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HOW TO Creating Acknowledgements

Objective

This document outlines the process on how to create Acknowledgement letters for gifts and donations from individuals and corporations. You will need access to PacSci’s file network, Excel, Word, and Tessitura. Note that this is part one in the acknowledgement process and part two is Sending Acknowledgements. 

Table of Contents

1) Daily Gift Support and Acknowledgement Setup 
a) Resolving Duplicates 
b) Share the DGR (Daily Giving Report) 
2) Acknowledgement Report Data 
3) Acknowledgement Letters 
a) Individual Giving (IG) 
b) Foundation (CFR) 

Stuff to Know


  • Process video is here (approx. 1hr) 
  • Acronyms:  
    • IG – Individual Giving 
    • CFR – Corporate Foundation 
    • DGR – Daily Giving Report 
    • SC – Soft Credit 
    • HC – Hard Credit
  • If any of the images in this article are hard to see, you can enlarge them by right clicking on the image, select "copy image link", open a new tab, paste link into the address bar, and hit "Enter" on your keyboard 

Daily Gift Support and Acknowledgement Setup

You will be working out of two different reports for this process. This document will refer to “Last Daily Gift Report” as the first excel sheet you open and is typically saved with the date from the week before. “Current Daily Gift Report” will refer to the new excel file you create. 

1) Open the Network files on your computer and follow this pathway: 
a) Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > Gift entry and Acknowledgements > Daily Gifts Report > current FY 



2) Select the folder corresponding with the current month 
3) Open the excel file from the previous week (This will be Last Daily Gift Report) 
a) This report will show all the daily gifts/pledges/pledge payments (manually added) that were last acknowledged



4) Minimize the excel file and login to Tessitura Prod using the “Development” user group



5) Navigate to the “List Manager” under Tools in the top ribbon 



6) Double click on the “Daily Gifts Report” or List No “110”



7) Click on “Generate on Save” and then select “Save” to ensure all new data is loaded into the report 
a) You should not have to change anything for this report, but this is the Primary Criteria it should have: 
i) Contribution Date great than or equal to 11/1/2022 (this can be adjusted, but ensure pledges are kept) 
ii) Contribution Amount does not equal $0.00 
iii) Contribution Fund is not Membership or PacSci Membership Employee or HIST Membership Individual or HIST Membership Social or HIST Membership Upgrades 


8) Select “Results” in the left sidebar 


9) In the bottom right corner, click on the up arrow next to “Export” and select “Export as a CSV” (This will be your Current Daily Gift Report) 



10) A new window will pop up titled “File Download,” select “Save”



11) Save the file to your Local Disk (C:) with the file name “DGR [Date]”
12) Next, move file to this pathway: 
a) Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > Gift entry and Acknowledgements > Daily Gifts Report > current FY > current Month 



13) Open the Current Daily Gift Report you just created 
14) Change the column format of the “Contribution_Date” “short date”  
15) Click the plus sign at the bottom of the window to open a new sheet tab  
16) Copy Row 1 and paste into the new sheet 
17) Title the new row: “Gifts not linked to account” 
18) In the Current Daily Gifts Report, highlight Row 2 and press “Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow” and highlight all the rows that do not have names in Column 1 
19) Right click on the highlighted rows and select “Cut”  
20) Navigate to “Gifts not linked to account” tab and paste the information 



21) Return to the first tab on Current Daily Gift Report that should now only have named constituents listed 
22) Rename the first tab to “Donations not linked to Account” 
23) Apply Filters to all the columns in the Current Daily Gift Report 
24) Set the "Contribution_Ref_No" column filter from smallest to largest 
25) Repeat the above two steps for the “Gifts not linked to account” tab 
26) Tip: If you’re using dual monitors, move the Last Daily Gift Report onto one screen and the other with Current Daily Gift Report 
27) Tip: If you’re using one monitor, resize the reports so that they are side-by-side 
a) Reminder: Last Daily Gift Report is the report from the previous week and Current Daily Gift Report is the current week 
28) Next, move onto Resolve Duplicates section for the Current and Last DGR

Resolving Duplicates 

This process starts here in the process video 

1) Scroll down to the last row on the Last Daily Gift Report and copy the "Contribution_Ref_No" 
2) Return to Current Daily Gift Report and use “Ctrl+F” to find the ref_no 
3) Highlight the row and delete all rows prior to it because they’ve already been inputted to Tessitura. You should now only have the most recent gifts that require acknowledgements 
4) Repeat these steps for both tabs on the Current Daily Gift Report 



