Fundraising shows number tiles such as Donors, Gifts, and Outstanding Pledges on the Overview, Donors, Gifts, Pledges, Recurring Gifts, and Campaigns pages. You also see them on each campaign’s page. Each tile is a Fundraising figure: a ready-made calculation with a short label, shown prominently, that you can click to see the records behind the number. This article explains how Rhythm calculates these figures, why they can lag behind recent changes, and how to get a current number when you need one.
A Figure Is a Link, Not Just a Number
Every figure is also a link. Click the figure, or its loading indicator while it is still loading, to open the Query Center with a ready-made query. The query lists the records the figure counted, so you can move from “how many” to “which ones.”
Warning
A figure and its drill-down list are defined separately. For at least one figure, campaigns by active status, the number and the drill-down list are not guaranteed to match exactly because each can use its own definition of “active.” If a figure’s count and its list seem to disagree, treat the count as the authoritative number and use the list as a starting point for investigation, not as a guaranteed exact match.
A Figure Is Kept for a Day, Not Recalculated Every Time
The first time someone requests a figure, Rhythm calculates it and keeps the answer. If anyone views that same figure again within the same day, Rhythm shows the kept answer instead of recalculating it. That is why a figure does not change the moment you enter, edit, or delete a gift or pledge. It reflects the last time Rhythm calculated it, which could be up to a day old.
Each tile has a small icon next to its label with the tooltip Click here to recalculate this KPI. Click that icon to have Rhythm calculate the figure now and replace the kept answer with the fresh one. You can click it as often as you need, but each click starts a real calculation, so use it when you specifically need a current number.
Tip
If a figure looks stale after you make a change it should reflect, click its recalculate icon. That is the direct way to get a current answer instead of waiting for the day’s kept answer to update.
What Some Figures Actually Measure
A few figures need careful reading because the label and the exact calculation are not quite the same:
- Outstanding Pledges adds the full pledged amount for every open pledge, not the unpaid balance. If a pledge is partly paid, its full pledged amount still counts in this figure.
- Figures labeled “last 12 months” use a cutoff date calculated once in your browser when the Console page loaded. If you leave a Fundraising page open across midnight, those figures keep using the date from when you opened the page until you reload it.
- Every money figure uses a plain dollar sign, no matter which currency your account uses. If your account gives in a currency other than US dollars, read these figures as your account’s currency, not necessarily as US dollars.
If a Figure Never Finishes Loading
A figure that fails to load looks the same as one that is still loading because there is no separate error state. If a figure spins indefinitely, click its recalculate icon or reload the page. If it still never finishes, report it to Support with the specific figure and page.
Related
See the related articles for viewing the Fundraising overview and giving chart, the full reference of every figure and what it counts, building a custom Fundraising report, reviewing a campaign’s progress, and designing and running a query from a figure’s drill-down.