What this is worth to your shop
Staff hours first. Attorney and OGC review on standard gifts comes on top, as does every agreement that quietly stalls for a month because nobody was tracking it.
- Hours saved per agreement
- × 5.5
- Range
- 675–975 hrs
- Back each year
- 825 hrs
About 40% of a full-time role.
How much staff time does gift agreement software save?
Awarded estimates 4.5 to 6.5 staff hours per gift agreement, about 5.5 on average, as of October 2026. Most of it comes from back and forth and approvals rather than drafting. At 150 agreements a year that is about 825 hours, most of a half-time role, before counting attorney and general counsel time on standard gifts.
Execute agreements weeks faster.
4.5 to 6.5 hours back on every agreement, about 5.5 on average, before counting the attorney and OGC time that standard gifts no longer consume.
Awarded estimate, as of October 2026.
Where the return comes from.
Staff time, recovered
Drafting, chasing, version control, and filing are the work the system absorbs.
Counsel hours, protected
Standard gifts clear on approved language; lawyers see the ones that need a lawyer.
Pledges fulfilled sooner
Weeks off the cycle means gifts booked and funds at work this fiscal year rather than next.
Less legal liability
Non-compliant language caught at drafting, and a policy change handled in a search rather than a months-long remediation.
Fewer unspent funds
Criteria checked for feasibility at drafting, so the money reaches students instead of sitting unawarded for years.
Capacity for the campaign
Volume can double or triple without a matching increase in the people.
Frequently asked questions
How is GATO priced?
GATO is licensed per organization, based on the number of funds you manage. There are no per-seat fees, so every gift officer, approver, and reviewer can have access, and donors are never charged to sign. Book a demo for a proposal.
How long does implementation take?
Technical setup takes a couple of weeks; most teams are fully live in about four to six weeks, depending on how much the approval process changes. Every customer gets an implementation lead with hands-on gift agreement experience who reviews your current agreements and templates, sets up roles and approval routes, and helps make the case to leadership.
What is GATO?
GATO is gift agreement software for university advancement and donor relations teams, built by Awarded. It drafts gift agreements from an intake form, screens restrictions for legal, feasibility, and documentation risk, routes internal approvals, and collects donor review and signature. The full record, from first draft to signed copy, stays attached to the fund.