Gift Entry Workflows Transformed: How Modern Salesforce Processes Improve on Raiser's Edge Routines
- Ohana Focus Team
- 10 hours ago
- 14 min read
By Ohana Focus | February 6, 2025 | 18 min read
Gift entry isn't glamorous work. But for nonprofits, it's absolutely critical. Every donation—whether $25 or $25,000—must be recorded accurately, acknowledged properly, and attributed correctly. Raiser's Edge handles this through a series of established routines: batch entry screens, gift splits, coding hierarchies, and tribute processing. Salesforce approaches the same tasks differently—not just cosmetically different, but fundamentally reimagined around how modern nonprofits actually operate.
The Gift Entry Mental Model
Understanding the difference between Raiser's Edge and Salesforce gift entry requires understanding the mental model each system uses.
The Raiser's Edge Approach: Transaction-Centric
Raiser's Edge thinks about gifts as transactions. The gift record is the center of the universe. To enter a gift, you navigate to Records > Gifts, open the gift entry screen, fill in required fields, add codes, handle any splits or tributes, and save the record.
The gift exists somewhat separately from the constituent. Yes, it's linked—but when you're entering gifts, you're focused on the transaction itself. The constituent is contextual information that appears in sidebar panels.
The Salesforce Approach: Relationship-Centric
Salesforce thinks about gifts as activities within relationships. The Contact (donor) is the center of the universe. Gifts—called Opportunities in Salesforce—appear on the Contact's record as part of their complete history.
To enter a gift in Salesforce, you're typically viewing a Contact record and adding an Opportunity to their timeline. The gift is always viewed in the context of the donor's complete relationship with the organization.
This isn't merely philosophical—it changes how staff interact with the system daily.
The Daily Gift Entry Experience
Consider a typical day in the development office. Mail arrives with 30 checks. Online gifts come through. A major donor calls with a verbal pledge. Event registrations need to be recorded. How does each system handle this workflow? Let's take a look.
Raiser's Edge Batch Entry: The Morning Mail Routine
A development associate opens the batch entry module, creates a new batch ("Morning Mail - Jan 24"), and enters the batch control total from the check log. For each gift, they enter the constituent ID or search for the donor, enter the gift amount, select gift type and subtype, add appeal code, add fund designation, enter check number, and select GL post status before saving the entry and moving on to the next row.
After 30 gifts, it's best practice to review the batch total against the control total and commit the batch. The gifts are then posted to the constituent records. Finally, print the exception report if any errors occurred.
Time: 45-60 minutes for 30 gifts.
Salesforce Rapid Gift Entry
Development associate opens NPC Gift Entry form. For each gift: search donor name (auto-complete as they type), amount auto-fills if check, select campaign (if applicable), designation auto-suggests based on donor history or campaign. Gift saves immediately. Acknowledgment task auto-creates. Most fields pre-populate based on donor history or campaign defaults. Constituent lookup is instant with auto-complete. No batch commit step—gifts save individually but processing is seamless.
Time: 20-30 minutes for 30 gifts.
The Efficiency Difference
The 40-50% time savings come from several factors: auto-complete lookup eliminates scrolling through constituent lists, smart defaults reduce data entry, immediate save eliminates batch commit step, and inline validation catches errors instantly rather than in exception reports.
Complex Gift Scenarios
Simple gifts (single donor, single designation, straightforward acknowledgment) work fine in both systems. The differences become pronounced with complexity.
Joint Gift with Separate Soft Credits
A married couple sends a $5,000 check from a joint account. Both spouses should receive full soft credit for $5,000 for recognition purposes, but the actual $5,000 gift should post to the primary donor's record.
Raiser's Edge process:
Enter gift on primary constituent record for $5,000, navigate to Attributes tab, add Relationships field, manually add spouse soft credit for $5,000, save gift, verify soft credit posted correctly on spouse record, adjust recognition credit calculations if needed.
Steps: 6-7 actions across multiple screens.
Salesforce process:
Enter gift on primary Contact for $5,000, add Contact Role for spouse (type: Soft Credit), enter amount $5,000. The system automatically creates a reciprocal relationship and rolls up both recognition credits appropriately.
Steps: 3 actions on a single screen.
