Gift Receipting, Acknowledgement, & Recognition

Gift Receipting, Acknowledgement, & Recognition

Gift receipting and gift acknowledgments are donor-centered practices that allow us to demonstrate our commitment to fostering lasting relationships through providing prompt documentation and meaningful communications to our donors. Both activities build donor confidence and trust in the institution’s ability to appropriately manage gifts.

Gift Receipting (UIF):  

The University of Illinois Foundation (UIF) manages the gift receipt process for all donor contributions. UIF aims to produce gift receipts within twenty-four hours of processing each gift to provide confirmation to donors that a gift has successfully been received. Proper receipting is critical for UIF to maintain good standing with the IRS and provides tax documentation for donors. 

This process emphasizes UIF’s commitment to efficiency and reinforces Illinois as a dependable recipient of support, showcasing its dedication to aligning deposited gifts with the donor’s specified intentions in a timely and accurate manner. 

For inquiries regarding gift receipting, reach out to giftadmin@uif.uillinois.edu 

Each campus and the benefiting unit are responsible for sending gift acknowledgments to donors to express gratitude and receipt of the gift to the appropriate fund. These acknowledgments should express appreciation, demonstrate impact, and serve as a record for both the donor and the unit, helping to ensure transparency and accountability in the handling of gifts and donations. 

Gift acknowledgments are produced by various programs and people across UIUC and every benefiting unit is responsible for developing an effective gift acknowledgment program tailored to their needs and donors. Keep in mind the following guidelines and strategies to help streamline gift acknowledgments to allow for a consistent donor experience:

  • Acknowledge gifts promptly, ideally within one week of the unit receiving them. 
  • Use the Enhanced Gift Acknowledgement Download (EGAD) in TED to see all gift activity to your unit/s and to determine who needs a gift acknowledgement.
  • Do not include gift amounts, as this information is provided in the gift receipt. 
  • Customize gift acknowledgments according to the donor’s engagement with Illinois and the specific fund to which the donation was made. 
  • Record acknowledgments in the Foundation’s Tracking and Engagement Database, TED, to confirm gifts were acknowledged for audit purposes and for future reference if ever needed. Review the iLearn training linked in the resources below.
  • Develop a gift acknowledgment process that includes how the communication will be sent, who sends it, and who signs it.
    • The process may be affected by factors such as the donor’s lifetime giving, their relationship with the institution (ex. faculty/staff, board member), etc. Utilize your advancement team to review gift acknowledgement information to ensure the most effective acknowledgement for your most loyal donors.
      • For example, a donor may make a $500 donation to a fund in your unit but has cumulatively given $3M to your unit. Following the guidelines for a $500 gift acknowledgment, the donor would receive an email from your SDR contact, but given their lifetime giving and relationship with your unit, it would be more appropriate for the Dean to send the acknowledgment.
  • Leverage available technologies to mass-personalize acknowledgments. (Ex. Use the mail merge feature with your EGAD spreadsheet.) 
  • Include impact stories to create more meaningful acknowledgments.  
  • Update gift acknowledgment copy annually, as donors often give on an annual basis.  
  • Collaborate with the Office of Principal Gifts for acknowledgments for principal gift donors.  
  • Keep in mind donor communication preferences when sending the acknowledgments.  
  • Determine how your unit will acknowledge pledges: when they are booked, when payments are made, or both.  
  • Designate one time throughout the year to acknowledge recurring monthly donations.
Gift AmountSignerMethodSent By
<$999 (if not covered by CAP)Unit SDREmailUnit Advancement Email
$1,000-$9,999DeanEmailDean’s Assistant
$10,000+DeanMail (physical signature)Dean’s Assistant
Example unit gift acknowledgement process

Note: Grants and contracts are not processed by UIF and therefore do not need to be acknowledged by advancement units.  

Types of Gift Acknowledgements

Traditional gift acknowledgments sent by units, conveyed through emails or letters, should feature your unit’s letterhead and signature. Include essential information about the donation’s fund, its purpose or impact, and express genuine gratitude to enhance the acknowledgment’s effectiveness and strengthen the donor connection. 

The Coordinated Acknowledgement Program (CAP), overseen by Strategic Engagement (SE) in OVCIA, provides stewardship to donors for gifts under $1,000. It ensures timely gift acknowledgments through printed cards within one week of receiving the gift. CAP streamlines donor acknowledgment across UIUC, allowing unit advancement staff to focus on additional stewardship activities. Cards are sent by SE and recorded as mass communications in TED under Communications on a constituent’s record. Units are responsible for pulling the EGAD exceptions report to import gift acknowledgement information from CAP cards.

Each spring, SE collaborates with CAP-enrolled units to refresh the design and content of their acknowledgment cards for the upcoming fiscal year. SE supplies guidelines for required materials each year to the designated contacts within the units. 

Certain gifts under $1,000 may not meet CAP criteria and will appear on your unit’s EGAD report. It’s essential to determine how to acknowledge these gifts from your unit, please reference the CAP Guide for more information about exclusions.  

For inquiries regarding CAP, kindly reach out to stewardship@illinois.edu.  

Gift acknowledgments need not be limited to an email or letter. When appropriate, a unit might take additional steps to send a more personalized acknowledgment.  

For example, a major gift donor making their first payment on a pledge may receive a hand-signed letter from the dean and a phone call from the head of the department that will benefit from the support.   

Another alternative to sending written gift acknowledgments is using video or a program such as Gratavid through UIF to send personalized video messages to thank donors for their gifts.  

For inquiries regarding Gratavid, kindly reach out to donorrelations@uif.uillinois.edu.  

Recognition

Robust recognition and engagement programs ensure that donors feel valued by the institution. This process must be strategic and tailored to the diverse needs of constituents. It must always honor donor requests for anonymity. The manner of recognition outside of university-wide programs is left to the unit’s discretion, though donor walls are no longer a recommended avenue of recognition.

Current University-Wide Recognition Programs

Loyalty Communications (OVCIA)

Recognition occurs at 10, 25, and 50 consecutive years of giving and is sent at the end of the fiscal year. A Loyalty Postcard is sent in August, and an impact email is sent in July for donors with 3+ consecutive years of giving.

Thank-you Postcard with Decals (OVCIA)

A Thank-you Postcard is sent in August to all donors for the according fiscal year, approximately 35,000 households.

First-Time Donor Program (OVCIA)

This is a cross-campus program with the goal of increasing retention for first-time and reactivated donors. A thank you email is sent the month after their gift followed by a hybrid stewardship-second ask mailing that includes a magnet sent 3 months after their gift. A thank you postcard with decals is sent at the beginning of the next fiscal year and an anniversary card in the month of their gift the prior FY. This communication supplements other campus or unit stewardship and engagement touches

Anniversary Card Program (OVCIA)

Cross-campus solicitation sent to donors one year after their gift. It includes an anniversary card as well as a separate remit form. This goes out to lapsed, renewal, first time, and reactivated donors.

President’s Council  (UIF)

As the premier donor recognition program of the University of Illinois, the President’s Council recognizes individuals who make significant philanthropic investments in the University totaling $50,000 or more.