Tributes, soft credits and matching gifts
Gifts in honor or memory of someone with a note to the family, a second person credited on a gift, and employer matches followed until they arrive.
Updated 2026-10-24
These three are set on the gift itself, in Record a gift or when you change a gift.
Gifts in honor or in memory of someone
- Under Tribute, pick In honor of someone or In memory of someone.
- Type the person's name.
- Optionally type who to tell, such as the family, and their email address.
The receipt then has a line saying "In memory of" or "In honor of" that person.
With an email address, the gift shows Tell the family. Press it and Otto drafts a short email saying the donor made a gift in that person's name. It never says the amount, and if the gift is anonymous it does not name the donor. The email waits in Reviews until a person approves it; the gift then shows Notice waiting and, once sent, Family told. Without an email address, the button stays off and says so: add one, or write to the family by post.
Soft credits
A soft credit names a second supporter on a gift: the spouse of the person who wrote the check, or the board member who brought the gift in. Pick them under Soft credit.
A soft credit never changes the receipt, which goes to the donor, and it does not count in the second person's own giving totals. Their card in Contacts shows it separately, as "Soft credit" with the amount and the number of gifts.
Employer matching gifts
Many employers match their staff's gifts. Type the employer's name under Employer match, and the amount you expect if you know it. The match starts as Match to request.
On the Gifts tab, Matches to chase lists every match still to request or requested. Change each one's stage as it moves: Match requested, Match received or Match declined. When the employer's money arrives, record it as its own gift with the employer as the donor.
A match still not received 30 days after the gift shows in Opportunities as "Matching gifts to chase".