Fix the gift record before reissuing the receipt

First decide whether a gift fact changed and whether the original receipt reached the donor. Resend an unchanged document when delivery failed. If the donor needs another issued copy or a fact is wrong, follow your jurisdiction's replacement rules—and correct the source record before generating the next receipt.

That order keeps a simple donor request from turning into two conflicting versions of the same gift.

Start with two questions

Do not begin by editing a PDF or opening a mail-merge template. Open the gift, donor, receipt, and delivery records, then ask:

1. Did any source fact change? Check the donor name, gift amount, gift date, payment state, fund, and any goods-or-services detail your approved receipt policy uses.
2. Was the original delivered? Distinguish a document that never left the system, a bounced email, a lost copy, and a receipt the donor received with incorrect information.

Those answers route the work into resend, replacement, or correction. The exact document labels, numbering, and retention rules depend on jurisdiction. The workflow should preserve that policy instead of asking one staff member to invent it during an exception.

Resend only when the document is still accurate

A delivery failure does not change the gift. If the receipt is accurate but an email bounced or a letter was never sent, keep the same source facts and record the new delivery attempt.

Before resending, verify the address from a documented source. Do not silently replace an email address or donor name because someone asks for a copy. The request may come from the donor, a spouse, an assistant, or another person who should not control the donor record.

Keep the receipt and the separate stewardship message distinct. The receipt-versus-thank-you workflow explains why proof of the gift and personal follow-up should not share one completion status.

Use a replacement path when another issued copy is needed

When the original reached the donor and another issued copy is needed, use the replacement process defined for your jurisdiction and software. Do not create a second document that looks like a new original.

The rules are not universal. For example, the Canada Revenue Agency's replacement guidance requires a replacement to reference the original receipt and tells the charity to retain and cancel its original copy. That is a Canadian rule, not a template to apply everywhere.

Your written policy should specify who may approve a replacement, how the old and new documents relate, which delivery evidence to keep, and when qualified tax or legal advice is required.

Correct the source record before the document

If the receipt contains a wrong amount, date, donor fact, payment state, or other material detail, pause document generation. Find the evidence that establishes the correct fact, then update the record that owns it.

For example, a refunded or failed payment is a payment-state issue before it is a receipt issue. Use the void-or-refund workflow to align the transaction and gift records first. A request to put the gift under another person's name is different: do not change payment ownership or donor identity from the request alone.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service says donors need a bank record or written communication for monetary contributions and describes additional written-acknowledgment requirements for contributions of $250 or more. Its substantiation guidance is one reason the document should match the verified gift record. It does not turn your fundraising team into the donor's tax adviser.

Preserve five linked records

A clean closeout leaves another staff member able to reconstruct what happened. Keep:

1. the gift and payment facts;
2. the donor record and verified contact path;
3. the original receipt and its delivery status;
4. the replacement or corrected receipt, linked to the original; and
5. the request, evidence, approver, and delivery result for the change.

Microsoft Fundraising and Engagement is one current product example: it assigns unique receipt numbers and maintains receipt logs updated by user activity. Your system may look different, but the useful test is the same. A document should not become untraceable after someone presses reprint.

Close the exception with a read-back

Before marking the task complete, have the owner read back the donor, gift, original document, successor document, and delivery event. The records should answer four questions without relying on a private note:

• What was wrong or missing?
• Which source evidence resolved it?
• Which document is current under the organization's policy?
• Did the intended recipient receive it?

If the team cannot answer all four, keep the exception open. A quick resend is not finished when it leaves two plausible receipts or an unexplained edit in the donor record.

Keep the receipt connected to the gift

Bring forms, gifts, donor records, and everyday receipts into one connected fundraising system while your approved policy controls exceptions.