Pre-Implementation Planning 

Step 1: Define Your Gift Eligibility Requirements 

Before beginning the implementation process, it's essential to clearly define: 

• Detailed descriptions of your eligibility criteria with specific examples 
• The types of giving programs where the criteria will apply 
• Custom fields that will track relevant gift information 
• Variable thresholds or limits for your criteria 

Example: If you want to restrict matching gift applications based on employee organization type status, you would specify: 

• The criteria (Organization Type – specifically, excluding religious organizations) 
• The giving programs affected (e.g., matching gifts program) 
• The custom field ("Is this a religious organization?" - dropdown field) 
• The variable input (If the answer is "Yes," the application will be automatically declined.) 

Step 2: Identify Giving Program Types for the Criteria Application 

Carefully determine which types of employee giving records your criteria will apply to: 

• Employee Giving Payroll Pledge Requests 
• One-Time Employee Giving Requests 
• Matching gift applications
• Volunteer grants 

Be comprehensive in this process to ensure your criteria support all relevant giving pathways. 

Step 3: Review Implementation with Program Stakeholders 

Before proceeding: 

• Share your criteria definitions with CSR team members
• Confirm alignment with your corporate giving policies
• Establish protocols for criteria updates and exceptions
• Document approval from relevant program leaders 

Implementation Process 

Step 4: Work with Your Business Analyst 

Schedule a dedicated meeting with your CyberGrants Business Analyst to: 

• Present your defined giving program criteria
• Discuss implementation options for your specific programs
• Review the implementation timeline and milestones
• Address any questions about employee experience 

Step 5: Review Functional Requirements 

After your initial meeting: 

• CyberGrants will provide detailed functional requirements for your giving criteria
• Review these requirements carefully against your program goals
• Confirm they align with your employee giving policies
• Approve the requirements to proceed with development 

Any changes to the functional requirements once approved and in development may require timeline adjustments. 

Step 6: Participate in Testing 

Once development is complete: 

• Engage fully in the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process
• Test various employee scenarios and edge cases
• Verify that the criteria behave as expected across different donation types
• Document and report any inconsistencies 

CyberGrants will not implement any criteria into the production environment without your full approval and sign-off on the UAT. 

Step 7: Final Approval and Implementation 

After successful testing: 

• Provide formal sign-off on the UAT results
• Confirm implementation timing that aligns with your giving calendar
• Prepare communications to inform employees about eligibility guidelines
• Plan for any necessary program administrator training 

Post-Implementation Management 

Step 8: Monitor Program Performance 

After implementation: 

• Track employee giving patterns against your established criteria 
• Monitor exception requests from employees 
• Analyze approval rates and application declines 
• Document any frequent employee questions or confusion points 

Step 9: Schedule Regular Criteria Reviews 

Remember that you can make one change per calendar year to your Gift Criteria extension: 

• Schedule reviews to coincide with your annual giving program planning 
• Assess whether the criteria support your giving program objectives 
• Identify potential adjustments based on employee feedback 
• Prepare any necessary modifications well before your next giving campaign 

Step 10: Establish Giving Program Governance 

Create clear procedures specific to your employee giving criteria: 

• Define roles for criteria oversight and exception handling 
• Document the review and approval process for criteria modifications 
• Create an employee communication plan for any criteria changes 
• Develop FAQs to help employees understand eligibility requirements