Reporting Period Classifications

Period Types

Periods are used to group data into consistent chunks using calendar-based rules. AVID has several periods by default: closed calendar year, calendar year-to-date, closed fiscal year, fiscal year-to-date, and trailing 12 months.

Closed Calendar Year (CY)

This period type includes closed (meaning already complete) Gregorian calendar years (January 1—December 31) in the organization’s timezone. This period is noted in chart legends and reports using normal year notation, such as “2024”. If the date is June 2024, the last calendar year period would be 2023 since 2024 would not yet be complete.

Reporting closed periods is useful because it normalizes differences in trends of giving throughout the year which is often referred to as seasonality as discussed in marketing, shows a complete picture of annualized retention, and helps with annual planning.

Calendar Year-to-Date (CYTD)

This period type runs from the start of the calendar period (January 1) through the month and day of the most recent gift available in the current period, excluding gifts on or after the current calendar date.

YTD reporting is useful to know how recent giving is trending compared to previous periods without having to wait for the period to close—but because you aren’t looking at a full 12 months of data, you won’t see a full picture of donor retention/reactivation or annualized value.

For example, if the current date is 6/5/2024 and data is refreshed automatically through a connection, the YTD period would be January 1–June 4. The most recent CYTD period would be labeled as “CYTD24” and would run from 1/1/2024–6/4/2024; the period prior would be CYTD23 and would run from 1/1/2023–6/4/2023, and so on. If the last day of giving data is prior to the current date as can exist for a non-integrated system using File Upload or SFTP, the end of the CYTD period would be the month and day of the last gift.

Closed Fiscal Year (FY)

This period type allows for a non-calendar accounting period to be used for reporting. While regional laws and practices vary, fiscal periods can begin in any month and run 12 months from that date with most commonly still aligning to calendar quarters.

Reporting closed periods is useful because it normalizes differences in trends of giving throughout the year which is often referred to as seasonality as discussed in marketing, shows a complete picture of annualized retention, and helps with annual planning.

Because fiscal years cross multiple calendar years, they’re notated based on the calendar year the fiscal year ends in. For example, an organization with a July–June fiscal year, the period ending in June 2024 would be notated as “FY2024”. Like calendar years, only closed/complete periods are shown in the selection, so if it were May 2025 and the organization had a April–March fiscal year, the last period would be “FY2024”.

If an organization uses a January–December (calendar year) fiscal period, the fiscal year and calendar Yyear periods will show identical data.

Fiscal Year-to-Date (FYTD)

This period type runs from the start of the organization’s fiscal year through the month and day of the most recent gift available in the current period, excluding gifts on or after the current calendar date.

YTD reporting is useful to know how recent giving is trending compared to previous periods without having to wait for the period to close—but because you aren’t looking at a full 12 months of data, you won’t see a full picture of donor retention/reactivation or annualized value.

For example, if the organization’s fiscal year is July–June and the current date is 8/15/2024 and data is refreshed automatically through a connection, the FYTD period would be July 1–August 14. The most recent FYTD period would be labeled as “FYTD24” and would run from 7/1/2024–8/14/2024; the period prior would be FYTD23 and would run from 7/1/2023–8/14/2023 and so on. If the last day of giving data is prior to the current date as can exist for a non-integrated system using File Upload or SFTP, the end of the FYTD period would be the month and day of the last gift.

Trailing 12 Months (T12M or TTM)

This period type is meant to be a compromise between the fuller picture of annualized closed/complete period reporting (Closed Fiscal/Calendar Year) and the recency benefit of year-to-date reporting (Fiscal/Calendar Year-to-Date). You get the benefits of always looking at a full year, but also seeing recent data—but it does mean that the period you’re looking at changes each month. This is also referred to as a “sliding window” period.

T12M reporting only considers closed/complete months, so the period ends the last day of the last complete month up to the most recent gift date available, excluding gifts on or after the current calendar date.

For example, if the current date was 7/7/2025 and the most recent gift date was 7/5/2024, the Trailing 12 Month period would be July 1–June 1. The most recent T12M period would be labeled as “2024 (Jul–Jun)” and would run from 7/1/2023–6/30/2024; the period prior would be “2023 (Jul–Jun)” and would run from 7/1/2022–6/30/2023 (and so on). Once July data is complete, the T12M period would change to August–July, and continue moving so the past 12 completed months are always the period used. Note that the period is based on the last donation date, so if data is being manually uploaded, the period won’t change until new data is available (for example, if the last gift date is 7/5 and the current date is 10/1, the T12M period would still be July–August).