The Salesforce approach leverages its native relationship architecture. Because the system fundamentally understands that Contacts can have relationships with each other and with Opportunities, soft credits flow naturally from the data model rather than requiring special handling.
Pledge with Multi-Year Payment Schedule
Major donor pledges $50,000 payable over 5 years: $10,000 annually each January.
Raiser's Edge process:
Create pledge gift record for $50,000, navigate to Installments tab, manually add 5 installments (one per year) with dates and amounts, save pledge, when payments arrive each year: enter as new gift record, link to original pledge, mark installment as paid.
Managing pledge reminders requires additional steps or separate scheduled exports for payment reminder processing.
Salesforce process:
Create Opportunity for $50,000, mark as Pledge, select "Create Payment Schedule," enter number of payments (5), frequency (annual), start date (January 2025). System auto-generates 5 Payment records with correct dates and amounts. When payments arrive: mark Payment as paid, enter payment method. The system automatically sends reminders before due dates (if configured).
Each Payment object can have its own acknowledgment workflow. Pledge status updates automatically as payments are received or missed.
Memorial Gift with Multiple Notifications
A donor gives $500 in memory of their mother. The gift should be acknowledged to the donor, and notification letters should be sent to three family members at different addresses.
Raiser's Edge process:
Enter gift for $500, navigate to Tributes tab, create new tribute record for deceased person (or select existing), add donor as tributee, for each family member receiving notification: add as additional acknowledgee with tribute notification flag, enter separate address for each, manage separate mail merge for tribute notifications.
Tribute notifications typically require a separate export and merge process from regular acknowledgments.
Salesforce process:
Enter gift for $500, add Tribute Information: create or select Tribute Contact record (deceased person), add Tribute Notification related records for each family member: select Contact or create ad-hoc Contact with notification address, all notification Contacts automatically appear in acknowledgment workflow, templated communications can reference tribute details.
Because everything is Contact-based, tribute notifications use the same communication infrastructure as donor acknowledgments—no separate processes required.
The Intelligence Layer: What Happens After Entry
Gift entry isn't just about recording the transaction—it's about what the system does with that information afterward.
Automatic Rollups and Recognition Credits
Both systems need to answer questions like: "What is this donor's total lifetime giving?" "What has this household given this fiscal year?" "What counts toward major donor recognition levels?"
The Raiser's Edge approach:
Gift summaries are calculated during overnight batch processing. Recognition credits are stored fields that update based on gift coding. Household giving requires relationship configuration and summarization. Real-time totals require running queries or viewing gift records individually.
If you need to know a donor's giving total right now—immediately after entering a gift—you must manually recalculate or run a query. The system doesn't update summary fields in real-time.
The Salesforce approach:
NPC (Nonprofit Cloud) maintains real-time rollup fields on Contact and Account records. The moment a gift saves, rollup fields update: Total Lifetime Giving, Largest Gift, First Gift Date, Last Gift Date, Total Gifts This Year, Total Gifts Last Year, Consecutive Years Given, Membership Status.
Household rollups aggregate automatically through Account relationships. Recognition credits are calculated based on Contact Roles without separate configuration.
Everything is instant. Enter a gift, save it, and immediately see updated totals on the donor record. No waiting for batch processing. No need to run queries to see the current status.
Automated Workflows and Stewardship Triggers
Modern fundraising isn't just about recording gifts—it's about responding to them appropriately and on time.
What should happen when someone makes their first gift?
Raiser's Edge:
Staff manually identifies first-time donors through queries. The welcome series is managed through a separate export and email platform. Follow-up tasks require manual creation or a separate task management system.
Salesforce:
Workflow automatically detects first gift (First Gift Date = Today), auto-creates acknowledgment Task assigned to development associate with 48-hour deadline, triggers email flow with personalized welcome series, adds Contact to "New Donor" list for gift officer review, flags Contact for personal phone call if gift exceeds threshold.
All of this happens automatically, instantly, without human intervention beyond the initial gift entry.
What about when someone makes an unusually large gift?
Raiser's Edge:
Staff reviews gift totals periodically and manually flags significant increases for follow-up. Large gift stewardship relies on institutional knowledge and manual processes.
Salesforce:
Workflow calculates: Is this gift 3x larger than the donor's average gift? Automatically creates a high-priority Task for a major gift officer: "Significant gift increase—personal call recommended," sends an internal notification to the development director, updates the donor's cultivation stage if they've crossed the major gift threshold, and suggests wealth screening if not previously completed.
