Close the Living Pipeline After Realisation

The seven controls for realised closeout

Use these seven controls once Course 3 has completed the estate-administration process or has provided the approved internal handover needed to close the living-pipeline record. Do not use this framework to run the estate process itself.

1. 1 Course 3 workflow reference What it is: The CRM closeout must point to the Course 3 estate-administration workflow, not repeat it. How to use it: Record the estate case ID, handover date, responsible estate-administration owner, and closeout instruction. Do not copy sensitive estate correspondence, legal analysis or dispute notes into the living-pipeline record unless your organisation’s permissions and policies require it. What it looks like: “Course 3 workflow reference: Estate case C3-2027-041. Estate administration completed by Estate Gifts Officer, 12 August 2027. Course 3 closeout instruction received: mark living-pipeline record realised and remove from active pipeline.” What it prevents: It stops the CRM team from re-deciding matters that belong to Course 3. It also gives future staff a clear trail without turning the donor record into an estate-law file.
2. 2 Final living-pipeline stage closure What it is: The record must move to Stage 6 — Realised / closed to living pipeline. How to use it: Close the living stage only after the approved handover exists. Do not move a record to realised merely because an estate notification arrived. Estate notification triggers Course 3. Realised closeout follows Course 3. What it looks like: “Pipeline stage changed from Stage 5 — Disclosed current inclusion to Stage 6 — Realised / closed to living pipeline, 14 August 2027. Reason: Course 3 workflow completed and finance handover recorded.” What it prevents: It stops estate-notification records from being prematurely treated as realised income. It also stops realised records from lingering as active donor intentions.
3. 3 Realised outcome field What it is: The CRM should record the realised outcome in a controlled field, not as a loose note that can be confused with an estimate. How to use it: Record only the outcome confirmed through Course 3 and finance procedures: realised amount, date received or recognised, gift type if supplied by Course 3, and finance reference. Do not interpret restrictions, validity, family issues or legal identity here. What it looks like: “Realised outcome: $1,840,000 received through estate distribution. Finance reference: FIN-BEQ-2027-118. Outcome supplied by Course 3/Finance handover. Do not edit from pipeline screen.” What it prevents: It separates actual realised income from living-pipeline estimates, donor-disclosed intentions or internal averages.
4. 4 Forecast and report removal What it is: The record must be removed from all living-pipeline forecasts, stage counts, active opportunity lists and board pipeline totals. How to use it: Record the removal date and the reports affected. What it looks like: “Forecast/reporting treatment: remove from living-pipeline reports from Q1 FY2028 onward. Do not include in Stage 5 count. Do not include in active disclosed-intender list. Realised income appears only in finance and Course 3 estate reporting.” What it prevents: It stops double counting. The gift cannot be both an active living-pipeline record and realised estate income.
5. 5 Stewardship and contact suppression What it is: The donor must be suppressed from living-donor stewardship, solicitation, recognition invitations and ordinary supporter journeys unless a separate Course 3 or memorial-stewardship process explicitly governs next steps. How to use it: Set the deceased flag, suppress automated donor communications, close open living-donor tasks, and check linked household records carefully. What it looks like: “Donor status: deceased. Suppress from appeals, newsletters, gifts-in-wills updates, event invitations, birthday messages, tax appeal journeys, phone lists, volunteer call sheets and legacy recognition invitations. Close all living-donor tasks. Linked household contact: none with donor-permitted stewardship role recorded.” What it prevents: It stops painful administrative failures: mail sent to a deceased donor, phone calls made from old call lists, or recognition invitations triggered by the realised gift.
6. 6 History preservation What it is: Closeout should preserve the living relationship history without rewriting it through the realised amount. How to use it: Keep the original disclosure, motivations, permissions, stage movements and cadence history. Add the realised closeout as a final chapter. Do not overwrite the old record with “major bequest donor” if the living record showed no such relationship. What it looks like: “Living-pipeline history retained: original Stage 1 solicitor information request, 8 February 2021; no living donor contact permission; no recognition permission; no disclosed amount during lifetime. Do not replace historical notes with realised gift value.” What it prevents: It stops the organisation from learning the wrong lesson. A large realised gift does not prove the donor was a major-donor prospect during life.
7. 7 Data-quality closeout check What it is: The final closeout should check that the CRM no longer contains active contradictions. How to use it: Before marking complete, check stage, forecast status, deceased status, task queue, communications suppressions, linked records, reporting lists, recognition lists and duplicate records. What it looks like: “Closeout QA completed 15 August 2027. Stage 6 applied. Forecast value removed. Active tasks closed. Deceased suppression applied. Duplicate solicitor-created constituent merged into estate case reference. Recognition lists checked: donor not listed. Board pipeline report updated.” What it prevents: It catches the errors that happen after the legal work is finished: duplicate records, old tasks, campaign lists, stale forecast values and accidental recognition.