5) Next, for both tabs in the Current Daily Gift Report highlight the "Contribution_Ref_No" column and use the Conditional Formatting tool to highlight duplicate values 
a) These highlighted duplicates should be the Hard Credit and Soft Credit information for a donation. For example, it might list Charles Schwab and Jane Doe both giving the same amount. However, it’s only one donation from Jane Doe who issued it to come from Charles Schwab.  
6) Remove the Constituent Organization who are the HCs (Hard Credit) and keep the Constituent Individual so we can acknowledge them for the SC (Soft Credit) donation 
a) Acknowledgements should be sent to who advised the contribution rather than the entity supplying the funds in the case of soft credits 



7) Repeat this process in your other tab in the Current Daily Giving Report

Share the DGR

This process starts here in the process video 

1) Close Last Daily Gift Report and click on “Don’t Save” changes 
2) For Current Daily Gift Report, click on File then Save As to your Local Disk (C:) as an Excel Workbook 
3) Make sure the File name reflects the date for the Current Daily Gift Report 
4) Then move the file to this pathway: 
a) Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > Gift entry and Acknowledgements > Daily Gifts Report > current FY > current Month 



5) Go to the PacSci Development Team SharePoint 
6) Click on “Gift Acknowledgements” in the left-hand side bar 
7) Open the “Gifts Summary for PRM Review” folder, go into the correct FY and month 



8) Add the Excel file you just saved into this folder 
9) Once the file has uploaded click on the three dots next to the file name and select “Copy Link” 
10) Open Outlook and start a new email to #Development



11) Use the template below to structure your email:

Hello All,  

Here are the gifts we received since the last Gift Report: [LINK TO REPORT] 

A couple of notes:  

    • If you see a blank in column G, that means it’s an unpaid pledge that has been entered 
    • This list is chronological by entry date 
    • Pledge payments are not included here, but will be on the Acknowledgement report 
    • [Anything else that Development should be aware] 

What you should do:  

    • Review this list. Are there any misallocated funds? Please reach out to me if there is so I can correct them 
    • Please filter the list by $500+ gifts and double check that your portfolios Plans are updated correctly 
    • [Any other action items that should be taken] 

Thanks! 

12) After sending the email, continue to the next section 

Acknowledgement Report Data

1) Return to Tessitura Prod and click on “GoTo” in the top ribbon then select “Reports and Utilities”  
2) A new window will open titled “Select Report/Utility” 
3) Find the “Labels and Letters” folder and click the plus sign to expand the list 
4) Select the Print Acknowledgement Letters report 
5) Ensure you are tasked with opening this report because it will update the system data once pulled. This is important to prevent missing any acknowledgements from donors. Please communicate with your team or manager 
6) Change the “End Date” to today's date 
7) You need to run three different reports for the acknowledgements. Follow steps 8-14 before downloading the next report: 
a) General SC Thank You/Receipt 
i) File Save Name: SC [REPORT DATE] 
b) General Thank You/Receipt 
i) File Save Name: HC [REPORT DATE] 
c) Pledge Payment Acknowledgement 
i) File Save Name: Pledge Payments [REPORT DATE] 
8) Click “OK”  
9) A new page will load in Tessitura to show the summary of how many letters were sent 
10) Click the “Save” icon in the top ribbon of Tessitura 
11) A new window will pop up titled “Select File Format” 
12) Highlight CSV (Comma Separated Value) option 
13) Download these folders into your Local Disk in the “Downloads” folder 
14) Click “OK” 
15) Repeat these steps for the two other acknowledgement types 
16) Access your local Download folder and open all of the reports you just saved 
17) Next, open new excel workbook 
18) You should now have four Excel windows open. You will be copying the data from the three reports you saved into your new open workbook 
19) In your new workbook create two tabs and title them: 
a) Pledge Payment 
b) SC/HC 
20) Copy the data from each report and paste into the corresponding tab in your new workbook 
a) For SC/HC tab, copy the SC credit report information first and paste it into your new sheet. Then copy the HC credit report information and paste it under the SC rows 
21) After the information has been copied over, highlight the date column, and alter it to use the “short date” Format in excel 
a) Note: Sometimes Tessitura pulls in the millisecond information that will impact the date format. Delete this information or run a formula to ignore it 
22) Click File > Save As  
23) Change File Name to “Tessitura Acks [REPORT DATE] 
24) Save as an Excel Workbook here: 
a) Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > Gift Entry and Acknowledgements > Acknowledgements > Daily Batches 

