Forecast Dashboard
The "Forecast Dashboard" brings together several types of current and future fundraising activity to help you understand what your organization has already received and what may still be coming.
The forecast can include:
Gifts already received
Upcoming Pledge Installments
Scheduled Recurring Gifts
Fundraising Asks
By combining these sources, the Dashboard provides a broader picture of fundraising for a future period.
At the top of the Dashboard, you can adjust the date range, Contact Owner, Ask calculation, forecast view, and the fundraising activity types you want included. The tiles, graph, and Forecast Detail table below will update based on those selections.
Select a Date Range
Use the "Date Range" dropdown at the top of the Forecast Dashboard to determine the period you want to review.
Available options include:
"Next 7 Days"
"Next 14 Days"
"Next 30 Days"
"Next 90 Days"
"Next 180 Days"
"Next 365 Days"
"This Month"
"Next Month"
"This Quarter"
"Next Quarter"
"This Fiscal Year"
"Next Fiscal Year"
"This Year"
"Next Year"
"Custom"
Shorter date ranges can help when reviewing near-term fundraising activity, while longer periods can support quarterly, annual, or fiscal-year planning.
Use "Custom" when you need to forecast for a specific date range that is not covered by one of the predefined options.
Filter by Contact Owner
The "Owner" dropdown allows you to filter the Forecast Dashboard based on the Owner of the Contact associated with the fundraising activity.
By default, you can review activity across all Owners. Selecting a specific Owner allows you to focus the forecast on the Contacts assigned to that team member.
This can be especially useful when development staff maintains separate portfolios, and you want to review the expected fundraising associated with a particular team member's Contacts.
Choose Full or Weighted Ask Amounts
Because Asks represent potential fundraising rather than money already committed or received, the Forecast Dashboard lets you choose how Ask amounts contribute to the forecast.
Full Ask Amount
When using Full Ask Amount, each Ask contributes its entire Ask amount to the forecast.
For example, a $10,000 Ask contributes the full $10,000 to the speculative portion of the forecast regardless of the Stage it is currently in.
This shows the full potential value of the Asks included in the forecast.
Weighted Ask Amount
When using Weighted Ask Amount, each Ask is adjusted based on the percentage associated with its current Ask Stage.
For example, if a $10,000 Ask is currently in a Stage weighted at 50%, that Ask contributes $5,000 to the forecast rather than the full $10,000.
Using weighted amounts can provide a more conservative view of your Ask pipeline because opportunities in earlier or lower-weighted Stages contribute less to the projected total.
Choose a Per Period or Cumulative View
The "View" toggle controls how forecast amounts are displayed over the selected date range.
Per Period
The Per Period view shows fundraising activity within each individual period represented on the Dashboard.
This makes it easier to see when Gifts, Pledge Installments, Recurring Gifts, and Asks are expected and to compare one period with another.
Use this view when you want to understand the timing and distribution of fundraising activity throughout the selected range.
Cumulative
The Cumulative view builds the forecast over time, so each period includes the amounts accumulated through that point.
This makes it easier to see how your total received and forecasted fundraising grows across the selected date range.
Use the cumulative view when you are more interested in overall progress toward a future total than the amount expected within each individual period.
Selecting What to Include in the Forecast
Checkboxes at the top of the dashboard let you control which fundraising sources are included. Selecting only the sources relevant to your analysis can make the forecast easier to interpret.
For example, you could review only committed and scheduled fundraising by selecting Pledge Installments and Recurring Gifts, or include Asks as well to create a broader forecast that incorporates potential fundraising opportunities.
Gifts Received
"Gifts Received" represents Gifts that have already been received during the selected period.
These amounts are no longer forecasted revenue. They represent fundraising that has already occurred and provide the actual-results portion of the Dashboard.
Pledge Installments
"Pledge Installments" includes scheduled installments that are due during the selected forecast period.
Because these Gifts are connected to an existing pledge commitment, the Dashboard represents them as Committed fundraising.
Recurring Gifts
"Recurring Gifts" includes Gifts that are scheduled through active recurring giving plans during the selected period.
These amounts are represented as Expected fundraising because DonorDock can use the recurring schedule to determine when future transactions are expected.
Asks
"Asks" includes fundraising opportunities with Ask amounts that fall within the selected forecast criteria.
These amounts are represented as Speculative fundraising because an Ask represents a potential future Gift rather than a committed or scheduled payment.
The amount included for an Ask depends on whether you have selected "Full Ask Amount" or "Weighted Ask Amount".
Forecast Summary Tiles
After you select the Dashboard settings, summary tiles provide a quick overview of fundraising for the selected period.
Period Total
The Period Total tile provides the overall view of fundraising represented in the selected forecast period.
It shows both:
The amount that has already been raised during the period
The amount currently included in the forecast
This makes it easy to distinguish actual fundraising results from amounts that are still expected, committed, or speculative.
The remaining tiles break the overall picture into the individual sources that contribute to those totals.
Received
The Received tile shows gifts already received during the selected period. This is the actual fundraising portion of the Dashboard, not a future projection.
Committed
The Committed tile shows Pledge Installments due during the selected period. These amounts are tied to existing pledge commitments but have not yet been received.
Expected
The Expected tile shows scheduled Recurring Gift amounts expected during the selected period. These values are based on the future schedule of recurring plans represented in DonorDock.
Speculative
The Speculative tile shows the Ask amount included in the forecast.
Because Asks are potential fundraising opportunities rather than committed payments, they are kept separate from Pledge Installments and Recurring Gifts.
Forecast Graph
Below the summary tiles, the Forecast Dashboard shows a bar graph of the fundraising sources included in your forecast.
Depending on the options you selected at the top of the Dashboard, the graph can include:
Received Gifts
Pledge Installments
Recurring Gifts
Asks
The graph makes it easier to see both the timing and composition of the forecast without relying only on the summary totals.
The graph also responds to the "Per Period" and "Cumulative" view selection, letting you view either individual periods or the growing forecast over time.
Forecast Detail
At the bottom of the Dashboard, the Forecast Detail table provides the individual records behind the forecast.
The table includes information such as:
Contact name
Source
Date
Owner
Amount
Forecast Amount
This gives you a record-level view of the information contributing to the Dashboard totals. The Source helps identify whether an item comes from a received Gift, Pledge Installment, Recurring Gift, or Ask, while the Forecast Amount shows how much that item contributes to the forecast based on your current Dashboard settings.
This can be useful when you see an unexpected amount in the summary tiles or graph and want to understand which individual records are contributing to it.
Export Forecast Details to CSV
You can export the detailed records behind your forecast to a CSV file for additional review or analysis outside of DonorDock.
Open the "Forecast Dashboard".
Select the "Date Range" you want to review.
Use the "Owner" dropdown if you want to limit the forecast to Contacts assigned to a specific Owner.
Choose whether Asks should use the "Weighted Ask Amount" or "Full Ask Amount".
Select either the "Per Period" or "Cumulative" view.
Check the transaction types you want included in the forecast, such as "Gifts Received", "Pledge Installments", "Recurring Gifts", and "Asks".
Review the Dashboard to make sure the forecast reflects the information you want to export.
Click "Export to CSV" at the top of the Dashboard.
Open the downloaded CSV file in Excel or another spreadsheet program to review, sort, filter, or analyze the forecast details.
The CSV export reflects the Forecast Dashboard settings you selected before exporting, so configure the Dashboard first to make sure the file includes the period, Owners, Ask calculation, and transaction types you want to review.