Working with split gifts

In this article:

Overview

A "split gift" is typically used when a donor makes a single gift, requesting that it be used for two or more distinct purposes. This requires your organization to separate, or split, the single gift into two different areas so you can honor the donor's request.

Entering split gifts into LGL

If a donor makes a single gift with the request to "split" it between two or more different purposes, you can handle the gift entry by creating separate gifts for each purpose. For example, if your donor sends a check for $100 and asks that $60 be restricted to the "New Program" while $40 be directed to the "Old Program", you would create two separate entries in LGL; one for $40 connected to the "Old Program Fund" and one for $60 connected to the "New Program Fund". If you receive any other information about the donation, such as a check number, you can add that same check number into each of these separate gifts.

Acknowledging a split gift within a single acknowledgment

You can acknowledge split gifts by assigning all of the gifts that are part of the split gift to the same acknowledgment letter or email template. Here are the steps to take.

  1. Create a separate acknowledgment letter or acknowledgment email template especially for this purpose. You might name it “Split Gift Acknowledgment” or something similar.
  2. Use the [[gifts.ack.custom_list]] merge field in your letter or email template. This merge field inserts a table containing all of the parts of the split gift, as well as the total amount for all of them, into your letter or email.
    3. NOTE: If one of your split gifts has a different gift type, such as an in-kind gift, if it is tied to a specific campaign, fund, appeal, or event, or if it has a particular category assigned, you can pull this information into the letter or email by using the [[gifts.ack.custom_list] merge field and adding whatever other data you need to pull in, in this format: [[gifts.ack.custom_list:campaign,fund,category]. Please look up this merge field in your Merge Field Reference for more details on how to format the merge field.
  3. Enter the split gifts into Little Green Light and assign your “Split Gift Acknowledgment” template to each one.
  4. Go to your Fundraising > Acknowledgments page and, if all of the split gifts you want to send an acknowledgment for have your template attached, send your acknowledgment lettersor emails.