Guide
Year-end giving: ready by December 31?
More of your year's giving arrives in December than in any other month. Here's what counts, what donors need from you, and what to do each week, with the sources.
Updated 2026-11-01
How much of the year happens in December?
Nonprofits received 37% of all their online revenue in December 2025, according to the M+R Benchmarks Study. The last week of the year brought 10%, and December 31 alone brought 4%.
So the last few days matter more than most months. Is your donation page ready for them, and fast on a phone?
Which year does a gift count for?
The IRS rules for donors (Publication 526) are short:
- A check counts on the date the donor mails it. A check mailed on December 31 counts for this year, even if it reaches you in January.
- A card gift counts on the date the charge is made, so a gift on your page on December 31 counts for this year.
- Stock counts on the date the donor delivers or mails the certificate.
Keep the envelopes of checks that arrive in early January. The postmark shows when the donor mailed it, and they may ask.
What receipts do donors need?
For any single gift of $250 or more, the donor needs a written acknowledgment from you by the earlier of the date they file their return or its due date. One statement can cover several gifts. See what a donation receipt has to say for the full list.
A receipt right after each gift is the simplest way to be on time. Many organizations also send each donor a summary of their year's gifts in January, which donors find handy at tax time.
Your year-end checklist
- Early December: check that every gift so far has a receipt, and find the donors with no email on file.
- After GivingTuesday: keep your page up with a year-end goal and a progress bar. Getting ready for GivingTuesday?
- Mid-December: one letter or email to supporters who gave last year but not yet this year.
- December 29 to 31: share your link again. The last week brings a tenth of the year's online giving.
- January: thank every year-end donor, record the late checks with their postmarks in hand, and send year-end summaries.
How Donorly helps
- Every check, cash and card gift gets a receipt by email when it's recorded, and you can see who got theirs and who has no email on file.
- Donation pages load in around a second on a phone, with a goal and a progress bar, and Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Every donor's gifts for the year sit on one timeline, and follow-ups remind you to make the thank-you calls.
Whatever tool you use, including Donorly, check your receipts against the IRS list before you rely on them.
Questions we hear
Does a check dated December 31 count if it arrives in January?+
If the donor mailed it by December 31, yes: the IRS counts a check on the date it's mailed. Keep the envelope; the postmark shows the date.
When does an online gift count?+
On the date the card is charged. A gift made on your page on December 31 counts for that year.
Do we have to send a year-end statement?+
Not as such. A donor needs a written acknowledgment for each gift of $250 or more, and one statement can cover several gifts. A receipt for every gift, plus a summary in January, covers both.
Keep reading
GivingTuesday 2026
GivingTuesday is December 1. Get a fast donation page up in minutes and don't miss the biggest giving day of the year.
→Donation receipt requirements
What the IRS expects a donation receipt to say, and when you must send one.
→Donation and contribution receipts
Every gift gets its receipt by email, on its own, and you can see that it went.
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