If you run a community fund, a campaign or a scholarship fund, December is when much of your year’s giving arrives, and 2026 adds a new reason to ask. For the first time since 2021, donors who take the standard deduction can deduct cash gifts to charity. Below: what changed, the deadlines that decide which tax year a gift counts in, and a week-by-week checklist for the rest of the year.
Updated November 2026. This is general information for organizers, not tax advice. Your donors should confirm their own situation with a tax professional.
What changed for donors in 2026
The 2025 federal tax law (often called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) changed charitable deductions starting with the 2026 tax year. Two changes matter most to anyone raising money from individuals:
| Donor | Through 2025 | Starting 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Takes the standard deduction (most households) | No charitable deduction | Can deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 married filing jointly) of cash gifts to qualifying public charities. Gifts to donor-advised funds don’t count. |
| Itemizes | Deducts gifts within the usual income limits | Only giving above 0.5% of adjusted gross income is deductible; the rest can carry forward. In the top bracket, the tax benefit is capped at 35 cents per dollar. |
The first row is the one to notice. Small funds are mostly supported by small gifts from people who don’t itemize, people who until now got no tax benefit for giving. In 2026 many of them do. If your appeals have never mentioned deductibility because most of your donors couldn’t use it, this is the year to say it, plainly and without overpromising: “Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and starting this year that can include donors who don’t itemize.”
The deadlines that decide the tax year
A gift counts in the year it’s made, and “made” depends on how it’s given:
| How the donor gives | Counts for 2026 if |
|---|---|
| Card or digital wallet online | The charge goes through by December 31, even if the donor pays the card bill in January |
| Check by mail | It’s mailed (postmarked) by December 31 |
| Grant from a donor-advised fund | The donor already took the deduction when they funded the DAF, so timing doesn’t change their taxes. But DAF sponsors take days to approve grants, so ask DAF donors early in December, not on the 30th. |
Anything that arrives on January 2 counts for 2027. That’s why the last week of December matters so much: donors who want this year’s deduction will give before midnight on the 31st if someone reminds them.
A four-week checklist
- Week of November 30: use GivingTuesday (December 1) as your first ask. One email, one message to your WhatsApp or community groups, one link. If you can line up a matching gift, use it here. The one-day GivingTuesday plan for small funds covers the details.
- December 7 to 13: refresh your page. Update the story with something specific from this year: how many people the fund helped, what a typical gift covered, what’s needed next. Check your fundraising goal is current. Open the page on your phone and give a test-size gift so you know the flow works.
- December 14 to 20: ask the people who give big. Write individually to donors who gave $500 or more last year, and to anyone who gives through a donor-advised fund. Tell DAF donors exactly what to put in the grant: your sponsor’s legal name, its EIN, and your program’s name in the memo or purpose line.
- December 21 to 31: one reminder, then a last call. Send a short reminder around December 26 and a final note on December 30 or 31: “Gifts made by midnight tonight count for 2026.” Keep both under 100 words with the link at the top.
- First week of January: thank everyone. A short thank-you with one concrete result does more for next year’s giving than any appeal. Receipts should already be handled; see below.
Receipts: who sends them
Only a 501(c)(3) can issue a tax receipt. If your fund is fiscally sponsored, the receipt comes from the sponsor, not from you and not from the platform. On BrightLeaf Giving, gifts to Community Support Funds and Social Impact Campaigns go to Rekonect, and gifts to Education Opportunity Funds go to Yeshiva Giving Fund; each is a 501(c)(3) and issues the receipts. BrightLeaf itself is a platform company. It doesn’t receive donations or issue receipts.
For any single gift of $250 or more, the IRS requires the donor to have a written acknowledgment from the charity. Make sure yours goes out promptly, because donors file in February and March.
Thinking of starting a fund in December?
You can, but leave room. Applying, approval and page setup take days, not hours, and you shouldn’t tell donors their gifts are deductible until your program is approved and live under a sponsor. If a large year-end gift is the reason you’re starting, contact the donor first: some will happily give on January 3 instead, and some won’t. If you’re not sure which structure fits, the two-minute fiscal sponsorship quiz and the guide to what fiscal sponsorship is are the place to start. The three program types are Community Support Funds for ongoing causes, Social Impact Campaigns for time-bound goals, and Education Opportunity Funds for donor-advised scholarships.
Questions organizers ask
Does the new non-itemizer deduction apply to gifts to my fund?
It applies to cash gifts to qualifying public charities, which generally includes gifts made through a fiscal sponsor that is one. It does not apply to gifts to donor-advised funds. Education Opportunity Funds are donor-advised, so EOF donors shouldn’t count on it. When in doubt, ask your sponsor and have donors check with their tax professional.
Can I tell donors their gift is tax-deductible?
Yes, if the gift goes to a 501(c)(3) or to a program fiscally sponsored by one. The standard wording is “tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law,” because each donor’s benefit depends on their own taxes. Don’t promise a specific tax saving.
A donor sent a check on December 31 that arrived January 5. Which year?
Generally 2026, because a mailed check counts when it’s mailed. Keep the envelope or note the postmark.
Is a gift through a crowdfunding page deductible?
Only if it goes to a 501(c)(3). A personal fundraising page that collects money for an individual isn’t deductible, however worthy the cause. The fiscal sponsorship vs GoFundMe comparison explains the difference.
What does it cost to run a fund on BrightLeaf?
There’s no setup fee and no monthly fee; fees come out of donations. Every fee is listed on the BrightLeaf Giving fees page.
Sources
- IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
- Case Western Reserve University: OBBBA charitable giving changes
- REN: What every advisor needs to know about charitable deductions in 2026
Your Next Step
Organizers with a live fund can start the checklist this week, beginning with GivingTuesday on December 1. Organizers without a fund yet can take the BrightLeaf Giving snapshot to see which structure fits before year-end.