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Create and Track a Pledge

Goal: Record a donor's commitment to give over time — capital campaign pledges, multi-year major gifts, installment-based commitments — and track the schedule and balance accurately.

What a pledge is in Ayuna​

A pledge is a documented commitment by a donor to give a fixed total amount over a specified period, paid in installments. The pledge record carries:

  • Total amount committed
  • Donor (individual or organization)
  • Installment schedule — when each payment is due, and for how much
  • Status — pending, active, completed, defaulted, cancelled
  • Designation — fund, campaign, project, or fundraising event the pledge supports

Each installment is a separate pledge_payment record. As payments come in, they create matching donations records and update the installment's status.

When to use a pledge vs. a recurring donation​

Both involve repeated payments. The distinction:

  • Pledge — total commitment is fixed, payments are tracked against the total, balance can be written off if uncollected. Best for capital campaigns, multi-year major gifts, and any commitment that should appear on the books as a receivable.
  • Recurring donation — open-ended, no fixed total, automatic processing of each charge. Best for monthly partners.

For a $10,000 commitment paid monthly over 12 months by autopay: combine a Pledge (for the $10,000 commitment and tracking) with a Recurring Donation (for automatic processing). Each processed recurring donation can be applied to a pledge installment.

Creating a pledge​

From the donor's profile, choose Create Pledge. Capture:

  • Total amount
  • Number of installments and frequency (monthly, quarterly, annual, custom)
  • Start date — when the first payment is due
  • End date — auto-calculated from frequency × count
  • Designation — fund, campaign, project, or event
  • Notes — context for staff (the conversation that led to the pledge, who's the contact)

On save, Ayuna generates the installment schedule. Each installment gets its own pledge_payment record with a due date.

Pledge statuses​

  • Pending — created but no payments yet recorded; receivable booked
  • Active — at least one payment made; balance remaining
  • Completed — fully paid
  • Defaulted — installments overdue past your tolerance window
  • Cancelled — donor withdrew the commitment

Tracking the schedule​

The pledge detail page shows:

  • The full installment schedule with a status per installment — pending (not yet due), due (now due), overdue (past due date and unpaid), partial (some but not all paid), paid (fully received), waived (forgiven), or written off (booked as bad debt)
  • Balance remaining
  • Activity log (payments, reminders, status changes, write-offs)
  • Pledge-level payment status rollup — not started (no payments), current (on schedule), overdue (one or more missed installments), or completed (fully paid)

What's NOT auto-charged​

Important: Ayuna does not currently auto-charge pledge installments. Each payment must be recorded manually or initiated by the donor through their pledge payment page. See Collect Pledge Payments for the options.

If you want a pledge to be paid automatically, set up a parallel Recurring Donation linked to the pledge.

Pledge confirmations​

When a pledge is created, send a confirmation letter to the donor with:

  • The total amount committed
  • The installment schedule
  • The fund/project supported
  • A note about how their gift will be used

Use a Communications template so this stays consistent across pledges.

Major-gift pledges​

For pledges from major donors:

  • Use a signed pledge agreement document (legal counsel can provide a template)
  • Capture the agreement as a note or attachment on the donor profile
  • Coordinate with your finance team so the receivable is recognized correctly on the GL

When the donor can't pay​

If a donor falls behind:

  • Reach out personally before the schedule shows defaulted
  • Renegotiate if needed (extend the schedule, reduce the total — both involve creating a new pledge and cancelling the old)
  • Write off the balance if collection isn't realistic — see Write Off Uncollectible Pledges

The audit trail captures all of this so the next staff member who opens the record sees the full history.