FAQ: Delayed Self-Pledge

Below you'll find a list of questions to help you understand how Delayed Self-Pledge works and which option is best for you.

What is Delayed Self-Pledge?

Delayed Self-Pledge is associated with a specific participation type and requires a participant to pay the difference between the amount of money they commit to raise by a certain date and the actual amount raised by that date. When the due date passes, a participant must pay any gap that is owed. When using the one-step DSP, the amount is never more than the minimum fundraising goal set on the participation type.

A participant registers for a participation type with a $100 registration fee and a $1000 fundraising goal. The participant must raise $900 or pay the difference between $900 and the amount raised by the due date.

What are the differences in "one-step" and "two-step" Delayed Self-Pledge implementations?

Luminate Online offers a newer One-Step Delayed Self-Pledge (Recommended), and the original Two-Step Delayed Self-Pledge. The "one-step" vs "two-step" process refers to the experience a participant has when registering. In both styles, a registration fee holds the credit card information as a soft credit for the pledge so that the funds can be collected when due. For one-step, only one online form (one step) is used. In the two-step process, the participant completes two forms: one for the event, and one for the pledge.

Feature One-step DSP (newer style) Two-step DSP (classic style)

Pledge amounts Restricts the maximum pledge amount so that it does not surpass the minimum fundraising goal for the participation type Allows and enforces pledge amounts that exceed the minimum fundraising goal for the participation type

Required vs optional When DSP is used, it is the only participation type, so all participants must agree to and meet fundraising goal Allows additional, non-DSP participation types so that DSP can be optional

Collect pledges Click a button in TeamRaiser to collect individual or bulk pledges Run a report, download CSV, modify columns, and upload CSV to TeamRaiser to collect individual or bulk pledges

Registration fee impact Uses a registration fee to retain credit card information from participant, so a registration fee is required. However, registration is streamlined to one interaction (one-step process) Uses a separate registration form to retain credit card information from the participant so the registration requires two forms (two-step process)

Reports Coming in a future release Available in Report Writer

Coaching emails
Offers ability to send Coaching emails to remind participants of amount owed Offers ability to send Coaching emails to remind participants of amount owed

Autoresponders Sends autoresponders when payments are processed Sends autoresponders when payments are processed

Participant insight to amount owed Participant sees remaining amount owed when visiting the donation form Participant sees remaining amount owed when visiting the donation form

Feature	One-step DSP (newer style)	Two-step DSP (classic style)
Pledge amounts	Restricts the maximum pledge amount so that it does not surpass the minimum fundraising goal for the participation type	Allows and enforces pledge amounts that exceed the minimum fundraising goal for the participation type
Required vs optional	When DSP is used, it is the only participation type, so all participants must agree to and meet fundraising goal	Allows additional, non-DSP participation types so that DSP can be optional
Collect pledges	Click a button in TeamRaiser to collect individual or bulk pledges	Run a report, download CSV, modify columns, and upload CSV to TeamRaiser to collect individual or bulk pledges
Registration fee impact	Uses a registration fee to retain credit card information from participant, so a registration fee is required. However, registration is streamlined to one interaction (one-step process)	Uses a separate registration form to retain credit card information from the participant so the registration requires two forms (two-step process)
Reports	Coming in a future release	Available in Report Writer
Coaching emails	Offers ability to send Coaching emails to remind participants of amount owed	Offers ability to send Coaching emails to remind participants of amount owed
Autoresponders	Sends autoresponders when payments are processed	Sends autoresponders when payments are processed
Participant insight to amount owed	Participant sees remaining amount owed when visiting the donation form	Participant sees remaining amount owed when visiting the donation form

How do I enable Delayed Self-Pledge?

See One-Step Delayed Self-Pledge (Recommended) or Two-Step Delayed Self-Pledge for details.

For one-step DSP:

For one-step DSP, when creating or editing your TeamRaiser, when you create a participation type, select the Delayed Self Pledge Enabled option. The amount listed in the Minimum Fundraising Goal is the amount owed by participants.

After creating the participation type and selecting the option, the participation type is associated with Delayed Self-Pledge and becomes available for selection during event registration. However, before you can select the Delayed Self-Pledge option, enable Donations 2 by selecting Donations 2 Registration Transaction Processing for your TeamRaiser as described in Edit the advanced fundraising options.

Why can't I see the Delayed Self-Pledge option when I try to create or edit a TeamRaiser Participation type?

To use Delayed Self-Pledge, enable Donations 2 by selecting Donations 2 Registration Transaction Processing for your TeamRaiser as described in Edit the advanced fundraising options.

I'll be using Delayed Self-Pledge for the first time. Should I use the former two-step process or the new one-step process?

If you're new to Delayed Self-Pledge, we recommend you use the one-step process, which entails selecting the Delayed Self Pledge Enabled option and managing the information from the Delayed Self-Pledges tab.

Registrations and Delayed Self-Pledge

For participation types with DSP enabled, how do registration fees display on the Transaction history?

On the Transaction tab of a constituent's profile, registration fees for participation types that have DSP enabled display as a recurring gift rather than a TeamRaiser registration.

These scenarios explain how different registration types affect Delayed Self-Pledge.

A participant has a discount for their registration.

A participant registers for a participation type with a $100 registration fee and $1000 minimum goal. The participant has a 10% discount, which means they are responsible for $90 at the time of registration ($100 - 10% ($10) ) and must raise or pay $910.

A participant makes an additional gift at registration.

A participant registers for a participation type with a $100 registration fee and $1000 minimum goal. The participant makes an additional gift of $100 at the time of registration; the participant must raise or pay $800.

A participant adds an upsell, like a commemorative shirt, to their registration.

A participant registers for a participation type with a $100 registration fee and $1000 minimum goal. The participant includes the $20 for the t-shirt as part of their registration. The upsell does not affect the pledge amount, so they must raise or pay $900.

Best Practices

Do not enable secondary registrations if your event will only have Delayed Self-Pledge participation types.

Note: Secondary registrations are disabled when Delayed Self-Pledge is chosen as the primary participation type. If you want secondary registrations, choose an option other than Delayed Self-Pledge as the primary participation type.