# Annual fund donor recognition for every donor, every year

> Annual fund donor recognition that keeps pace with the school year: thank every donor each year, by class and level, without repainting a wall.

Source: https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/annual-fund-donor-recognition · HistoryShowcase · Updated 2026-10-26

The annual fund starts over every year. Thank this year’s donors on the touchscreen by class, level and connection to the school, and keep every past year’s honor roll a tap away.

## What is annual fund donor recognition?

Annual fund donor recognition thanks the people who give to a school’s yearly fund, usually through an honor roll that lists alumni by class, parents, grandparents, staff and friends. HistoryShowcase lets an office import each year’s list from a spreadsheet into its own folder, so every completed year’s honor roll stays on the display while the new one goes up.

- Made for: annual fund and advancement directors
- Where schools put it: Main office lobby, Alumni weekend registration, Your annual report email
- Layouts: Honors ledger, Photo gallery
- Visitors can filter by: Constituency, Giving level, Year
- Cost: Free to use. No payment details required.

## New donors every year. The wall stays the same.

The annual fund starts over every year. New parents give for the first time, young alumni send a first gift, and some longtime donors skip a year. A painted or engraved wall can’t keep up with that, so the thank-you often ends up in a printed honor roll in the annual report that is read once and filed away.

Annual fund donor recognition on a touchscreen gives each year its own honor roll without repainting anything. Import this year’s list when the books close, sort it into alumni by class, current parents, grandparents and staff, and publish. Last year’s list moves into its own folder, so a donor who gives every year can find their name in each one.

## How does annual fund donor recognition compare with a printed honor roll?

| What matters | Printed honor roll | HistoryShowcase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where donors see it | In the annual report, once a year | On the lobby screen and at a web address |
| Finding your class | Turn pages to the right section | Search by name or filter by year |
| Last year’s donors | In last year’s report on a shelf | A past honor roll folder a tap away |
| Correcting a name | Wait for next year’s printing | Fix it, preview and publish again |

## What to put on an annual fund display

- **This year’s honor roll.** Every donor to the current annual fund, listed by the same giving levels your annual report uses.
- **Alumni by class year.** Each class gets its own list, so reunion classes can see who from their year has given.
- **Parents, grandparents and staff.** Separate lists for each group, so a first-year parent and a thirty-year teacher both find their names.
- **Class agents and volunteers.** The volunteers who wrote notes and made calls for the annual fund, thanked by name.
- **Past years’ honor rolls.** Each completed year keeps its own folder instead of disappearing when the new list goes up.
- **What the annual fund supports.** Photos of the things annual gifts help pay for at your school, such as field trips, classroom books or faculty training.

## How to set up annual fund recognition

Make each giving year a folder. Inside it, ledger rows by constituency keep long lists easy to scan.

Site: Annual Fund Honor Roll

- **This year** (Honors ledger): Sub-collections for alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and friends.
- **Alumni by class** (Honors ledger): The class year goes in each entry so visitors can filter by year.
- **Past honor rolls** (Honors ledger): One folder per completed year, kept exactly as it was published.
- **Your gifts at work** (Photo gallery): Photos from the classrooms and programs the annual fund supports.

Visitors can filter by: Constituency, Giving level, Year.

## How do you set up annual fund donor recognition?

1. **Export the year’s donor list.** Pull the honor roll from your donor records as a spreadsheet with columns for name, class year, constituency and giving level.
2. **Import it as one giving year.** Import the spreadsheet into a new year folder, one row per donor, and check the preview for spellings and preferred names.
3. **Publish, then start next year.** Publish the new honor roll, move last year’s into Past honor rolls and open a folder for the year ahead.

## Where should an annual fund honor roll go?

- **Main office lobby.** Parents see it at drop-off, pickup and every conference night.
- **Alumni weekend registration.** Returning alumni can find their class and see who from their year gave.
- **Your annual report email.** Link to the published site’s web address so the honor roll lives in one place.

## Annual fund recognition questions

### We print an honor roll every year. Does this replace it?

It can sit alongside it or take its place. The list your office already prepares can be imported as a spreadsheet, one row per donor, and published on the touchscreen and at its own web address.

### What if a donor’s name is wrong after we publish?

Fix the spelling, preview the change and publish again. There is no reprint and no new plate, and the correct name shows once it is published.

### How do we handle donors who ask not to be listed?

Leave them out of the import or archive the entry. Archived stories stay hidden, and nothing appears on the screen until someone with publishing access publishes it.

### Can alumni find their class quickly?

Yes. Visitors can search by name and filter by year, constituency or giving level, depending on the filters you set up for the collection.

## Related

- [Giving Society Recognition Display](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/giving-society-recognition): Show your giving societies, their levels and the donors who have given year after year.
- [Digital Donor Wall](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/digital-donor-wall): Every donor by name and giving level, with the stories of what their gifts built.
- [Class Reunion Display](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/class-reunion-display): Yearbook pages, senior portraits and then-and-now photos for every class coming back for its reunion.
- [Alumni Engagement Display](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/alumni-engagement-display): Give alumni a reason to look, share and send in stories: class pages, old photos and news from graduates.

Thank this year’s donors this year Free to use. No payment details required. Start building, no account needed: https://history-showcase.com/start