What should happen when a recurring donor misses a payment?
Raiser's Edge:
Staff runs queries to identify lapsed recurring donors. Manual outreach based on query results. Separate tracking of payment failure reasons.
Salesforce:
When expected recurring gift Payment record passes due date without being marked paid, workflow automatically creates Task: "Recurring gift missed—credit card may need updating," sends gentle email to donor: "We noticed your monthly gift didn't process. Update payment information here: [link]," if payment isn't resolved within 30 days, escalates to retention task for personal outreach.
The system doesn't just notify staff about the problem—it attempts to solve it automatically through donor self-service, escalating to humans only when automation doesn't resolve it.
Data Quality: Prevention vs. Cleanup
Data quality problems in gift entry are expensive: duplicate gifts, wrong designations, missing acknowledgments—the list goes on. Both systems approach data quality differently.
Duplicate Prevention
Raiser's Edge:
Duplicate detection happens during batch commit. If potential duplicates are found, an exception report is generated. Staff manually reviews exceptions and decides whether to accept, merge, or delete duplicates. This is retrospective—the gift was already entered; now it needs to be cleaned up.
Salesforce:
Duplicate prevention happens during entry. As staff types donor name, matching logic shows potential duplicates before the gift is created: "Did you mean John Smith (123 Main St)? Last gift: $100 on 12/15/2024."
If staff proceeds with a gift that looks suspicious (same donor, same amount, same date as existing gift), the validation rule blocks save and requires confirmation: "Potential duplicate gift detected. Confirm this is intentional."
Duplicate prevention rather than duplicate cleanup. The problem is stopped before it enters the system rather than requiring retroactive correction.
Required Field Enforcement
Every organization has fields that absolutely must be completed for every gift: fund designation, acknowledgment preference, solicitor credit, campaign attribution.
Raiser's Edge:
Required fields can be configured, but enforcement is often inconsistent across different entry points (batch entry vs. direct gift entry vs. import). Missing data is typically discovered during reporting when gifts don't appear in expected reports or exports.
Salesforce:
Validation rules enforce requirements universally—regardless of entry method. If a Campaign is required on all gifts, the system literally will not allow a gift to save without it. Staff cannot proceed until the required fields are completed.
Field dependencies can be configured: if Gift Type = "In-Kind," then Fair Market Value becomes required. If Acknowledgment Preference = "Acknowledge donor + notify honoree," then Tribute Contact becomes required. This makes incomplete data entry essentially impossible rather than merely discouraged.
The Mobile Reality: Gift Entry Beyond the Office
Fundraising doesn't only happen at desks. Gifts are received at events, during facility tours, at donor meetings, and through text-to-give campaigns.
Event Gift Entry
Picture this: Your organization hosts a gala with 200 attendees. Some guests make additional donations at the event beyond their ticket price. Auction winners need their purchases recorded. Cash and checks arrive at registration.
Raiser's Edge reality:
Staff collect physical donation forms or check logs during the event. After the event, the stack of paperwork returns to the office. Someone enters gifts into the Raiser's Edge batch over the following days. The delay between gift receipt and acknowledgment is often 3-5 business days.
Salesforce possibility:
Development staff uses the Salesforce mobile app on an iPad at the event. Donor approaches the registration desk with an additional donation. Staff searches Contact name, creates Opportunity on the spot, selects event Campaign, processes payment through integrated payment processor if credit card. An email acknowledgment is sent immediately while the donor is still present.
Gifts are recorded in real-time, acknowledged immediately, and reflected in campaign totals visible on the event display screen, showing progress to the goal. No paperwork. No delay. No secondary data entry.
Field Fundraising
Major gift officers spend significant time outside the office—at donor offices, homes, coffee shops, and conducting facility tours. When a donor verbally commits to a gift during these meetings, how is it captured?
Raiser's Edge approach:
Gift officer takes notes during meeting, returns to office, opens Raiser's Edge, and enters the pledge gift from their notes. Acknowledgment letter prints the next day or later.
Salesforce approach:
Gift officer pulls up donor Contact on phone immediately after meeting while still in parking lot, creates Opportunity as Pledge directly on mobile, adds notes about conversation, acknowledgment email auto-sends within minutes referencing specific details from the meeting, development director sees real-time dashboard update showing new pledge.
