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  1. Foundant Technologies
  2. CommunitySuite
  3. CommunitySuite - Accounting

Accept and Manage Online Fund Requests

  • Last Updated

The Online Fund Request form allows donors, fund advisors, and other prospects to submit fund creation requests directly through a publishable URL on the Giving Hub or on the Portal. CommunitySuite automatically creates a fund request record and notifies designated staff upon submission. CommunitySuite will create a new profile or automatically search the system for an existing profile when an online request is submitted. The profile will automatically be designated as a fund advisor of the fund if their request is approved.

Configure which staff members receive email notifications for submitted fund requests on the Portal Notifications page, and customize the donor acknowledgment email on the Funds Content page.

Who: Finance team, the donor development team, and staff with permission to create fund records.

When to Use the Online Fund Request Form

Use the online fund request form to:

  • Offer donors a self-service way to communicate that they want to open a fund.
  • Minimize manual intake processes such as phone calls, emailed forms, or paper applications.
  • Standardize the intake process with automated staff notifications and donor confirmation emails.
  • Gain earlier visibility into the fund pipeline as submitted requests appear immediately in the Fund Request list rather than waiting for manual staff entry.
  • Track each fund request through customizable pipeline stages using the Opportunities feature.
     

By default, the fund request form will include Fund Name, Description, and fields to gather the information of the person submitting the request. Administrators can optionally customize the fund request form with fund custom fields from the Funds page. Additionally, the Portal Fund Request Content on the Giving Hub and Portal Content pages can be customized with header language for the request form. 

Customizing the fund request form is optional. It is not recommended to create fund custom fields specifically for the fund request form. Fund custom fields can be used on the request form, but should be created with the final fund record as the priority.

To configure the fund request form:

  1. Navigate to the Funds page and click Custom Fields in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the ID of the custom field to be added to the fund request form.
    custom field id
     
  3. Click Edit in the left-side menu.
  4. Check the Fund Request Form box, and then click Save.
    • Custom fields enabled on the request form will appear in the fund information section of the form. The field name, active status, required status, and field values will all be inherited from the custom field configuration.
      request form box and save button
       

The default fields and any custom fields added to the form will display on the fund request form once it is enabled.
fund request form on the giving hub

 

The fund request form must be enabled on the Giving Hub or Portal before it is accessible to donors, fund advisors, and other prospects.

Enable the Fund Request Form on the Giving Hub

To enable the fund request form on the Giving Hub:

  1. Navigate to the Portal Options page and click Giving Hub Settings in the left-side menu.
  2. Locate the Settings section and click Edit.
    edit button
     
  3. Check the Enable Fund Request Form box, and then click Update.
    request form checkbox and update button
     
  4. Click Home in the upper navigation bar, and then click System URLs in the left-side menu.
  5. Click the Public Fund Request link and share it directly with applicable prospects or embed it in any applicable external sites.
    fund request link
     
The fund request form will only be available in the Giving Hub from the direct Public Fund Request link in System URLs. It will not display automatically on any of the Giving Hub pages if a user logs in from the main Giving Hub link.

 

Enable the Fund Request Form on the Portal

To enable the fund request form on the Portal:

  1. Navigate to the Portal Options page and click Portal Settings in the left-side menu.
  2. In the Profile tab, click Edit Profile.
    edit profile button
     
  3. Check the Enable Fund Request Form box, and then click Update.
    request form checkbox and update button
     

Prospects can submit a fund request online from a direct link to the Giving Hub or on the Portal. Requesters must be logged in to submit a request through the Portal, but the Giving Hub link is public. 
 

Submit a Fund Request on the Giving Hub

To submit a fund request on the Giving Hub:

  1. Navigate to the fund request page using the direct Giving Hub URL.
  2. Enter the applicable Fund Information and Your Information fields, and then click Submit Fund Request.
    • Asterisks indicate a required field.
      fund request form and submit button
       

Submit a Fund Request on the Portal

To submit a fund request on the Portal:

  1. Log in to the Portal, and click the Profile tab.
  2. Click Create Fund in the left navigation.
    create fund button
     
  3. Enter the applicable Fund Information, and then click Submit Fund Request.
    • Asterisks indicate a required field.
    • User information fields will not be collected on the request form in the Portal because the requester will already be logged into the Portal when they submit the request.
      fund request form and submit button
       

Users with the Fund Request permission can manually create a fund request in CommunitySuite without going through the Giving Hub URL or the Portal. 

To manually create a fund request in CommunitySuite:

  1. Navigate to the Funds page, and then click List Requests in the left-side menu.
  2. Click Create Request in the left-side menu.
  3. Enter the applicable Create Fund Request fields, and then click Create Fund Request.
    • Advisor Profile and Fund Name are required fields.
    • Any existing profile can be entered into the Advisor Profile field; the profile does not need to have the fund advisor designation.
      create fund request button
       
  4. Click Create Opportunity on the fund request record to create a linked opportunity if applicable.
    create opportunity button
     

 Notes and files can be attached to the fund request record.

Submitted fund requests can be reviewed, approved, and converted into full fund records from the Fund Requests page. The profile associated with the fund request will be designated as a fund advisor of the fund if the request is accepted.

To review and convert incoming fund requests to a new fund in CommunitySuite:

  1. Navigate to the Funds page and click List Requests in the left-side menu.
  2. Click the ID of the fund request.
    fund request id
     
  3. Click Create Opportunity on the fund request to create an opportunity to track the prospect through customizable stages if applicable.
    create opportunity button
     
  4. Once the opportunity is created, click the opportunity ID to navigate to the opportunity record.
    • A fund request ID will also be available on the opportunity to navigate back to the fund request.
      opportunity id
       
  5. On the fund request record, click Create Fund in the left-side menu.
  6. Complete all applicable Create Fund information, and then click Create.
    • Name, Group, and Checking Account are required fields.
    • Configure Fund Settings provides additional guidance.
    • When creating a fund from a fund request, it is immediately available in the Portal and Giving Hub. Adding all important information to the fund when creating it is critical.
      create button
       

Any notes or files attached to the fund request record will move to the new fund record. If an opportunity is linked to a fund request, the notes and files will not copy over to the opportunity. If an approved fund request was linked to an opportunity, it will be removed from the Fund Requests page, but users can click the Fund Request ID on the opportunity to view the fund request record and the name and ID of the new fund.

Delete a Fund Request

A fund request can be deleted if your organization will not be moving forward with the request. If an opportunity is created from a fund request and the fund request is deleted, the link to the fund request will be broken. The opportunity will remain available and should be marked as closed or unsuccessful, with a note about the deleted fund request attached to the opportunity record. This will prevent staff confusion on why the opportunity was created.

To delete a fund request:

  1. Navigate to the fund request.
  2. Locate the row of buttons at the top of the record, and then click Delete.
    delete button
     


 

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