Best Practices for Donation Receipting When Using DonorDock with an Online Fundraising Platform

Some organizations use DonorDock alongside an online fundraising platform for events, peer-to-peer campaigns, or donation forms. When these systems are connected, it is common for both platforms to have the ability to send donation receipts.

While this might seem convenient, it can create confusion and inconsistency in donor communications. To avoid this, we recommend centralizing all donation receipting within DonorDock and disabling receipting from the external fundraising platform whenever possible.

Why Centralize Receipting in DonorDock?

1. Maintain a Single Receipting Process
When multiple systems send receipts, it becomes difficult to manage and track which gifts have been acknowledged. By sending all receipts through DonorDock, your organization maintains one consistent workflow for acknowledging gifts.
This ensures that:

• Every donation follows the same receipting process

• Staff know exactly where to manage and resend receipts

• Your records remain clean and consistent

2. Ensure Consistent Donor Communication
DonorDock allows you to standardize receipt templates and messaging across your organization.
If receipts come from multiple platforms, donors may receive:

• Different receipt formats

• Different branding

• Different messaging or tax language

Centralizing receipts in DonorDock ensures donors receive a consistent and professional experience regardless of how they gave.
3. Include Both Online and Offline Gifts
Donations don’t always come through online forms. Many organizations also receive:

• Checks

• Cash gifts

• Sponsorship Payments

• Offline pledges

If receipts are sent only from your fundraising platform, these gifts require a separate process. Using DonorDock for receipting allows you to handle acknowledgements for every gift in the same place, regardless of how the donation was made.
4. Avoid Duplicate Receipts
One of the most common issues with multiple systems sending receipts is donors receiving duplicates.
For example:

1. The fundraising platform sends an automatic receipt.

2. The gift syncs to DonorDock.

3. A staff member sends another receipt from DonorDock.

This can create confusion for donors and extra work for staff. Disabling receipting in the external platform helps prevent this problem.
Recommended Setup
When integrating DonorDock with another fundraising tool, we recommend:

1. Turn off donation receipts in the fundraising platform (if possible).

2. Use DonorDock receipt templates for all acknowledgements.

3. Send receipts from DonorDock after gifts sync into the CRM.

This approach gives your team a single source of truth for managing donor communications.

Final Thought

Your CRM should serve as the system of record for donor communication, not just donor data. By centralizing receipting in DonorDock, your organization can ensure acknowledgements are consistent, accurate, and easy to manage—no matter where the donation originated.