Donors Behind on Giving

This report compares each donor’s pledge against what they’ve actually given and lists everyone falling short.

karani.co/reports/behindongiving

Pledged versus given, per donor.

How the shortfall is calculated

For the current fiscal year, Karani works out what each pledge should have produced by today, sums the donor’s actual gifts in the same period, and reports the difference.

A $50 monthly pledge starting in January should have produced $350 by the end of July. If $250 has arrived, the donor is $100 behind.

The mechanics are in Pledge fulfillment.

Before you call anyone

Most dramatic shortfalls are data problems

Open the contact and check three things:

1. The pledge start date. A long-standing pledge entered with a start date years ago will show a huge apparent shortfall.
2. The frequency. A donor who pledged monthly but gives quarterly in a lump looks behind two months out of three.
3. Duplicate contacts. If an import created a second record, the pledge is on one and the gifts on the other. See Merging duplicates.

Once you’ve ruled those out, the number is real.

What to do about a genuine shortfall

Not all shortfalls mean the same thing.

Small and recent — a missed month. Usually nothing: a card expired, a transfer didn’t run. A light touch works: “just checking in, no rush.”

Large and sustained — something has changed. A job loss, a change of priorities, a lapse of attention. Worth a real conversation rather than a reminder.

A donor who’s stopped entirely — reclassify them as Lapsed Donor rather than leaving them permanently on this report, and work them through Lapsed Donors instead.

Creating follow-up tasks

The report lets you create follow-up tasks directly from it, so a review session ends with a task list rather than good intentions.

Cadence

Monthly is about right. Weekly produces noise — a donor who gives on the 20th looks behind for most of the month.

Fix the pledge while you're there

If a donor has genuinely reduced their giving, edit the pledge to match reality rather than leaving them permanently flagged. An accurate pledge is worth more than an aspirational one — it makes percent funded honest.