Resources for Parishes

Processing Procedures

This is a handy reference for those who do the processing at your parish — cash counters, Appeal secretary, and bookkeeper. You can download a pdf copy here.

The bulk of pledges and gifts will be collected in parishes on Appeal Weekend (Feb. 14 & 15) and need to be processed by Friday so they arrive at the Appeal Office on Thursday or Friday of the following week. (Please refer to the Appeal timeline).  Your Area Representative will contact you about picking up the transmittal to ensure that it reaches the Appeal Office quickly.  The following 14 steps will speed the process:

  1. Verify amount enclosed in pledge envelopes as they are opened.  The “Amount paying now” should match the amount enclosed; any discrepancy needs to be noted on the pledge slip.  For any gift (check or cash) of $250 or more, please note the check number, date and the dollar amount on the pledge slip, so that the IRS-required receipt, which the Appeal Office issues, will be as accurate as possible.
  2. Separate payments from the pledge slips and prepare the cash and checks for deposit in the parish account.  Although the checks will most likely be made payable to the Catholic Services Appeal, they can be deposited in the parish account without any difficulty.
  3. Alphabetize pledge slips and pull control labels (left column on the label set) to allow for follow-up.  See the following pages for more information about the label sets you received.  On pledge slips with a hand-written name and address, place the control label on the lower right-hand side of the slip – not over the written information. Remove  the control label for each household responding to the Appeal, discarding the ones for  pre-printed pledge slips.  Your accuracy with the control labels will assist in processing payments on pledges already recorded (you will use a Payment Only Report for this), and will enable follow-up efforts.
  4. For parishioners who have left the parish, are deceased, or are listed twice, please affix the control label to a separate sheet of paper and include with the “deletions” batch card. If the label is for a duplicate record, please write “Dup” on the label and include it with the deletions.
  5. Divide pledge slips into the following “batches”:
    • Pledges paid in full
    • Credit card pledges
    • Pledges with partial payment (down payment)
    • Refusals (for any reason)
    • Pledges with no down payment
    • Deletions
    • Automatic withdrawals
    As you sort, please pay special attention to the back side of the slips, especially those with no down payment.  People often note their gift on the reverse side as a credit card or automatic withdrawal gift.  If you get frustrated please call us.
  6. Once the batches are divided, band the slips together with the appropriate batch card filled out.  Any slips which indicate a change in name and/or address and those of new parishioners and visitors should be at the top of each batch. Add the amounts in each batch and mark totals on the appropriate batch card, along with the number of slips included.  Please include an adding machine tape for each total in the pledge batch.
  7. Anonymous contributions should be treated as one-time gifts, totaled together on a single pledge slip in the “paid in full” batch.  Please disregard any future payment noted.
  8. Complete transmittal report as shown on the next page.  The number of pledges, dollars pledged, and total dollars paid from each batch is needed for the transmittal report.
  9. Enclose a parish check for the total amount of cash and checks received with the pledges included in this transmittal.  Place the parish check, the transmittal form and the pledge slips    in an envelope for pick-up by the Area Representative or for mailing to the Appeal Office.
  10. Pledge slips from other parishes may end up in your collection.  The donor may have recently joined your parish, may just be visiting, or may be a member of more than one parish.  Check for the label.  Place it next to the  parishioner’s name and address and cross out the parish name on the slip, writing in your own parish’s name.  If there is no label for the household, write your parish name and Appeal number on the form, cross out the parish listed, and process in the appropriate batch.  Your parish will receive credit for pledges that you process.
  11. Payments on previous pledges – You may receive a check or cash for a pledge which had already been recorded (you will know this is the case if you have been pulling the control label as you process responses).  Simply complete a Payment Only Report (POR) and send it with a transmittal to our office.  Our staff’s preference is to have a separate parish check for POR’s, to ease the processing.  By using the POR, the payment will be clearly distinguished from new pledges and donors will receive prompt and proper credit for their gifts.
  12. Labels remaining on your label set will be used for mail follow-up. Suggestions for effective follow-up with your parishioners who have not yet responded to this year’s Appeal are included in the following pages of the leadership guide.
  13. Responses received through follow-up should be processed like other responses.  Whenever a response is received from a parishioner, remember to remove the control label.
  14. If responses come in after the final transmittal, please forward them to the Appeal Office immediately so that we are able to “pull” the household from telemarketing and ensure the donor is not called.  If we have not called the donor, your parish will receive the rebate portion of the gift.