> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.givechariot.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.givechariot.com/gift-processing/policies.md). # Policies {% hint style="warning" %} **Paid Plan Required:** This Gift Processing feature is only available to organizations on Chariot Growth and Enterprise plans {% endhint %} Donation Policies allow your organization to automate repetitive gift processing workflows inside Chariot. Instead of manually coding every incoming donation, Policies can automatically apply: * Constituents * Campaigns * Funds * Appeals * Sources * Assignments * Workflow Statuses * Custom Properties {% embed url="" %} As your organization processes more gifts across more payment sources, Policies help standardize operations, reduce manual review work, and keep donation data consistently formatted for downstream systems like your CRM and ERP. *** ### Step 1: Create A New Policy Go to Policies → New Policy {% hint style="info" %} Policies start as Drafts, allowing your team to safely prepare and test changes before publishing them live. Only one Policy can be Active at a time. Your Active Policy automatically runs on all newly arriving donations. {% endhint %} *** ### Step 2: Describe Your Workflow Use the Policy editor to describe (in plain language) the operational logic you want Chariot to apply. * “If @purpose contains scholarship, set @fund to SCHOLAR” * “If Payment Source is Benevity, set @gift\_type to Workplace Giving” * “If amount is greater than $10,000, set @review\_status to Needs Review” Policies work best when instructions are specific and clearly define: * The condition or trigger * The action to apply * Avoid broad instructions like "code gifts appropriately" Use `@` to reference donation fields, deposit fields, and custom Properties directly inside your instructions. The Reference Panel shows all available fields your Policy can reference. *** ### Step 3: Add Custom Properties Policies can automatically update custom Properties. If you want a Policy to update a new Property: * Create the Property from the Donations page * The Property will appear in the Reference Panel * You can reference and update it inside your Policy logic *** ### Step 4: Upload Reference Files Policies can reference uploaded files during processing. This is useful for workflows like: * Constituent matching * Internal code mapping * Campaign lookups * Keyword matching against large datasets For example: > “Using CRM\_Constituents.csv, match incoming donors by name, address, or city. If there is a match, set Constituent ID using the Constituent ID column.” *** ### Step 5: Connect Your CRM If your organization uses Salesforce or Raiser’s Edge NXT, reach out to Chariot to learn about direct CRM integrations. Instead of uploading reference files manually, Chariot’s Policy engine can securely pull context directly from your CRM to support. {% hint style="info" %} These integrations are read-only and used exclusively to improve Policy-based coding and enrichment workflows. Chariot does not write or sync data back into your CRM through these integrations. {% endhint %} *** ### Step 6: Publish Your Policy Once your rules are ready, publish the Policy to make it active for all new incoming donations. *** ### Step 7: Test Using Enrichment After publishing, you can select historical donations and run Enrichment to test how the Policy behaves on existing records. While your Active Policy automatically runs on new incoming donations, Enrichment is used when you want to retroactively apply new logic, update historical records, or backfill workflow data. {% hint style="warning" %} **Manual Values Are Protected:** Enrichment does not overwrite values entered manually by your team.\ However, Enrichment may replace values that were previously applied by another Policy run. This helps organizations safely update automated workflows without losing manual review work. {% endhint %} *** ### Step 8: Reviewing Policy Results Every donation in Chariot includes an Activity Log that shows how Policies interacted with the record over time. The Activity Log helps teams: * Understand why coding was applied * Troubleshoot unexpected workflow behavior * Validate enrichment runs * Audit operational changes over time This creates a detailed operational history for every donation processed through Chariot. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.givechariot.com/gift-processing/policies.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. 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