Product Code

A Fundraising Product is used to generate revenue for a cause and is used to create a suggested price for a contribution or gift for donations. The fundraising product code is also used to tie together or map your Fund, Campaign, Appeal, and Fundraising Package so that they are automatically populated by the system when you enter a product code for a gift or pledge payment for a specific product code. The information that populates can be overridden (except for the fund code) by selecting a different code from the drop-down list. You may have multiple products for a fund. In the overall fundraising workflow, the fundraising product code should be the last item you create so that you can tie together all of your fundraising items mentioned above.

As noted, the fundraising product may have a suggested price. Or, the gift amount can be filled in later on the Add Fundraising Gift or Add Fundraising Pledge page, after the gift payment is received.

Adding a Fundraising Product

To add a fundraising product:
  1. In the Fundraising Group Item Overflow menu, click the Product Code group item. The Add - Fundraising Product Code page displays.
  2. Enter the product code.
  3. Enter the product name.
  4. Enter the product description.
  5. Enter the fee start date and end date.
  6. netFORUM has the ability to track recognition level based on donations or pledges. If this checkbox is selected and you have recognition levels set-up, they will be automatically tracked on the constituent profile when assigned to this product and a gift or donation is made that meets the criteria for a specific level. Note that recognition levels must be set-up at both the general and fund level to track on the constituent profile.
  7. netFORUM has the ability to create a fundraising event and use donations as the event registration fee by assigning product codes to the event. Check the use in events check box to enable this product code for use in events. You may then decide what the appropriate donation or gift is to attend the event when you add your product fees.
  8. Select the fund code for the product.
  9. Select the campaign code for the product.
  10. Select the appeal code for the product.
  11. Select the package code for the product.
  12. Enter a suggested price. (Later, when you select the product code on the Add Fundraising Gift or Add Fundraising Pledge page, this price will automatically default to the gift amount field and the tax deduction amount field.) The suggested price can be edited.
  13. Enter the G/L account information.
  14. Click Save. Once you have added and associated a fundraising product code to a fund, it will then appear along with the suggested donation amount when selected, for example, in COE.

The campaign, appeals, and so forth that you assigned to the product code as well are automatically populated in the drop-downs though they can be overwritten.

Finding a Fundraising Product Code

Finding Fundraising Product Code that has been entered into the netFORUM database is easily accomplished. The Find function is universal throughout netFORUM and detailed on the Find topic.

Finding Fundraising Product Codes within the Fundraising module follows the same format and function. You may search by the following:

  • Product Name
  • Product Code
  • Campaign Code
  • Fund Code
  • Appeal Code

The Advanced View checkbox allows you to conduct Boolean searches to broaden and narrow your search as needed. If you are uncertain with what you are looking for, use the netFORUM wildcard character, the percent sign (%) to help you with your search.

Managing Products

Navigating to the Product Profile

The Fundraising Product Code Profile is displayed once you have entered a new Fundraising Product Code into the netFORUM application. If you want to navigate to and view a specific profile page:

  • Click on the Fundraising module from the Module Menu drop-down.
  • On the Group Item overflow menu, click Product Code. You can then choose to List Products or to Find Product items.

Depending upon which Fundraising Product Code you choose, its Fundraising Product Code Profile will display.

The Product Code Profile

The Fundraising Product Code Profile shows:

  • product code
  • product name
  • fund code
  • appeal code
  • campaign code
  • package code

The fundraising premium pick child form shows:

  • premium name
  • premium minimum and maximum gift amount (if the price range has been set up) that must be donated/pledged, etc. if a Premium has been set-up for this Fundraising Product

The product fee child form shows:

  • product code
  • product name
  • business unit

Associating a Premium with a Fundraising Product

If you want to give a gift to constituents who give a donation within a certain price range, you can associate a premium (e.g., tote, t-shirt, event tickets) with the Fundraising Product Code.

Before you can associate the premium with the product, you must first:

  1. Add the premium to inventory
  2. Add a fundraising premium
  3. Add a premium price range

To Associate a Premium with a Product:

  1. On the Product Code Profile, on the fundraising premium pick child form, click add. The Add Fundraising Premium Pick window displays.
  2. Select the premium from the premium selection list.
  3. Click Save.

    Note: When a constituent gives a donation, if this product code is selected on the Add Fundraising Gift or Add Fundraising Pledge page, and the giftamount falls within this price range, this premium will be available for selection in the premium drop-down list.

View the Premium topic for more information.

Adding an Event Fundraising Product Code

As noted above when adding a fundraising product, to enable your product to be used in Events select the use in events checkbox when adding your fundraising product. This will allow you to create a Fundraising Event and then use donations as an event registration fee. Once you have set-up your product, notice that a event fundraising product differs from a standard fundraising product in that you may set-up multiple product fees for use in your fundraising event. This can be seen from the image below.

Just as with a normal fundraising product, the fundraising event product uses the product fee child form to set-up suggested donation amounts that will be used to raise money for the event when purchased. The main difference is that you may add as many prices as you need for an event whereas for a standard product code, only one price may be added.

Finally, you may also view which events the event fundraising product code has been linked to on the where product is used (events) child form.

Note: An event product code and a standard product code (where the use in events checkbox is not selected and the product code is used in the normal sense to collect gifts and donations) are mutually exclusive. That is, you may not use one product code in both circumstances; to collect event fees as donations and for a typical donation. You must have one product code for each type of donation if that is your intent. Keep this in mind.

Tracking Recognition Levels

The track recognition level checkbox must be selected when adding your product code to begin tracking recognition levels. Further, you must make certain that recognition levels have been set-up correctly in fundraising setup to track general recognition levels and, to track recognition levels for a specific fund code on that fund code child form itself.

Once recognition levels are set, you must create the stored procedure that will run nightly to determine applicable recognition levels for each constituent and, further, what donation types are recognized. This is described below:

To track recognition levels, a SQL job must be created to run a stored procedure titled np_update_recognition_level, which will then be run nightly to update a constituent's recognition level. Recognition level cycles can be set in the RecognitionCycleConfiguration system option.

The recognition levels available are: LTD - Life to Date, YTD - Year to Date, FYTD - Fiscal Year to date as setup by the association's business rules, Rolling Months - number of months from the current date as end date to the current date. The rolling month time frame can be modified through the RecognitionLevelCycle system option. You may also define what constitutes a donation that is recognized in your recognition levels through the GiftsToIncludeInToDateAmounts system option.

For example, it may be set as follows:

  • Hard Credits Only: Only includes the amount of the gift/pledge which has been paid
  • Hard Credits & Signed Pledges: Includes the amount of the gift/pledge which has been paid as well as the receivable amount on signed pledges
  • Hard Credits & Soft Credits: Includes the amount of the gift/pledge which has been paid as well as any soft credits given
  • Hard Credits, Soft Credits & Signed Pledges: Includes the amount of the gift/pledge which has been paid, any soft credits given, and the receivable amount on signed pledges

If you choose not to set this system option, by default it will be set to Hard Credits.

Once everything is in place, your recognition levels will appear on the Constituent profile in two different areas; the general recognition level will appear in the information area where contact information appears for the constituent. The specific fund code recognition level will appear on the fund recognition level child form of the profile. Both of these are illustrated in the image below.