A gift receipt acknowledges a single contribution, as opposed to a giving statement, which summarizes many gifts over a period. CoolFocus can send receipts automatically, in a batch, or one at a time, and it tracks whether each one went out.
Automatic receipts for online gifts
When a donor gives online through CoolPay, CoolFocus automatically emails them a receipt for that gift. Each contribution tracks whether its receipt has been sent, so donors aren't receipted twice for the same gift.
Check whether a receipt went out
Every contribution has a Receipt Sent status. Open the contribution to see whether its receipt has already gone out, before resending one or answering a donor who says they never got a receipt.
For more detail, like exactly when an email went out, open the contribution's activity log. It lists every email sent from that record, including receipts.
Deductible and non-deductible amounts (banquets, tickets, auctions)
When a donor receives something for their payment, like a banquet dinner, an event ticket, or a silent auction item, only the part above that item's value is tax-deductible. CoolFocus keeps track of that on every gift.
Open the contribution and set the Deductible Amount. It starts out matching Amount Received, and you can change it. For example, a $150 banquet gift that included a $50 dinner would be Amount Received $150, Deductible Amount $100. For an auction item bought at its full value, that's often $0.
Make sure the receipt shows it:
The automatic CoolPay receipt email already shows a Deductible line.
For tickets sold through CoolFocus Fundraising Events, set a Fair Market Value on the ticket type. The receipt then adds the IRS wording about goods or services for you.
For receipts you print or send yourself from a donor or contribution, the built-in Gift Receipt shows the amount only and always includes the "no goods or services were provided" sentence. Built-in templates can't be edited, so duplicate the Gift Receipt template and change your copy: add Deductible Amount: {{contribution.amountDeductible}}, and reword that sentence so it fits event gifts. Then pick your copy when you print or email. See Email & Document Templates.
We're also updating the built-in receipt and statement templates so they show the fair market value and deductible amount for event gifts on their own, and only include the "no goods or services" sentence when it's true.
Your center decides the fair market value of what donors received, so check with your accountant if you're not sure. If you'd like help setting up the template, chat with us anytime from the Help button.
Customize the automatic CoolPay receipt email
By default, the automatic CoolPay receipt uses a standard built-in layout. If you'd like to change its look or wording, you can switch it to a fully customizable email template:
Go to Settings > Giving Info.
Find the CoolPay Email Receipt section.
Select Customize CoolPay receipt email. This creates an organization-owned email template, seeded from the standard layout, and opens it in the template editor.
Edit the design and merge fields, organization, donor, contribution, and document fields such as amount, deductible amount, fund, receipt number, and processing fee covered, then save.
Once you've customized it, the button changes to Edit CoolPay receipt template so you can reopen it later. If you never customize it, CoolPay keeps using the default layout.
A few things to know:
This setting is organization-wide, not per donation form or donor portal, every CoolPay donation form shares the same automatic receipt email.
It's separate from a donation form's own thank-you message, which each form still controls individually.
Customizing this template requires the manage-templates permission, so it's typically an administrator task. See Email & Document Templates for how templates and merge fields work in general.
Send receipts to a batch of donors
Catching up on receipts for gifts entered manually, such as a stack of checks, or resending a batch after a mistake? You don't have to open each contribution one at a time.
Build a Contributions segment filtered by Date Received (and Refunded → No) for the gifts that need a receipt. See Giving Data for a date range (quarter, year, or custom) for the filter steps.
Open the segment's Email action.
Choose the Gift Receipt email template.
Preview, then send.
Each contribution in the segment gets its own personalized receipt email, and each is marked Receipt Sent and logged on the donor's history. Gifts given online through CoolPay are already receipted automatically, so this batch send is mainly for gifts entered by staff, or for resending a group of receipts on request.
Resend a receipt
Need to send a receipt again, a donor lost the email, or you entered a gift manually? Open the contribution and resend the receipt to the donor. It uses your receipt template and is logged on the record.
Print one PDF of receipts for a date range
Need a combined PDF of every receipt from a quarter, a month, a year, or another custom period, for a batch of mailed receipts or a records request? Build a Contributions segment filtered by Date Received and Refunded → No, then use that segment's Print → Documents action with the Gift Receipt template. CoolFocus generates one PDF with a receipt for every contribution in the segment.
There's no separate "Receipts by Date" report or PDF export. A filtered Contributions segment, printed or emailed with the Gift Receipt template, is how CoolFocus covers that request.
See Giving Data for a date range (quarter, year, or custom) for the full steps, including a worked example, and Printing, Labels & Envelopes for how the Print dropdown works.
Pledges are receipted the same way, from the Pledges list instead of Contributions. Build a Pledges segment filtered for the pledges you want to receipt, then use that segment's Print → Documents action with the matching pledge receipt template. CoolFocus generates one combined PDF with a receipt for every pledge in the segment. See Grants, Pledges, and In-Kind Gifts for more on how pledges are tracked.
In-kind and other receipt types
There are receipt templates for different situations, including in-kind (non-cash) gifts. Pick the template that matches what the donor gave.
Receipt vs. statement, which to send
Receipt, one gift, right after it's given ("thank you for your $100 gift on June 3").
Statement, all gifts over a period, usually at year-end ("here's everything you gave in 2026"). See Giving Statements.