Acknowledgement Letters

    • Find the Acknowledgement templates here:  
      • Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > How Tos, Forms, & Templates > Template > Acknowledgement Templates

Individual Giving

1) Now that the data is in one place, continue to merge some information 
2) Before merging the information with the Acknowledge template; review the name, mailing address, and donation amount look valid on the sheet 
a) If a field is “unknown” on the sheet, delete the information so it’s not pulled into the letter 
3) Sort the sheet from largest donation amount to smallest 
a) If a donation is over $5000 change the signature in the template letter to Will Daugherty. You can copy his signature from the CFR Template into the IG one if necessary 
4) The tab where you merged the SC and HC information should be renamed to “IG” (Individual Giving) 
5) Review the “designation_desc” tab in your sheet to double check if any of the donations are meant to go somewhere specific (i.e., Exhibits, Science on Wheels, etc.)  
6) Open the “IG Gifts Acknowledgement Template” and click on the “Mailings” tab 
7) Click on “Select Recipients” 
8) Find the “Daily Batches” folder 
9) Select the file you just saved and select the spreadsheet the information will be pulled from 
10) Click on “Finish & Merge” and select “Edit Individual Documents” 
11) A new small window will pop up titled “Merge to New Document?” 
12) Select “Edit All” 
13) A new Word window will appear with all the letters. Click through them to ensure all the information imported correctly 
14) If a donation is designated to a specific area of the center; customize their letter or notify the reviewer so that they can add their own personal touches.  
a) You can find any supporting documentation to customize the letter in the Constituent’s profile under “Research” and “Documents (new)” this can include items or resources a donor has given to PacSci rather than money 
b) Add any specific comments or notes into the Word doc you would like to the reviewer to check 
c) If you are not sure how to best customize a letter, reach out to the PRM 
15) Once all information is verified click on File > Save As to this file pathway: 
a) Network > files > Staff > Development > Admin > Gift Entry and Acknowledgements > Acknowledgements > Daily Batches > Merged Batches > CURRENT FY 
b) File name should be “[MM/DD/YY] Gifts” 

Corporate Foundation

Corporate acknowledgements follow a similar flow to IG, however, there may be multiple donations from the same entity all designated to different areas of the center. It’s best to make individual letters for all of these and then check with Amy Z if they should be condensed or addressed to different individuals within the company

1) Highlight the date column and alter it to use the “short date” format in excel 
a) Sometime Tessitura pulls in the millisecond information that will impact the date format. Delete this information or run a formula to ignore it 
2) Before merging the information with the Acknowledge template; review the name, mailing address, and donation amount look valid on the sheet 
a) If a field is “unknown” on the sheet, delete the information so it’s not pulled into the letter 
3) Remove any completed corporate Pledge payments because those are acknowledged separately or any individuals who have requested not to receive acknowledgements 
a) If you’re unsure reach out to the PRMs or check in Tessitura for notes 
4) Sort the sheet from largest donation amount to smallest 
a) If a donation is over $5000 change the signature in the template letter to Will Daugherty. You can copy his signature from the CFR Template into the IG one if necessary 
5) The tab where you merged the SC and HC information should be renamed to “IG” (Individual Giving) 
6) Review the “designation_desc” tab in your sheet to double check if any of the donations are meant to go somewhere specific (i.e., Exhibits, Science on Wheels, etc.)   
7) Open the “Tessitura CFR Acknowledgement Template” and click on the “Mailings” tab 
8) Click on “Select Recipients” 
9) Find the “Daily Batches” folder 
10) Select the file you just saved and select the spreadsheet the information will be pulled from 
11) Click on “Finish & Merge” and select “Edit Individual Documents” 
12) A new small window will pop up titled “Merge to New Document?” 
13) Select “Edit All” 
14) Review the letters 
a) Note: This template will not pull in Contacts 
15) Instead search for the company in Tessitura 
16) Go to the Organization Constituent profile 
17) Click on the “Research” tab and select the “Documents (new)” subsection 
18) Open the attachment related to the donation or pledge 
19) This should contain an email or letter from the person who instigated the gift 
20) Insert their name into the letters and add “c/o [Name]” into the address heading of the letter 
21) Send to the PRM for review   
22) When they give you the “OK,” proceed to part two of this process Sending Acknowledgements
Creation date: 5/4/2023 11:22 AM      Updated: 5/4/2023 11:22 AM
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Process docs for how input gifts and donations into Tessitura
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