Free donation tracking spreadsheet template
Type the organization name, the year, and how many funds there are. The page builds an Excel workbook for logging gifts: a Gifts sheet with one row per gift, a Funds sheet, a Log sheet with the name and year, and an instructions sheet that says what each column holds.
The workbook is built in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
What the workbook will hold
The workbook is a layout to fill in. It holds values only and has no formulas, so it does not add anything up. Once the Gifts sheet is filled in, the year-end giving statements page opens the workbook and builds one statement per donor, the acknowledgment checklist lists the gifts with a blank in the columns picked there, and donor de-duplication lists donor records that share a name, an email, or an address.
What gets checked
- Before the download starts, the finished workbook is read back in your browser: its sheet names, each header row, and each row count are compared with what was asked for.
- The Funds sheet has the number of blank numbered rows that was typed, and the Log sheet carries the organization name and the year as typed.
- The Gifts sheet is the first sheet in the file, the one the tools open, and its header row, as read back from the file, is matched the way the giving tools match it: donor id, donor name, email, mailing address, gift date, gift amount, fund, and the description and value of anything received in return are each found in the column written for them.
- The Gifts sheet is run through the same row reader the tools use and reads as a gift list with nothing entered yet.
- The workbook holds values only. No cell contains a formula.
How it works
- Answer three questions. Type the organization name, the year, and the number of funds. The name and the year can be left blank; the count sets how many numbered rows the Funds sheet starts with.
- Build the workbook. The Excel file is put together in the browser, read back to confirm its sheets, header rows, and row counts, and downloaded. There is no sign-up and no limit.
- Fill in the Gifts sheet. One row per gift: the donor id when your records have one, the donor name, email and mailing address, the gift date, the gift amount, and the fund. Two more columns hold a description and a value of anything the donor received in return, for the gifts where that is recorded.
- Add it up with the tools. The template does not add anything up. The year-end giving statements page opens the filled-in workbook and builds one statement per donor with totals by fund that add back up to the sheet; the acknowledgment checklist and donor de-duplication open the same workbook. Each shows its checks.
Worked example
For a made-up organization, Fairview Community Pantry, with 3 funds, logging 2026, the workbook has these sheets.
| Sheet | Columns | Rows to fill in |
|---|---|---|
| Gifts | Donor ID, Donor name, Email, Mailing address, Gift date, Gift amount, Fund, Received in return, Value received, Notes | One per gift, under the header row |
| Funds | Line, Fund, Notes | 3 numbered |
| Log | Item, Value | Organization and year filled in |
| Instructions | Where, What goes there | What each column holds |
The Log sheet arrives with Fairview Community Pantry and 2026 already filled in. The Funds sheet has rows numbered 1 to 3, all blank, and the Gifts sheet has its header row and nothing under it. The file downloads as gift-log-fairview-community-pantry-2026.xlsx.
The example uses made-up names and numbers.
Questions
Does the template total the gifts or print statements?
No. It is a clean layout with values only and no formulas. The tools on this site do the adding: the year-end giving statements page builds one statement per donor from the Gifts sheet, with totals by fund, and checks that the statements add back up to the sheet.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no limit on how many templates are built.
Is the Donor ID column needed?
No. It can be left blank on every row. When it is filled in, the tools group gifts into donors by that id; when it is blank, they group by the donor name with case, punctuation, and spacing ignored, so a name written two ways becomes two donors.
What are the Received in return and Value received columns for?
They hold whatever your records say a donor was given in return for a gift, such as a dinner seat, and its value in dollars. Both can be left blank. The statements page prints them beside the gift and adds the values up per donor; the template does not say which gifts need them.
Does it work for a church as well as a nonprofit?
Yes. The columns are generic: donor, date, amount, and fund. An envelope number goes in the Donor ID column, and funds such as general, building, or missions go on the Funds sheet under whatever names you use.
This tool calculates and checks numbers. It is not legal, tax, or medical advice.