One of the goals of fundraising is to create an organized effort to solicit contributions for a cause. A way to earmark money for specific causes is through the use of a Purpose Code. Purpose Codes can be created and tied to Funds so that when money is donated, it can be designated for one or more specific purposes.
For example, if you have a fall fundraising campaign to raise money for your school's athletic programs you may wish to give donors the option of targeting where their money goes. To do this, you would create multiple purpose codes. For instance, you could create a football purpose code, a basketball purpose code, and a baseball purpose code. Once these purpose codes are associated to your fall fundraising fund code, donors will be able to specify to which sport they would like their donation to go.
The five standard Group Item Links (Add, Find, List, Run Query, Query Central), are available in the Purpose Code group item.
| Field Name | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|
| purpose code | Required | This code should be somewhat descriptive of the target or use of the purpose so it can be easily recognizable in a drop-down menu. |
| active check box | Optional | If this is a current purpose, select the active check box. Otherwise, it will not appear. |
| description | Optional | Enter a description for the purpose code if needed. |
| start and end date(s) | Optional | Enter the purpose start date and end date if applicable. You can either enter the dates manually, or click on the calendar icon to launch a pop-up calendar that will allow you to select the dates. |
| purpose goal | Optional | Enter a dollar amount in the purpose goal field. The amount entered here should be the goal for this purpose code and not the overall fundraising event. |
| notes | Optional | If desired, you may enter any notes about the purpose. |
There are multiple ways to locate a record using the Find page (for detailed methods on how to locate records, see the Find page). The Find functionality is universal throughout netFORUM. The results will display in a List page, which is also universal throughout netFORUM.
The Purpose Code information is stored in the database by the "columns" (fields) you selected during the Add Purpose process. Only a pre-defined set of columns pertaining to Purpose Codes will be available to you on the Find - Purpose Codes page.
The Find page is setup with a pre-defined set of columns (fields) versus a Query which allows you to select from ANY column in the search Table.
To navigate to the Purpose Code Profile page, complete the following steps:
The Purpose Code Profile provides you an overview of the start and end dates of the purpose code, the amount raised (to date) for the purpose, whether or note it is currently active, and a detailed description and any applicable notes associated to it.
An Info tab contains one child form on the purpose code profile. The related funds child form informs you which funds the purpose code may be used for when a donation is made.
The related funds childform shows all the funds that the purpose code may be used with. It includes the:
Click the add record icon to add a new fund to the purpose code that it may be used with. Click the goto record icon to access the Fund profile that the purpose code is associated with. Click the delete icon to remove the purpose from the fund. Note that this does not delete the purpose itself. Only the ability to use it with a specific fund.
The related funds childform on the Purpose Code Profile lets you quickly link a purpose code to a fund. Linking a purpose code to a fund will then let a customer choose the purpose as the reason a donation or gift is being made to a fund.
Use the add record icon to begin linking a purpose to a fund directly from the Purpose Code Profile. The Add - Fund X Purpose form will appear.