When are contributions counted?

Contributions are counted to calculate the platform engagement and are shown in the 'Engagement' standard reporting. Read this article to read how to use this reporting feature.

There are different types of contributions; with time, with money, with items, by doing a good deed, or by organising an initiative or activity

When is a contribution counted? There are two dates stored on a contribution. The create date and the count date.

Create date: reflects the moment on which the action that creates a contribution is taken on our platform.

Count date: is an approximation of the moment on which the contribution is executed. This is different across activity types. See table below.

We use the count date in all our reporting dashboards to filter on contributions. The create date is also added to the contributions export to use for your own analyses.

Overview

Below is a list of contribution types and a description when the dates for these types are set in different use cases.

Contribution type	Use case	Contribution create date	Contribution count date
Organising	When creating an activity	When the activity type is selected.	Date on which the activity is created.
Money (Crowdfunding)	When donating to a crowdfunding campaign	When the button is selected on the enter amount modal.	When the button is selected on the enter amount modal.
Deed	When joining a deed activity	When the join button is selected.	On the start date - if the user joins before the start date; On the date the user joins - if the user joins between the start and end date, or if there is no start/end date; On the end date - if the user is added after the end date.
Collect	When joining a collect activity	When the join button is selected.	On the start date - if the user joins before the start date; On the date the user joins - if the user joins between the start and end date, or if there is no start/end date; On the end date - if the user is added after the end date.
Time (on a date)	When joining, or applying to, a time-based activity, that takes place on a date.	When the join or submit button is selected For each slot a separate contribution value is created.	For each contribution, the date on which the slot takes place. Contributions are only counted after the user is accepted.
Time (period - in total)	When joining, or applying to, a time-based activity, that takes place during a period and hours are counted once 'in total'.	When the join or submit button is selected.	On the start date - if the user joins before the start date; On the date the user joins - if the user joins between the start and end date, or if there is no start/end date; On the end date - if the user is added after the end date. Contributions are only counted after the user is accepted.
Time (period - periodically)	When joining, or applying to, a time-based activity, that takes place during a period and hours are counted periodically.	When the join or submit button is selected. At the start of each following period.	The first contribution is counted: On the start date - if the user joins before the start date; On the date the user joins - if the user joins between the start and end date, or if there is no start/end date; On the end date - if the user is added after the end date. The following contributions are counted: At the start of each following period. Contributions are only counted after the user is accepted.
Time (preparation)	When joining, or applying to, a time-based activity, which requires preparation time.	When the join or submit button is selected.	Date on which the join or submit button is selected. Contributions are only counted after the user is accepted.