The time between commitment and acknowledgment is minutes instead of days. Accuracy improves because details are captured immediately rather than relying on notes transcribed later.
Integration: When Gift Entry Connects to Everything Else
Gift entry doesn't exist in isolation. It connects to online giving platforms, event registration systems, email platforms, accounting software, wealth screening tools.
Online Giving Integration
When someone makes an online donation, that gift needs to flow into the CRM automatically, accurately, and ideally in real-time.
Raiser's Edge integration pattern:
Online giving platform exports file (CSV or XML), file imported into Raiser's Edge via ImportOmatic or similar tool, imported gifts create batch requiring manual review and commit, typical delay: 24-48 hours from donation to CRM.
This file-based integration is reliable but asynchronous. Online donors don't appear as "donors" in Raiser's Edge until the next import runs and someone commits the batch.
Salesforce integration pattern:
Online giving platform (Classy, Fundraise Up, etc.) connects to Salesforce via real-time API. Gift completes online, API call immediately creates Opportunity in Salesforce—typically within 30-60 seconds, donor Contact updates automatically, acknowledgment workflow triggers instantly, staff can see online gifts in real-time without imports or batches.
This real-time API integration means online and offline gifts exist in the same system with the same timeliness. Online donors are "in Salesforce" before the thank-you email even sends.
Accounting Integration
Gifts eventually need to reach the accounting system (typically QuickBooks or similar). The finance team needs gift totals by fund, payment method details, and reconciliation data.
Raiser's Edge approach:
Export gift batches to CSV or QB-IIF format, import into QuickBooks, and manually reconcile between systems (this typically happens weekly or monthly).
Salesforce approach:
Native integrations sync Opportunities directly to QuickBooks as invoices or payments, automated nightly sync keeps both systems current, fund designations map directly to QuickBooks accounts, and reconciliation happens automatically with exception reporting only for discrepancies.
Finance sees gifts in QuickBooks without the development team needing to generate exports. Reconciliation becomes validation rather than reconstruction.
Common Transition Concerns
"Our batch entry process works fine—why change it?"
Concern: "We've used batch entry for 15 years. Everyone knows the routine. Why disrupt a working process?"
Reality: "Working" doesn't mean optimal. Yes, batch entry works—but at what cost? The 45-60 minutes per day spent on batch entry, multiplied by 250 working days, equals 187-250 hours annually. That's 4-6 weeks of full-time work. Salesforce rapid gift entry reduces this to 2-3 weeks annually—reclaiming 2-3 weeks of staff time for relationship-building, grant writing, or strategic work.
The question isn't "Does it work?" but rather "Is this the best use of limited staff time?"
"Will we lose important gift data in migration?"
Concern: "We have custom gift fields, codes, and attributes in Raiser's Edge. Will those transfer to Salesforce?"
Reality: Everything transfers—but it requires planning. Custom gift attributes become custom Opportunity fields. Gift codes become picklist values or separate objects depending on complexity. Tribute information maps to NPC's Tribute structure.
This is where migration planning matters. Ohana Focus reviews your current gift data structure and designs a Salesforce configuration that preserves all essential information while often improving organization and usability. Historical gifts migrate with complete data integrity.
"What about our existing coding structure?"
Concern: "We have elaborate fund codes, appeal codes, campaign codes. Years of reporting depend on these codes remaining consistent."
Reality: Salesforce handles coding through a combination of picklists (for simple categories) and related objects (for hierarchical structures). Your existing codes can be transferred directly or enhanced.
Example: If you currently have Fund codes like "ANNUAL-ED" (Annual Fund - Education), "ANNUAL-HEALTH" (Annual Fund - Health), Salesforce can represent this as: Campaign hierarchies (Annual Fund as parent, programs as children), or GAU Allocations (NPC feature for fund accounting), or custom Fund objects with lookups. Historical codes remain intact for reporting continuity. Future flexibility improves because you're not limited to rigid code structures.
"Our staff will resist learning a new gift entry process."
Concern: "The development coordinator has used Raiser's Edge batch entry for 12 years. They're extremely efficient at it. Won't productivity tank during the learning curve?"
