Allow Stock Gifts to record Issuer Number of Units in decimals
We get stock donations that aren't whole numbers. For example, 25.302 number of shares. There is no way to currently enter that information into the system as the field will only allow whole numbers.
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Elias Gannage
- Jan 8 2021
- Reviewed: Voting Open
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Need more decimal places for stock gifts, and more characters for "Issuer Symbol" field
Merged When our broker sends us the median price of stocks, it is sometimes three decimal places instead of two. We also sometimes receive mutual funds that have a longer symbol than the 4 characters allowed in the field.5 Reviewed: Voting Open
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When recording stock details allow additional decimal places in the Median price per unit field.
Merged When acknowledging the median price for stock high and low, being able to record a more exact value in the Median price per unit field on the stock gift record will allow more accurate recording of the value. The field could also then be utilized ...0 Reviewed: Voting Open
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Please allow entry of fractional shares during stock gift entry
Merged BB has already expanded the number of characters allowed in the Issuer Symbol - which is good for entering mutual fund gifts. But we also need to be able to enter fractional shares (w/ decimal points). I'm sure there's some technical reason for on...0 Reviewed: Voting Open
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Stock gift details - need more character space in symbol and the ability to add decimals in Units
Merged When entering stock gifts details section needs to be updated. Some stock symbols are 5 characters so I can't enter the field. Also # of units doesn't accept decimals so instead of entering 208.921 shares I have to enter 209.1 Reviewed: Voting Open
Related ideas
This is definitely needed, we receive a lot of stock gifts and this limitation prevents us from using the system to it's fullest. We also have to manually generate letters because of this limitation.
We need more decimal places for stock gifts. Many times our broker sends us the median price of stocks, with three decimal places instead of two. Two places does not give the exact amount of the gift when multiplied by the number of shares.
I submitted this limitation as a defect to Blackbaud Support and was advised that the case was being closed with a "Will not address" decision and a recommendation to provide my feedback to this idea. My feedback is the following:
I understand that this limitation is technically considered "by design" because the "Issuer Number of Units" field has an integer data type. I also understand that when Blackbaud first implemented the stock gift types into Raiser's Edge, fractional sharing did not exist.
I also think it's important for Blackbaud to acknowledge the following:
Fractional sharing is an offering that has existed with some brokerages since the late-1990s/early 2000s
Fractional sharing is a common offering with many major brokerages as of 2017-2019
The list of brokerages who offer fractional sharing is continuing to grow
Many (if not all) of Blackbaud's competitors (whose CRMs support stock gift entry) support fractional shares
Blackbaud has a long-standing history of advising users, "Good data in, good data out; bad data in, bad data out." Not addressing this defect prevents users from following Blackbaud's recommended data entry practice.
From what I understand, Blackbaud is building Raiser's Edge NXT with the intention of standardizing data entry practices with this solution, which this limitation prevents. Because of this limitation, some organizations are documenting the actual number of shares in the Reference field of the gift record. Other organizations are tracking the actual number of shares as a gift attribute with a "Text" data type. This inconsistency creates significant challenges for organizations trying to maintain accurate, standardized, and reportable data. It also introduces unnecessary risk of user error and complicates downstream processes like reconciliation, auditing, and stewardship reporting. As a result, nonprofits are forced to choose between poor data hygiene or burdensome manual workarounds.
Blackbaud also just introduced stock gift data entry into the web view, so if Blackbaud intends to continue to invest in stock/property data entry capabilities and introduce innovative and helpful features into RENXT, then I think it's important for Blackbaud to prioritize addressing this limitation.
Given the existence and prevalence of fractional shares in modern brokerage transactions and the importance of accurate gift entry, I strongly urge Blackbaud to reclassify this limitation as a defect rather than a feature request. Addressing this limitation would better align with industry standards, Blackbaud’s own data quality guidance, and RENXT’s goal of unifying and standardizing constituent data practices.