Promises to give, sometimes called "pledges," are defined as oral or written agreements to contribute cash or other assets to another entity. Promises to give may be conditional or unconditional, and may or may not be legally enforceable. When a nonprofit organization receives a communication from a donor, it must determine whether or not a promise to give has been made. "Promise" here means what it commonly does: a written or oral agreement to do or not to do something. The recipient of the promise has the right to expect the fulfillment of the promise, and the maker of the promise has a moral, social, and oftentimes, legal obligation to perform the promised action. In some cases, the nonprofit organization may have difficulty determining whether a donor has made a promise, or has merely expressed an intention to give benefits or to make a promise in the future. The nonprofit organization should look carefully at the facts surrounding the communication, and, if possible, discuss the nature of the communication with the donor in making a determination about whether or not a promise has been made and received.

When the nonprofit organization receives a promise to give, it should ensure that it has sufficient evidence in the form of verifiable documentation that a promise has been made and received. This evidence may be readily available in the case of written agreements to contribute, such as pledge forms, letters or other documents. When oral promises are received, the evidence may include documentation in the form of a tape recording made at the time the oral promise was made, a written record set down at the time the promise was received, or a follow-up letter that confirms the terms of the promise with the donor. Whatever form the evidence takes, it must permit the subsequent verification of the written or oral promise.

Unconditional promise to give. An unconditional promise to give is one for which there are no future events that must occur before the donor is bound by his or her promise to make a transfer of benefits to the nonprofit organization.

Conditional promise to give. A conditional promise to give is one that stipulates that a specific future and uncertain event must occur before the donor makes the promised transfer. Implicit in the condition is the understanding that if the specified event does not occur, the donor is not bound to make the promised transfer. Conditional promises to give should not be recognized as contribution revenue until the stipulated condition is met, the donor has waived the condition, or until the possibility that the condition will not be met is remote.