New fund opportunities allow you to track the process of establishing a new fund from initial donor interest through a signed fund agreement, creation of a fund record in CommunitySuite, and the receipt of an opening gift. The new fund opportunity type is useful for organizations that work directly with donors to establish any type of fund: field of interest, agency, Donor Advised Fund (DAF), scholarship, unrestricted, or more.
The example covered in this article is for demonstration purposes only to show how stages, tasks, and opportunity management all work together. It is not recommended as a definitive new fund workflow and may differ from your organization's new fund activities. For additional opportunity type examples, see Example Opportunities with Stages and Tasks. For foundational setup guidance, see Opportunities Overview.
When to Use the New Fund Opportunity Type
Use a new fund opportunity type when:
- Working with an individual, household, or organization that has expressed interest in opening a fund.
- Documenting a new fund relationship and tracking progress toward a signed fund agreement and opening gift.
- Tracking new fund conversations without any impact to your general ledger until the opening gift is received.
Suggested Stages and Tasks
Suggested New Fund Opportunity Stages
Stages for a new fund opportunity type can reflect the steps in your new fund creation workflow. The stages below are a suggested starting point.
- Initial Contact - Donor has expressed interest in opening a fund.
- Determine Charitable Interests - Conversations are underway to identify the donor's philanthropic goals and the type of fund they wish to create.
- Draft Fund Agreement - Fund agreement is being drafted and reviewed with the donor.
- Fund Agreement Signed - Signed fund agreement has been received.
- Fund Setup - Fund record gets created in CommunitySuite.
- Fund Advisor Setup - Fund advisor designation is activated, the fund is connected to the advisor, Portal access is established, and a welcome letter is sent.
- Awaiting Donation - All setup is complete, but the opening gift is pending.
- Stewardship/Mark Complete - Opening gift has been received and the donor relationship is being maintained.
Suggested New Fund Opportunity Task and Note Types
Task and note types for a new fund opportunity type can reflect the activities and touchpoints in your fund establishment workflow. The task and note types below are a suggested starting point.
- Call - Contact the prospective donor for initial conversation and next steps.
- Visit - Meet to discuss fund purpose and naming or review fund agreement details.
- Email - Follow up on outstanding documentation.
- Information Learned - Document donor background information, potential fund type, and philanthropic interests.
- Draft Fund Agreement - Task that can trigger drafting up fund agreement language and assigned to a donor development team member or the person assigned to the opportunity.
- Create Fund - Task that can be assigned at the fund setup stage and assigned to the team member that has permissions for creating new funds.
- Activate Fund Advisor Designation - Task to activate the fund advisor designation on the donor's profile and connect them to the new fund.
- Set Up Portal Access - Task to set up the fund advisor's Portal login so they can access fund statements, make grant recommendations, and view fund activity.
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Send Welcome Letter - Task to generate and send a welcome or thank you letter to the new fund advisor using an opportunity letter template. Check the Auto-Attach Document box to attach a copy to the opportunity record.
Configuration Tips
Configuration tips highlight key fields, features, and setup considerations to keep in mind when building and managing new fund opportunities.
Which Profile to Create the Opportunity On
When determining which profile to create the opportunity on, consider how your organization interacts with the donor and how your profiles are structured.
If you are working with a couple, consider whether the opportunity belongs on the household profile or one of the household member profiles.
A helpful guiding question is: Who would be listed as the primary fund advisor on the fund agreement?
Connected Profiles and Professional Advisors
The Connected Profiles field can be used to link household members or other relevant parties to the opportunity. If the donor was referred to your organization by a financial advisor or attorney, the Professional Advisors field is available to link that advisor and their firm with the new fund opportunity.
Solicited Amount as a Minimum Opening Gift
If your organization has a minimum opening gift requirement, consider using the Solicited Amount field to reflect that threshold. This field does not impact your general ledger and can be updated as the conversation develops.
Add the Fund Once Established
The Fund field on the opportunity record can be left blank initially and updated once the fund record has been created in CommunitySuite.
When the fund record gets created in the course of the new fund conversation is determined by your organization's preference and processes. In this example article, it is created after a fund agreement is signed.
Link the Opening Gift
Once the donor makes the opening gift, link the donation to the opportunity to update the Opportunity balance. If a Promise was also created, the gift can be linked to the promise record.
