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CHAPTER 8.5.2
PLEDGE REPORTING GUIDELINES
DEFINITION
A pledge is defined as a promise to make a gift or philanthropic grant, the amount of the gift or
philanthropic grant to be paid subsequently by the donor, usually in installments.
COLLECTION AND WRITE-OFF PROCEDURES
Campuses shall establish and maintain written procedures for the documentation and collection
of pledges. Further, campuses shall establish and maintain written procedures for reviewing
overdue pledges and designate an authority for writing-off inactive delinquent pledges.
REPORTING PLEDGES ON THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY PHILANTHROPIC
PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
The following pledge guidelines are provided as minimum standards for reporting pledges on the
CSU Productivity Report. Campuses may enhance these standards through written campus
policies or procedures. The guidelines below are consistent with the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education campaign reporting standards and may also be used as a guide for the
option of reporting pledges on the Voluntary Support of Education Survey.
 Report only pledges that were committed or awarded during the reporting period (fiscal
year)1.
 Report only pledges with documentation by the funding source or their legal representative.
The documentation must be dated within the reporting period. On the rare occasion when
special circumstances may warrant making an exception, the advancement officer should
write to the individual making an oral pledge to document the commitment, place a copy of
the correspondence in the donor’s file, and gain specific written approval from a gift
acceptance committee.
 Report only unconditional pledges not based on a future event. Pledges that are subject to
matching fund requirements are considered conditional pledges and may not be reported until
the condition is met.
 Report pledges at face value.
 Report only the first five years for pledges with payment schedules exceeding five years.
At the completion of the first five years, additional five-year increments can be counted.
1
It is not the intent of this report to capture phonathon pledges. It is recommended that the campus set a threshold
amount to report pledges of $5,000 or more, to minimize the data collection effort.
8.05.2-1
GAAP Manual | Pledge Reporting Guidelines | June 30, 2015
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Payments on pledges, that have been received in same reporting period that they were
originally committed, are reported as a new gift under annual gift receipt totals on the
Voluntary Support of Education Survey. Take care to not to double report as both a gift
commitment and a gift receipt.
Do not report matching gift claims or expectancies as a gift commitment. The application for
a match is not a commitment by the funder and could be declined for a variety of reasons.
REPORTING PLEDGES ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS UNDER FASB STANDARDS
Reporting of pledges or unconditional promises to give varies significantly from the way they are
reflected in the reports discussed above. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
defines the standards applicable to the CSU in FASB Codification2 Not-for-Profit Entities
Revenues Recognition paragraphs 958-605. Additional information is available from your
auditor.
Unconditional pledges: (par 958-605-25-8 through 10)
 Pledges or unconditional promises to give shall be recognized as revenue or gains in the
period received and as assets, decrease liability, or expenses when it is received at their fair
values and when there is sufficient evidence in the form of verifiable documentation that a
promise was made and received.
Unconditional pledges expected to be collected less than one year after the financial statement
date: (par 958-605-30-6)
 Pledges or unconditional promises to give that are expected to be collected in less than one
year may be measured at net realizable value because that amount results in a reasonable
estimate of fair value.
Unconditional pledges expected to be collected one year or more after the financial statement
date: (par 958-605-55-22)
 The present value of the future cash flows is one valuation technique for measuring fair value
of contributions arising from pledges or unconditional promises to give. The following table
illustrates the use of present value techniques for initial recognition and measurement of
pledges or unconditional promises to give that are expected to be collected one year or more
after the financial statement.
8.05.2-2
GAAP Manual | Pledge Reporting Guidelines | June 30, 2015
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Conditional pledges: (par 958-605-25-11 through 13)
 Pledges or conditional promises to give shall be recognized at their fair value when the
conditions on which they depend are substantially met, that is, when the conditional promise
becomes unconditional.
 If a restriction and a condition exist, the transfer shall be accounted for as a refundable
advance, liability until the condition on which it depends is substantially met.
