How a pledge becomes money
A raised paddle or a guest's pledge is a promise. It counts on the live screen at once, but only becomes money in your books when you mark it paid.
Nothing is charged in the room. When a paddle goes up or a guest pledges from their ticket, Ovante records a pledge: a promise to give. The live screen counts it at once, because the room wants to see the total climb. Your books count it only when the money comes in and you mark it paid.
The steps
| Step | What it is | On the live screen | In your books |
|---|---|---|---|
| A pledge under review | A guest's pledge while Review first is on | No | No |
| A pledge | A paddle, a console entry, or an approved guest pledge | Yes | No |
| A paid pledge | You clicked Mark as paid | Yes | Yes, as a gift |
| A cancelled pledge | Undone, declined or cancelled | No | No |
What counts where
| Place | Counts |
|---|---|
| The live screen's total | Every pledge and paid pledge, plus the match when you have one |
| The console and the Appeal page's Raised | Every pledge and paid pledge, with the match shown on its own |
| Pledges, under To collect | Pledges not yet paid, and the total still out |
| Raised on the event's Overview, under Appeal | Paid pledges only |
| Transactions, Donations, the contact, your CRM | Paid pledges only, as gifts |
A worked example
At Gala Under the Stars, Dana Cohen raises paddle 112 at $1,800, and Avi Levin pledges $500 from a ticket page while Review first is on.
- The screen jumps by $1,800 straight away. Avi's $500 waits in the console's Waiting for you.
- The console approves Avi's pledge, and the screen adds $500.
- The next week, Dana's check arrives. The team marks Dana's pledge paid, and $1,800 appears on Transactions, on the Donations page, in Dana's giving, and in the CRM.
- Avi's pledge stays under To collect until Avi pays.
Why the numbers differ
The screen celebrates promises; your books record money. On the night, the screen is always ahead of your books. Over the following weeks, as you mark pledges paid, the two meet. The gap is exactly what Pledges shows as still to collect.
Good to know
- Cancelling a pledge takes it off the screen's total and out of To collect.
- A refund on a paid pledge's transaction takes the gift back out of your books.
- Mark pledges paid before Gala closes. After that, the list is read only.
- When
- You mark a pledge as paid
- Then
- Ovante records an offline payment and a gift, so the money reaches Transactions, the Donations tab, the contact and your CRM. Until then a pledge is a promise and none of those count it.
- When
- Pledges from tickets is set to Review first
- Then
- A guest's pledge waits in the console's Waiting for you list and reaches neither the screen nor any total until someone approves it.
- When
- A gift is refunded
- Then
- It leaves Transactions, Recent transactions and every money total, and the donor's contact stops counting it.