Copy an Opportunity for Efficiency
Consider building a new fund template opportunity record and using the Copy function to create new opportunities with tasks for a consistent structure.
What Is a Template Opportunity
A template opportunity is an existing opportunity record that is configured to be copied for reuse. The template can be preconfigured with the assigned field set to the staff member who most commonly manages that opportunity type, or to the organization's main profile.
What Gets Copied
It can also include a standard set of tasks that represent the common activities required to complete each stage. When the template record is copied, the new opportunity record includes all of those preconfigured items, which are then customized for the specific donor and situation.
Update Task Due Dates After Copying
When copying a template opportunity with tasks, task due dates are copied over from the template. Adjusting task dates is recommended as part of the administrative setup when creating a new opportunity from a template.
Opportunity Letter Templates
Letter templates can be added to opportunities and are used to generate and email letters individually or in a batch. See Opportunity Letters for guidance on setting up and processing letters.
Potential Opportunity Custom Fields
Custom fields can be added to opportunities to capture information that does not fit an existing opportunity field, supports reporting, and fund creation. The examples below are a suggested starting point:
- Prospective Fund Type - The fund type that will be selected when the fund is created based on the donor's interests and giving goals.
- Prospective Fund Name - The intended name of the fund as discussed with the donor, to reference when the fund record is created in CommunitySuite.
- Gift/Funding Sources - IRA distribution, Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT), Securities, Cash, or any potential funding sources that might be desired to report on and track.
Notes
Use notes on the opportunity record to capture information that does not fit an existing opportunity field, such as:
- Afterlife intent and beneficiary details.
- Payout preferences and distribution percentages if more than one beneficiary is named.
- Legacy Society membership or expressed interest in joining.
Example New Fund Opportunity Scenario
The example scenario below follows one specific new fund conversation from creating the opportunity to closing the opportunity. The stages, tasks, and workflow shown are illustrative and may differ from your organization's new fund activities.
Example Scenario
Jamie Bartley is a longtime donor who has decided to take her philanthropy to the next step. After an initial conversation at a donor event, Rebekah Betchler, the donor development staff member Jamie spoke with, creates a new fund opportunity to begin tracking the relationship.
Over the course of several meetings joined by Jamie's son Jason and her financial advisor, Leslie East, the conversation evolves into a plan to open a DAF called the Bartley Family Fund with an anticipated opening contribution of $18,000.
Create the Opportunity
What Happens at the Create the Opportunity Stage:
- Create a new opportunity record or copy a New Fund opportunity template.
- Update the assigned field and target date.
- If copying a template, update the due dates on all copied tasks.
- If building a new opportunity, add tasks individually and set due dates accordingly.
- The solicited amount field is optional and can be set to reflect a planned or expected gift amount, or left blank.
- The opportunity automatically starts at the first stage regardless of it was created new or copied from an existing opportunity.
Create the Opportunity: Copy a New Fund Opportunity
Rebekah copies the New Fund opportunity template to create the opportunity with all related stages and tasks already in place. The template opportunity is linked to Rebekah's profile as a signal that it is the record to be copied.
Create the Opportunity: Change the Templated Opportunity Profile
After copying the template opportunity, Rebekah changes the profile associated with it from her own to Jamie Bartley.
Create the Opportunity: Update the Assigned Field
The stage is automatically set to Initial Contact because every new opportunity record begins at the first stage.
The Assigned field is already set to Rebekah because that is how the opportunity template is structured. If another team member besides Rebekah were copying the template and owning the relationship, they would update this to themselves or the appropriate teammate.
Create the Opportunity: Set a Target Date
Rebekah sets the opportunity target date to December 31, 2026, the date by which she hopes to have the new fund established. The target date on an opportunity can be changed at any time.
Create the Opportunity: Set a Solicited Amount (Optional)
The solicited amount is already preset to $10,000, the minimum amount needed to open a new fund at Rebekah's organization, because that is how the opportunity template is structured. The solicited amount field is optional and is used for planning purposes only, it does not impact the general ledger.
Create the Opportunity: Copied Task Due Dates
Rebekah then adjusts the due dates on all copied templated tasks to reflect the current timeline.
Stage 1: Initial Contact Stage
What Happens at the Initial Contact Stage:
- Begin outreach to the prospect with calls or emails.