Reality: Short-term adjustment, long-term gains. Yes, there's a learning curve—typically 2-3 weeks for gift entry staff to become proficient. During that period, productivity might decrease 20-30%.
But within a month, most staff surpass their previous efficiency. Within three months, the time savings from automation and intelligent defaults more than compensate for the initial learning period.
The key is proper training and realistic expectations. Ohana Focus provides role-specific training—gift entry staff receive intensive hands-on practice with realistic scenarios before going live. We don't expect anyone to "figure it out" independently.
Moving Forward: Planning Your Gift Entry Transition
Successful gift entry transformation doesn't happen accidentally. It requires intentional planning, configuration, and training.
Phase 1: Data Structure Design
Before entering a single gift in Salesforce, thoughtfully design how gift data will be organized: Which Raiser's Edge gift attributes map to standard Salesforce Opportunity fields? Which require custom fields? How will fund designations be tracked (GAU Allocations vs. custom fields)? How will gift codes and appeals be represented? What validation rules ensure data quality? What automation should trigger on gift creation? This design phase typically requires 2-4 weeks with key stakeholders—development operations, finance, gift entry staff, development leadership.
Phase 2: Configuration and Testing
Build Salesforce configuration based on design: custom Opportunity fields, picklist values, validation rules, workflow automation, page layouts optimized for gift entry, mobile configuration for field fundraising. Then test extensively with realistic scenarios: standard gifts, complex pledges, tribute gifts, matching gifts, in-kind donations, recurring gifts, refunds and corrections. Testing typically requires 2-3 weeks with iterative refinements.
Phase 3: Staff Training
Role-specific training ensures everyone learns what they need: Gift entry staff: intensive hands-on practice with rapid entry, batch scenarios, and error handling. Development officers: mobile gift entry, pledge management, and acknowledgment workflow. Development leadership: reporting on gifts, pipeline management, and automated stewardship. Finance staff: accounting integration, fund allocation reporting, and reconciliation. Training isn't a one-time event—it's ongoing support during the first months as staff encounter real scenarios and edge cases.
Phase 4: Parallel Processing Period
For 2-4 weeks during transition, some organizations run gift entry in both systems—entering gifts in Salesforce while maintaining Raiser's Edge as backup. This builds confidence and provides a safety net while the staff develops proficiency.
Not all organizations need parallel processing, but for those with high gift volume or complex entry requirements, it reduces risk during the learning curve.
Partner with Ohana Focus
Ohana Focus specializes in designing Salesforce gift entry workflows that feel natural for nonprofit development teams—preserving essential processes while leveraging Salesforce's automation and intelligence capabilities. Our gift entry transformation services:
Gift data structure analysis and design
Custom Opportunity and Payment configuration
Validation rules and duplicate prevention
Automated workflow and stewardship triggers
Integration with online giving and accounting platforms
Role-specific training for gift entry staff
Mobile gift entry configuration and training
Ongoing support during the transition period
We don't implement generic Salesforce—we build gift entry systems that match how your team actually works while automating manual routines and preventing data quality problems.
About Ohana Focus
Ohana Focus is a certified Salesforce consulting partner specializing in nonprofit data migration and fundraising operations. We understand that gift entry isn't just a technical configuration—it's the daily workflow that determines whether development staff spend their time on data entry or donor relationships.
Our gift entry practice has helped dozens of nonprofits transform from batch-oriented processing to real-time, intelligent gift workflows. We bring deep expertise in both Raiser's Edge legacy processes and Salesforce modern capabilities—we speak both languages.
What distinguishes our approach is our focus on staff experience. We don't design gift entry systems that look elegant in demos but frustrate users in daily practice. We design for the reality of morning mail, event chaos, mobile fundraising, and the dozens of edge cases that emerge in actual fundraising operations.
When you work with Ohana Focus on gift entry transformation, you get consultants who understand the difference between "technically correct" and "actually usable"—and who prioritize the latter.
Whether you're planning a Raiser's Edge-to-Salesforce migration, recently migrated and struggling with gift-entry adoption, or simply looking to optimize existing Salesforce gift workflows, we provide the expertise and practical implementation support to achieve genuine improvement.
Gift entry transformation succeeds when staff find the new system genuinely easier than the old one—not just different, but better. That's the standard we build to.
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