This report is the result of a campus-wide effort, led by VCIA Strategic Planning and Organizational Development and shaped by insights from many in the SDR community from 2024 to 2025. Special thanks to the task force members who provided their expertise and guidance:

Angela Tammen
Angie Barnard
Ashley Gorman
Brianna Svec
Camille Niccum
Christen Mercier
Danielle Runyon
Haruka Neiswender
Jamie McFarling
Jenny Carroll
Kari Wallace
Katie Blum
Katie Harrell
Kendra Wieneke
Nicole White
Sam Hendon
Sarah Dixon
Susie Brown
Timisha Luster
Trevor Jennings

The Gift Fund Spending Status Report revolutionizes how SDR professionals manage and analyze gift funds. By integrating Fund Database insights and TED information and providing visibility into up-to-date Banner balances, the report empowers you to make strategic, effective, and efficient fund management decisions.

Refined Fund Status Categories: Inclusion of new categories eliminates unnecessary research and reviews. For instance, “Allowed Deficit” surfaces gift funds showing a deficit that will be washed out by the end of the fiscal year due to endowment income sweeps. Gift funds with shared banner funds are also correctly categorized in this report.
Streamlined Workflows: Say goodbye to time-consuming manual processes like looking up information in multiple places and performing complex Excel calculations. The report automates these steps behind the scenes, categorizing gift funds into the appropriate spending status while saving significant time and effort. Early adopters report cutting meeting preparation time by 50% or more.
Up-to-Date Banner Balance Information: Gain visibility into the most current financial data, including Banner balances as of the previous day, for real-time fund management. You read that right! In this first phase, the detail report includes a column with up-to-date Banner balances while using the currently available Banner balances from the Fund Database to categorize gift funds. Future updates are planned to transition calculations to real-time banner balances to provide a real-time spending status for each fund. This phased approach ensures you can immediately benefit from the report’s other powerful features without delaying its availability.
Donor-Centric Insights: By connecting fund data to the donors behind them, the report provides meaningful insights to highlight donor impact, enabling more impactful stewardship and inspiring additional contributions.

Below are just a few examples of data that can be pulled with ease using the Gift Fund Spending Status Report.

Current use fund with low banner balance and no recent gifts? Consider closing the fund.
Banner balance exceeds cash received in the last three years? Share insights with academic partners to advocate for spending.
Top donor contributed over 50% but isn’t listed as a stewardship recipient? Add them to enhance relationship-building efforts.
Curious about borderline accumulation? Use the report to identify funds approaching accumulation thresholds.

To get started with the Gift Fund Spending Status Report, follow these steps:

Complete Training: Training is required to gain access to the report. SDR professionals will be auto enrolled and will receive a notification to complete the training. Once completed, security access will be enabled. Details about the training can be found in iLearn here.
If non-SDR professionals need access to this report, please reach out to UIF AIMS (aims@uif.uillinois.edu).
Explore the Report: Once access is granted, we encourage you to start exploring the report and take advantage of its features to streamline your workflows and enhance your stewardship efforts.

February 2025 marks the first phase release of the Gift Fund Spending Status Report. Future updates are already planned to further enhance the report’s capabilities. More information coming soon.

UIF AIMS is available for technical questions (e.g., running or accessing the report). Email AIMS at aims@uif.uillinois.edu or call 217-300-3907.

For report interpretation help, email Gift Administration at giftadmin@uif.uillinois.edu and VCIA Strategic Planning and Organizational Development at trevor@illinois.edu.