> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theharvest.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pledges

> Ask people to commit to a figure, then track what comes in against it.

<Note>
  Pledge campaigns are a **Ministry plan** feature.
</Note>

A pledge campaign is different from a [fundraising campaign](/giving/fundraising-and-statements). A fundraising campaign tracks money received. A pledge campaign tracks money **promised**, and then how much of it has actually arrived.

## When to use one

Building projects, mission commitments, anything where you need to know what the church has committed to before the money exists.

<Tip>
  The useful number in a building project is rarely what has come in this month. It is the gap between what was promised and what has arrived — that is the number that tells you whether to sign the contract.
</Tip>

## How it works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the campaign">
    Set the goal and the period people are pledging over.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Members pledge">
    They commit to an amount — a one-off figure or something over months.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Money comes in through your own links">
    As with all [giving in Harvest](/giving/how-giving-works), payments go to your accounts, not ours.
  </Step>

  <Step title="You record what arrives">
    Each [recorded gift](/giving/recording-a-gift) counts against the pledge.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The gap is the point

You can see, per person and in total, what was pledged and what has been received.

<Warning>
  As everywhere in Harvest, the received figure counts **recorded** gifts. If nobody has entered this month's payments, the gap will look worse than it is.

  Record weekly during a pledge campaign. The numbers are the reason the campaign exists.
</Warning>

## Handling it pastorally

A pledge is a commitment made in good faith, and circumstances change. Harvest shows you the figures; what you do about a shortfall is a conversation, not a dunning notice — there is no automated chasing, deliberately.


## Related topics

- [What's new](/changelog.md)
- [Plans and limits](/getting-started/plans-and-billing.md)