CASE 2007 Circle of Excellence Awards
- 1. CASE 2007 Circle of Excellence Awards Advancement Services 3. Advancement Services Programs b. Gift/Bio Administration, Compliance, and Ethics Staff Involved (7) Executive Sponsor: VP Development and Information Services Gifts and Processing Manager Business Analysts Training Programming Engineer Contact: Stacey Coseo, Business Analyst, University of Colorado Foundation, 4740 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80301, 303.541.1259, stacey.coseo@cufund.org Development Services Mission Statement The Development Services organization exists to enhance the mission of the University of Colorado by providing support and services to the Foundation¡¯s fundraising staff, resulting in stronger relationships with donors and increased philanthropic backing for the University. Development Services Vision Statement The vision of the Development Services organization is to: ? Provide accurate information, sound advice and timely services to the Foundation community ? Seek opportunities to improve services and processes with improved cost efficiency ? Anticipate Foundation needs to improve fundraising and organizational effectiveness Problem Statement Since 2001 a number of events converged to precipitate an innovative approach to gift handling at the Foundation. Previously, campus-based Development Officers located in four cities across Colorado received gift checks and forwarded them with a transmittal form to a bank lockbox. This had proved to be an inefficient process due to the fact that donor checks were not being deposited in a timely manner. For 90% of the gifts received, it took up to 7 days for the gift to be deposited. This decreased the efficiency of the Processing Department to send out timely receipts and increased the dissatisfaction of our donors. The ultimate goal was to have Electronic Desktop Deposit made available 1
- 2. for the appropriate University of Colorado sites and the University of Colorado Foundation with a uniform, efficient, auditable, cash-flow positive process to handle donor contributions and processing. Project goals were as follows: 1) Tighten cash management procedures with a standardized process that is auditable while improving cash flow 2) Continually improve costs with Electronic Desktop Deposit 3) Determine which satellite offices had sufficient volume to justify the purchase of the hardware unit 4) Create and document all gift logging procedures within the Advance Database and Electronic Desktop Deposit processes including the check destruction process and check storage control logging 5) Develop and deliver the Gift Logging and Electronic Desktop Deposit processes through formal training classes to University and Foundation employees. Every new staff member goes through intensive training in Advance, Electronic Desktop Deposit and Electronic Transmittal Logs 6) Create a suite of reports for auditors and Development Officers 7) Develop a standardized method for trouble-shooting and providing feedback for process improvements Target Audience The conversion and implementation of Electronic Desktop Deposit concentrated on standardizing the electronic transmittal logging and gift handling processes at the four different University of Colorado campuses and the University of Colorado Foundation. Electronic Desktop Deposit was intended to enhance the capability of Electronic Transmittal Logging within the Advance database performed by the campus Development Assistants to efficiently log gifts electronically and to deposit the gifts immediately. This new program allowed gifts to be quickly distributed to the proper allocation providing immediate accessibility to the donations eliminating a 7-10 business day delay. With this new electronic deposit system it enabled the Development Officers to track specific allocation codes and the amount of money that was available for use in real time. Project Budget The project was completed with available internal programming, training and project management expertise. Electronic desktop deposit scanners were $932.00 per unit. Activity charges increased a total of $459.00 per month for all campuses. The Foundation purchased check storage bags at a cost of $0.22 each. 2
- 3. Electronic Desktop Deposit Electronic Desktop Deposit is part of an internet software package titled Wells Fargo Commercial Electronic Office (CEO) that allows the University of Colorado and the University of Colorado Foundation to directly deposit checks using a check scanner. Using the CEO software coupled with the desktop check scanner creates same day deposits. The software comes with a feature that creates an image of the check that can be saved electronically. Using this method and new procedures including customized discretionary fields that are linked to Advance has enabled the Foundation to improve cash flow, decrease the Advance gift processing time and increase donor satisfaction by mailing out gift receipts and/or acknowledgements in a timely manner. Measurements of Success: ? Improved donor satisfaction by sending out thank you letters and receipts within 0-2 business days by 63% compared to 36% prior to implementation ? Deposit checks at any time from the multiple development offices within the University of Colorado and the University of Colorado Foundation via the internet ? Tightens up cash management procedures in the area of cash handoff ? Standardized gift handling processes across the University of Colorado and University of Colorado Foundation ? Manage cash receipts efficiently through immediate logging and deposit ? Enhances security of gift handling ? Improved cash flow with 80% of the gifts deposited within 2 days of receipt as compared to 80% being deposited within 7 days prior to this project ? Improved internal controls to adhere to audit standards because of the creation of a secure centralized log of gift transactions received remotely ? Full internal and self auditing capabilities where gift administrators use standardized reports to view and track the donations received and processed ? Increased number of transactions processed using the new Gift Logging Transmittal Process in parallel with Electronic Desktop Deposit ? Rate of error reduction achieved due to the elimination of double data entry to 0.38% compared to 0.60% prior to implementation ? Using the Electronic Desktop Deposit extends the deposit windows and improves our cash flow ? No software requirement, allowing the service or drivers to be delivered directly by the Wells Fargo CEO portal ? System administration ? Customizable reporting and automated updates to accounts receivable according to Foundation policies ? Cancelled check management process prevents duplicate checks from re-entering the payment stream 3
- 4. ? Reduced number of calls from donors inquiring about receipt of donation and their gift acknowledgement ? Reduced number of calls from the Development Assistants to the central processing office regarding deposits 4