A fund in Slate is used as a data point in the database to pool money from gifts and set that money aside for a specific purpose. For this reason, a fund is a required field to create a gift in Slate. Like constituent records, funds can have their own custom fields and custom tabs.

Funds Linked to Gifts

A fund has to be linked to a gift for that gift to be created in the database. Funds are linked to gifts through the Fund section of a gift.  

With a link made from gift to fund, the fund information can be included in any queries, reports, or reconciliations the gift is a part of (such as person, dataset, or donor).