- This stage may have a longer timeline before conversations advance to the next stage.
Initial Contact Stage: First Task
Rebekah's first task is to call Jamie and continue the conversation started at the donor event. She selects the templated Call task and updates it to include the opportunity ID and a description noting that she will call Jamie to follow up on their conversation and set up a face-to-face meeting to talk more about her interests.
Once the call has been completed, Rebekah marks the task complete and adds a note about next steps.
Stage 2: Determine Charitable Interests Stage
What Happens at the Determine Charitable Interests Stage:
- Advance the stage as conversations deepen and philanthropic goals become clearer.
- Mark tasks complete with notes documenting meeting outcomes and key information learned.
- Create profiles for any new contacts and add them as Connected Profiles if applicable.
- Add professional advisors to the opportunity via the Professional Advisors field if applicable.
- Update custom fields to reflect the donor's fund type interest and giving goals.
- Update the donor's profile with relevant philanthropic interest profile types.
Rebekah advances the stage to Determine Charitable Interests. After meeting with Jamie, Rebekah marks the Visit task complete and includes in the task note a summary of how the meeting went.
The note includes details that Jamie wants her son to be involved in the conversations and that she works with a professional advisor named Leslie East at East Financial Planning.
Determine Charitable Interests Stage: Add Connected and Professional Advisor Profiles
Jamie's son, Jason Bartley, is also interested in the philanthropic focus of the new fund. Rebekah creates a new profile for Jason and adds him as a Connected Profile on the opportunity record.
Jamie would like to include Leslie in their next meeting to discuss funding source options, which may include a gift of securities. Rebekah adds Leslie East and the East Financial Planning firm profiles to the opportunity via the Professional Advisors field.
Determine Charitable Interests Stage: Update Custom Fields
Rebekah updates the Prospective Fund Type custom field on the opportunity record to reflect that Jamie is interested in opening a Donor Advised Fund. She also updates Jamie's profile with Philanthropic Interest Types of Arts and Animals, reflecting Jamie's longtime support of the area's animal shelters and the arts.
Stage 3: Draft Fund Agreement Stage
What Happens at the Draft Fund Agreement Stage:
- Update the Committed Amount field to reflect the donor's intended contribution.
- Update any relevant custom fields such as Prospective Fund Name.
- Draft the fund agreement and send it to the donor for review using an opportunity letter template.
- Mark the Draft Fund Agreement task complete with notes once the agreement is sent.
Rebekah moves the opportunity to the Draft Fund Agreement stage, because she now has enough detailed information to write up an agreement.
After several meetings with Jamie, her son Jason, and professional advisor Leslie, they have determined that Jamie will open a Donor Advised Fund with her son Jason as a Successor Advisor.
Jamie plans to make an initial cash gift of $10,000 to establish the fund and an additional gift of stock valued at approximately $8,000 before the end of the year.
Draft Fund Agreement Stage: Update Committed Amount
Rebekah then updates the Committed Amount field on the opportunity to $18,000. Because there is now a committed amount, the Balance field of the opportunity updates to reflect this new expected total.
No impact to the general ledger (GL) has occurred, the amounts fields on an opportunity are for reporting and planning functionality only. Later, once the establishing donations are received and posted, the donations will be reflected on the GL.
Draft Fund Agreement Stage: Update Custom Fields
The Prospective Fund Name and Gift/Funding Source custom fields are also updated to reflect the fund will be named the Bartley Family Fund and potentially include a gift of securities.
This information could be stored in a note on the opportunity instead of custom fields, but Rebekah pulls annual activity reports for her organization's development committee, and tracking this information via custom fields makes them more easily reportable.
These custom fields are also used when creating the fund record, providing the fund group and fund name information.
Draft Fund Agreement Stage: Draft Fund Agreement Task Complete
Rebekah drafts the fund agreement and sends it to Jamie for her to look over and discuss any changes or updates.
She then marks the Draft Agreement task as complete with notes.
Stage 4: Fund Agreement Signed Stage
What Happens at the Fund Agreement Signed Stage:
- Advance the stage once signatures have been received from all parties.
Fund Agreement Signed Stage: Advance the Stage
Rebekah advances the stage to Fund Agreement Signed once signatures have been received from Jamie and Rebekah's CEO.
