DAF Attribution

Hi! This is correct in terms of how to record DAF donations in EveryAction, from a strict point of view. This is how we advise our clients to record DAF donations and other similar donations where the actual check comes from a legal entity and a person should get the stewardship (like workplace giving, for another example). 

I will say that many nonprofits have decided not to do it this way, and instead reverse it. They need to then implement a system to ensure they don’t accidentally give a person a tax receipt for the donation. I’ve heard from various nonprofits that it makes stewardship easier if it’s reversed. 

At the Nonprofit Technology Conference earlier this year, Mitch Stein from Chariot/DAFPay said he doesn’t care which way a nonprofit records DAF gifts as long as they are consistent with it. My opinion is that it is a better investment of time to do it the way you’ve described above and invest in workflows with your staff to know how to run the Attributions and Soft Credits Report and to know which person directed which DAF gift for stewardship. I think there are fewer opportunities for errors and bungled tax deduction methods by recording hard credits to the DAF and soft credits to the person.

I’m always looking to learn, so if other organizations have settled on one way or the other, I’ll be watching this thread and would love to hear how it’s working for you.