REPORTING PLEDGES ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS UNDER GASB STANDARDS
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) defines the standards applicable to the
CSU in GASB statement 33, Accounting and Reporting for Nonexchange Transactions
paragraphs 21-25. Additional information is available from your auditor.
 Promises to provide cash or other assets should be recognized as receivables and revenues
(net of estimated uncollectible amounts) when all the below eligibility requirements are met,
provided that the promise is verifiable and the resources are measurable and probable of
collection. (GASB 33 par 21-25)
a. Required characteristics of recipients: The recipient (and secondary recipients, if
applicable) has the characteristics specified by the provider.
b. Time requirements: Time requirements specified by enabling legislation or the provider
have been met. (The period when the resources are required to be used [sold, disbursed,
or consumed] or when use is first permitted has begun, or the resources are being
maintained intact, as specified by the provider.)
c. Reimbursements: The provider offers resources on a reimbursement ("expendituredriven") basis and the recipient has incurred allowable costs under the applicable
program.
d. Contingencies: The provider's offer of resources is contingent upon a specified action of
the recipient and that action has occurred.
8.05.2-3
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MATCHING GIFT CLAIMS OR EXPECTANCIES
Although there may be the high expectation of the fulfillment of a matching gift claim, these
claims are not legally enforceable and may be declined for multiple reasons. It is therefore the
recommendation of the Chancellor’s Advancement Office that they not be recorded as an asset
receivable.
MAJOR DIFFERENCES OF REPORTING PLEDGES OR PROMISES TO GIVE ON FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS BETWEEN FASB AND GASB (NACUBO ¶206.5)
The differences in the recognition of certain types of contributions arise from the fundamentally
different way the two boards treat time constraints donors place on the use of resources. Unlike
FASB, which treats time requirements and purpose restrictions similarly (i.e., neither affects the
timing of recognition of assets or revenues), GASB establishes a different recognition criterion
for each of these types of provider stipulations. It treats donor constraints stipulating the time
period(s) in which a contribution must be used as an eligibility requirement that must be met
before revenue can be recognized. Until the time requirement is met (that is, the period in which
resources are required or permitted to be used has begun), there is no transaction and, therefore,
no revenue recognition. As a result, public institutions under GASB do not recognize pledges if
the donor specifies that the pledged amount must be used in a future period. Receipts of cash and
other assets with stipulations that they be used in future periods result in recognition of assets
and unearned revenue—a liability.
In the case of endowment gifts, independent institutions under FASB recognize assets and
revenue for pledges at their estimated present value when the pledge is received. Public
institutions under GASB, on the other hand, recognize contributions of endowments as revenues
when resources are received (i.e., on a cash basis) since compliance with the time requirement
cannot occur before the promised resources are received.
Below is a table illustrates the difference of reporting contributions (e.g. pledges or promises to
give) between FASB and GASB (NACUBO exhibit 206-1):
ITEM
FASB MODEL
10. Revenue Recognition— Time and purpose restrictions
Contributions/Nonexchange
do not affect revenue
Transactions
recognition. Amounts due in
future periods discounted to
present value.
8.05.2-4
GASB BTA MODEL
Amounts to be used in future periods
are not recognized as revenue since
time eligibility requirements have not
been met. Results in no recognition of
endowment, term endowment, or
multiyear pledges of resources to be
spent in future years. Amounts due in
future for current use may be reported
at current value.
GAAP Manual | Pledge Reporting Guidelines | June 30, 2015
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REVISION CONTROL
Document Title:
CHAPTER 8.5.2 – PLEDGE REPORTING GUIDELINES
REVISION AND APPROVAL HISTORY
Section(s)
Revised
General
8.05.2-5
Summary of Revisions
Previously in Chapter 8.7 Attachment E
GAAP Manual | Pledge Reporting Guidelines | June 30, 2015
Revision Date
April 2015