Stage 5: Fund Setup Stage
What Happens at the Fund Setup Stage:
- Notify the appropriate team member to create the fund record in CommunitySuite.
- Reassign the Create Fund Record task with an updated due date.
- Link the fund record to the opportunity once it has been created.
Fund Setup Stage: Reassign the Create Fund Task
Rebekah notifies the finance team that a signed fund agreement is in place and reassigns the Create Fund Record task to the appropriate team member, Hollie Adams. Hollie is responsible for creating the fund record in CommunitySuite and updating the task due date accordingly. Rebekah adds herself via the Share With option to keep an eye on tasks related to this workflow.
Once the task is complete and the fund record has been created by Hollie, Rebekah then links the fund record to the opportunity and sets herself as a Steward on the fund record.
Stage 6: Fund Advisor Setup
What Happens at the Fund Advisor Setup Stage:
- Activate the fund advisor designation on the donor's profile and connect them to the new fund.
- Establish Portal access for the fund advisor.
- Generate and send a welcome letter using an opportunity letter template with auto-attach enabled.
- Link relevant profiles to the fund using profile fund categories to document long-term fund relationships.
Now that the fund record has been created, the stage is advanced to Fund Advisor Setup.
Fund Advisor Setup Stage: Activate Fund Advisor Designation and Portal Access
Rebekah activates the fund advisor designation on Jamie's profile and adds the Bartley Family Fund to her fund advisor designation. Rebekah then configures Jamie's profile with login access.
Fund Advisor Setup Stage: Send Welcome Letter
Once Portal access has been established, Rebekah generates a welcome letter using the opportunity letter template and emails it to Jamie. Because the Auto-Attach Document box was checked on the letter template, a copy of the welcome letter is automatically attached to the opportunity record.
Fund Advisor Setup Stage: Track Additional Fund Relationships
Profile fund categories can be used to document and report on long-term relationships between donors and their funds beyond the functionality of the fund advisor designation for fund statements or Portal access.
Rebekah uses profile fund categories for reporting and tracking long term relationships of donors to their funds. She links Jamie's profile to the Bartley Family Fund with a profile fund category of Fund Founder-Original Donor.
Rebekah also links Jason Bartley, Jamie's son, via profile fund category to the Bartley Family Fund as a successor advisor. He will not have a fund advisor designation or an active login for the initial phase. He will assume more responsibility for the fund at a later time.
Stage 7: Awaiting Donation Stage
What Happens at the Awaiting Donation Stage:
- Place note alerts on the donor's profile so the gift entry team knows the gift is expected.
- Link the donation to the opportunity once it is received and entered.
- Review the Balance field to confirm amounts received against the committed amount.
Rebekah advances the stage to Awaiting Donation, because the last piece of this process is to receive the opening donation.
Awaiting Donation Stage: Place Note Alerts
Rebekah creates a note on Jamie's profile and sets the note alert to include donations. This will help make the gift entry team aware of which relevant opportunity to link to when the donation is received.
Awaiting Donation Stage: Link the Opening Gift
The initial gift of $10,000 arrives and once the donation is linked to the opportunity, the opportunity record displays the linked donation, below the Tasks area.
Awaiting Donation Stage: Opportunity Balance Amount
The Balance field reflects the difference between the Committed Amount and the total amount of all donations linked to the opportunity so far. Jamie's $10,000 donation is now linked, and the opportunity's balance shows $8,000. This reflects the remaining stock gift that will be received before the end of the year.
Stage 8: Stewardship/Mark Complete
What Happens at the Stewardship/Mark Complete Stage:
- Confirm all expected gifts have been received and linked.
- Leave the opportunity in Stewardship for ongoing relationship tracking or mark it complete as successful.
- It is entirely the organization's decision what defines success and what criteria must be met before closing.
Stewardship/Mark Complete Stage: Opportunity Balance Reaches Zero
The stock gift has been received and linked to the opportunity. The Bartley Family Fund has now received the full establishing contribution of $18,000.
The opportunity balance reflects $0.00, with the committed amount fully covered by the linked donations. The only time the general ledger was impacted was when the donations were recorded to establish the fund.
Stewardship/Mark Complete Stage: Mark Opportunity Successful
Jamie is now able to log in to the Portal and view activity on the Bartley Family Fund. Rebekah marks the opportunity complete and successful.