Hi all!
We're working on our Bequest SOP and have a few questions:
- How do you designate that the gifts are Bequests? Do you have a unique Opportunity Record Type of something else?
- When someone has pledged a bequest i.e. "I've put you in my will" but you don't know the amount, do you put it in as Pledge status or a different status? What amount do you use? In the past I've used $1 since it's unknown.
Thanks!
Amy
Great questions, Amy. Bequests trip up a lot of NPSP setups because they behave nothing like a normal pledge. Here is the pattern that has worked well:
1. Designating bequests: yes, use a dedicated Opportunity Record Type, e.g. 'Planned Gift' (or 'Bequest'). That gives you a separate sales process/stages, a page layout with planned-giving-specific fields, and clean reporting. If you will track more than bequests (charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, life insurance, etc.), add a 'Planned Gift Vehicle' picklist under that one record type rather than a record type per vehicle.
2. Status/stage: this is the important one. Do not use your normal 'Pledged' stage for a bequest intention. A pledge is a committed amount with an expected payment schedule; a bequest is revocable, undated, and usually unknown-amount. If you book it as a Pledge it inflates your pipeline and pledge-receivable reports. Instead use a distinct stage like 'Bequest Intention' / 'Expectancy' / 'Deferred' on the Planned Gift record type so it stays out of current pipeline.
3. Amount: I would move away from the 1 trick. The problem is NPSP rollups sum the Opportunity Amount into the donor's lifetime giving and your gift totals, so any placeholder amount quietly skews donor totals and reports. Two cleaner options:
- Set Amount = 0 (or blank) on the intention record, and capture any estimate in a separate custom currency field like 'Estimated Bequest Value'. That keeps it out of the giving rollups but still available for planning and reporting.
- Only record a real Amount when the bequest is realized: when the estate actually distributes, create the actual gift Opportunity (or move it to Won/Received) with the true amount. That way the real dollars hit lifetime giving exactly once, when they are real.
A few extras that pay off later: track 'Date Documented' (when they notified you) and whether it is a Confirmed vs. Suspected expectancy, whether you have written documentation on file, and add these donors to a Legacy Society campaign for ongoing stewardship.
If this helps, please mark it as the Best Answer so it is easy for the next person to find. Thanks :)
