Advancement · Community & Giving

Hear from us
the way you asked.

Donors stop giving when a school ignores what they asked for: eleven emails to someone who wanted four, an anonymous gift printed with a name, a phone ask to someone who said never. Record each donor’s preferences and how often they were contacted. The organizer counts contacts against their limit and flags the preferences other lists have not caught up with.

Add a donorWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Development and giving kit, $39 for 27 items.

Donors

The worked example is made up: an alumna who asked for quarterly email and got eleven messages, an anonymous family whose gift record does not say so and a grandparent who prefers phone but takes no phone asks. Donor codes, not names. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Advancement · Community & Giving$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per donor: code, channels allowed, preferred channel, frequency, topics, recognition, asks accepted, contacts in the last 12 months and four record checks. Works out contacts over the stated frequency; counts donors over their limit, anonymous donors and preferred channels; flags a preferred channel not allowed, over-contact, anonymity missing from the gift record, donors who want no appeals and phone-only stewardship.
Who it is for
Development officers, annual fund and communications staff, and advancement database managers in schools.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per donor. Prints one donor, every donor in a table or a blank preference card; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Development and giving kit ($39) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Community & Giving space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Ask donors for preferences once a year.
  2. Count every message that reached them.
  3. Carry each change into every list.
  4. Check anonymity before anything prints.
  5. Use the flags to trim next month’s sends.

Add a donor

Where preferences get lost

What each preference controlsPreferenceLists it changesEasy to missChannelEmail, mail, phone and text listsEvent invitations sent by staffHow oftenNewsletters and appealsClass parent emailsRecognitionHonor roll, donor wall, programsPhoto captions, board reportsNo appealsEvery solicitation listGala and auction mailingsWhat each preference controlsChannelLists it changes: Email, mail, phone and text listsEasy to miss: Event invitations sent by staffHow oftenLists it changes: Newsletters and appealsEasy to miss: Class parent emailsRecognitionLists it changes: Honor roll, donor wall, programsEasy to miss: Photo captions, board reportsNo appealsLists it changes: Every solicitation listEasy to miss: Gala and auction mailings
A preference that lives in one system but not the others is the most common way schools break a donor’s trust without meaning to.

Opt-outs are the law for email

Commercial email must honor unsubscribe requests under the federal CAN-SPAM Act, and many schools apply the same rule to every message. Mail and phone preferences are a matter of trust rather than law, and donors notice either way.

Anonymous means everywhere

An anonymous gift has to be anonymous in the honor roll, on the donor wall, in the gala program and in the board report. Write the choice into the gift record itself, not just a note, so every list inherits it.

Sources

  1. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Donor Bill of Rights and Code of Ethical Standards (afpglobal.org).
  2. Federal Trade Commission. CAN-SPAM Act: a compliance guide for business (ftc.gov).
  3. Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Donor stewardship and recognition standards (case.org).
  4. Burk, P. (2003). Donor-Centered Fundraising. Cygnus Applied Research.

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.