A donor requests to credit their spouse on a processed donation. What is the best recommendation for the consultant?

When a donor requests to credit their spouse on a processed donation, the best recommendation is to create an Opportunity Contact Role for the spouse and set the role to Soft Credit.

This approach is particularly effective because it allows the primary donor to maintain ownership of the donation while ensuring that the spouse receives the recognition they deserve for their involvement. Soft credits are designed specifically for scenarios where the donation should be acknowledged but where the primary donation responsibility remains with the original donor. This method maintains the integrity of the financial records while providing the necessary recognition for both parties.

Implementing soft credit ensures that both the donor and their spouse are acknowledged in fundraising reports, donor recognition events, and other documentation. It also allows for accurate tracking of contributions for both individuals in the system, which is valuable for relationship management and future fundraising strategies.

Other options might not fully address the donor's request for acknowledgment or could complicate the tracking of the donation. Cloning the Opportunity, for example, might lead to duplication and confusion about who the primary donor is or distort the records. Enabling Automatic Soft Credit for household members can be beneficial in some circumstances, but it does not specifically cater to the individual request made by the donor. Hence, creating an Opportunity Contact Role with soft credit is the