Pledges break small teams because they sit between fundraising and finance and are owned by neither. This is the operating model we use, expressed as states with an explicit owner and an explicit exit condition.
State 1 — Proposed
A commitment discussed but not documented. Owned by the fundraiser. It should not appear in any revenue or receivable figure. Exit: written confirmation from the donor.
State 2 — Committed
Documented amount, schedule and restriction. Owned jointly. This is the point at which finance recognises a receivable, and the point most systems create nothing at all. Exit: first installment due.
State 3 — In fulfilment
Installments arriving on schedule. Each payment must reduce the pledge balance and not double-count as new revenue. Owned by finance operations. Exit: final installment or a missed one.
State 4 — At risk
One missed installment, or a payment method that has expired. This is the state teams skip, and skipping it is why pledges lapse quietly. Owned by the fundraiser with a due date. Exit: payment received or amendment agreed.
State 5 — Amended
The donor's circumstances changed and the schedule or amount was renegotiated. An amendment is a new version, not an edit: keep both, with the reason and the date. Exit: back to in fulfilment.
State 6 — Fulfilled
Balance zero. Trigger the stewardship moment here, not at the last installment's receipt. Exit: none.
State 7 — Written off
A deliberate finance decision with an approver, a date and a reason code — never a silent deletion. Written-off pledges stay visible in the donor's history because the relationship did not end. Exit: none.
The weekly pledge review, thirty minutes
- List everything in At risk, sorted by days since the miss.
- Confirm each has a named owner and a next action with a date.
- Review installments due in the next fourteen days for expiring payment methods.
- Escalate anything at risk for more than thirty days to an amendment conversation.
- Confirm nothing moved to Written off without an approver recorded.