution types, including non-cash gifts, pledges, recurring commitments, and split gifts | No gift falls outside what the system can handle — every donation has a record structure that fits how it arrived | A volunteer records a stock transfer alongside a donor's standard giving history without needing a workaround |
| Stores complete record details including amount, date, payment method, source, fund, solicitor, and event | Creates a full, searchable record for every gift that supports reporting, segmentation, and acknowledgment | A coordinator filters contributions by fund to see how a specific campaign performed during the year |
| Displays a Contribution Summary on each contact record, including lifetime giving, highest gift amount and date, most recent gift, and total number of gifts | Gives you a quick snapshot of a donor's history before making contact, without needing to run a report | A major gifts staff member reviews a donor's giving totals and most recent contribution before a call |
| Calculates a Donor Target Score and Request Target Score using contribution data | Surfaces giving potential and a suggested solicitation range directly within the contact record | A fundraiser uses the suggested solicitation range from the Request Target Score to prepare a well-informed ask |
| Supports cross-committee data sharing for organizations in a network or coalition | Gives a more complete picture of a donor's giving across affiliated groups when sharing is enabled | A regional coordinator views a supporter's giving history across the broader national network |
Seeing Your Impact
The Contribution Summary on each contact record displays lifetime total giving, the highest gift amount and date, the most recent gift, and the total number of gifts. You can filter these values by year or designation for more targeted insight before a donor conversation or appeal.
For a broader view of your fundraising performance, EveryAction's built-in reporting tools let you run contribution exports, filter giving data by campaign or date range, analyze trends across your donor base, and support compliance reporting requirements.
Is This Feature Right for Me?
- You receive donations of any kind — cash gifts, recurring giving, pledges, in-kind donations, or stock transfers — and need to keep accurate records
- You review or update a donor's giving history before making contact or sending acknowledgments
- You want to use giving data to inform your outreach strategy or solicitation approach
Feature Availability
- Available to all EveryAction users with access to contribution management
- Split contributions across multiple designations or funds may depend on your EveryAction package
- Cross-committee data sharing must be enabled before you can view giving histories across affiliated organizations
Not quite what you were searching for?
- Navigate back to the Recording and Managing Contributions Resource Index.
What types of contributions can I track in EveryAction? | How do I view a donor's contribution history in EveryAction? | What is the Contribution Summary in EveryAction? | What is the Donor Target Score in EveryAction? | How do I record a non-cash donation in EveryAction? | How do I record a pledge or recurring gift in EveryAction? | What is cross-committee data sharing for contributions in EveryAction?