Introducing DonorSphere

As a fundholder at the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota (CCF), you can access fund information online through our donor portal. This fall, CCF will transition away from its existing donor portal, DonorCentral to a new one known as DonorSphere.

The transition will begin September 29, with DonorSphere launching October 9. After that date, all fundholders will use DonorSphere to access fund information and make grant or withdrawal recommendations.

Other Resources

Click here for training resources, including video tutorials.

Click here to view key dates for this transition.

FAQ

Why is CCF changing donor portals?

The donor portal transition is part of a larger technology systems upgrade for CCF. These upgrades to our core technology systems will allow us to better serve the needs of our donors and institutional partners.

What action do I need to take now?

No action is needed at this time! For now, continue to use DonorCentral for fund access and management.

  • From September 29 through October 8, all grant recommendations will need to be made via email or phone to CCF Grants Manager Jules Vierling (vierlingj@ccf-mn.org or 651-389-0880).
  • The donor portal will be unavailable October 6 through October 8.
  • On October 9, you will receive an email from CCF with instructions for logging into your account on DonorSphere for the first time.
When will the transition occur?

Our transition from DonorCentral to DonorSphere will begin on Friday, September 29.

  • Institutional partners are not impacted by the first phase of the transition, which occurs September 29 through October 5.
  • The donor portal will be unavailable October 6 through October 8.
  • On October 9, you will receive an email from CCF with instructions for logging into your account on DonorSphere for the first time.
  • We will be making final transactional entries into our accounting systems through October 19.
  • These final adjustments will be visible in DonorSphere on October 20.
  • We expect to provide September monthly (institutional partners only) and quarterly statements in DonorSphere by October 17 as indicated on CCF’s 2023 statement release calendar.
Will the new donor portal offer the same features as the existing one?

DonorSphere has the same core functionality as our existing donor portal. You’ll be able to use DonorSphere to:

  • View fund balances.
  • Download fund statements.
  • See historical gift and grant data.
  • Make grant recommendations (donor advised funds).
  • Create or manage recurring grants (donor advised funds).

Additionally, enhancements that come with DonorSphere will allow donor advisors to:

  • Make gifts via credit card of ACH directly within the system to your fund(s) (donor advised funds).
  • Have separate logins for each member of a household.
  • View enhanced fund statements (these will be rolled out as a later part of this transition).

Additionally, enhancements that come with DonorSphere will allow institutional partners to:

  • See historical “contributions” (deposits), withdrawals (beginning OCT. 09. 2023), and grants.
  • Use a single login to view funds for multiple parishes.
  • Request agency fund withdrawals within the donor portal.
  • View enhanced fund statements (these will be rolled out as a later part of this transition).
Will there be a service outage?

From September 29 through October 8, you will still be able to log into DonorCentral and view your fund balance(s) and statement(s), but donor advisors will not be able to recommend grants in the system. If you would like to recommend a grant during this time, please contact CCF Grants Manager Jules Vierling at vierlingj@ccf-mn.org, 651-389-0880.

The donor portal will be unavailable October 6 through October 8.

DonorSphere will launch on October 9.

 

Will I be able to access the grant information from DonorCentral after the transition?

You will no longer have access to DonorCentral, but data from your activity in DonorCentral will transfer to the new donor portal. That includes quarterly statements from the last two years, gift/deposit history, grant/withdrawal history, and recurring grant recommendations.

How will I access the new donor portal?

When the new donor portal is live, you will receive an email from CCF with directions for logging into DonorSphere.

CCF will replace all access points to DonorCentral with links to DonorSphere, so if you currently access the donor portal through the CCF Sign-In page, you will arrive at the new donor portal when it goes live.

If you currently access the donor portal using a bookmark in your browser, you will want to remove the current bookmark and create a bookmark for DonorSphere once the site is live.

What if I need to make a change to my account?

Please email info@ccf-mn.org or call 651-389-0300 to let us know of any changes you need to make.

I want to make a grant soon. Will this transition impact my grantmaking?

Until further notice, you may continue to recommend grants from DonorCentral!

From September 29 through October 8, all grant recommendations will need to be made via phone or email to CCF Grants Manager Jules Vierling. Please contact Jules at vierlingj@ccf-mn.org or 651-389-0880. Beginning October 9, you can make all grant recommendations on DonorSphere.

Please note the following schedule for grant processing:

  • Grants submitted to CCF September 14 – 20 will be processed on September 26.
  • Grants submitted September 21 – 27 will need more processing time; therefore, they will be processed on October 11.
  • Grants submitted September 28 and after will be processed as part of the normal CCF schedule. For example:
    • Grants submitted September 28 – October 4 will be processed on October 11.
    • Grants submitted October 5 – October 11 will be processed on October 18.

 

What will happen to donor advised fund recurring grants?

CCF will transfer your existing recurring grants to the new system. If you would like to change any of your existing recurring grants, you may do so in DonorCentral now through September 22.

Will all my granting history be available in the new donor portal? Will my contribution history be available?

All your historical gift/deposit and grant history will be available in the new portal. Quarterly statements from the last two years will also be available in the new portal.

Note that historical agency fund withdrawals will not show in your DonorSphere dashboard, but all future agency fund withdrawals will. 

What if I have more questions?

We’re here to help! If you have questions that weren’t covered here or specific concerns about your fund, please contact us at info@ccf-mn.org or 651.389.0300.