A year-end giving checklist for churches and non-profits

The last weeks of the year are busy for giving. People give on Giving Tuesday, at Christmas services, and in the final days of December before the tax year closes. Then in January, every giver wants a statement.

Here's what to do, month by month, so the busiest season is also the calmest.

1. November2026

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   • Early November Test a gift, tidy your funds, and check payouts.

2. December2026

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   • Dec 1 Giving Tuesday
   • Dec 24 Christmas Eve offering
   • Dec 31 Last day for this tax year

3. January2027

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   • By Jan 31 Giving statements sent
   • All month Review the year and say thank you.

#November: check the basics

Before anyone gives a year-end gift, make sure giving works the way you think it does.

• Give a test gift from your phone. Go from your website or app to the receipt, the way a first-time giver would. Count the steps.
• Tidy up your funds. Add any year-end or Christmas offering funds now, and retire ones you don't use. A short list of clear choices is easier to give to.
• Turn on Apple Pay and Google Pay. They make giving from a phone quicker still.
• Check your payment account. Make sure your Stripe account is verified and paying out to the right bank account. Culminate Life can email your team about payouts and account issues, so you hear about problems early.

#Giving Tuesday: December 1

Giving Tuesday falls on December 1 this year. It matters most for non-profits, but churches take part too.

Pick one specific need, say what a gift will do, and share a direct link to give. One clear story works better than a list of everything you'd like to fund.

#December: tell people how

People can't give the way you hope if they don't know how. Say it more than once:

• Mention online giving from the front, especially at Christmas services, when guests are in the room.
• Post an announcement in your app with a button that opens your giving page.
• Invite people to start a recurring gift for the new year. It's easy to set up and just as easy to change.
• Remind people of the deadline. In the US, a gift counts toward the year it's made: a card gift on the day it's charged, and a mailed check on the day it's mailed. Gifts made on January 1 count toward the next year.

#The last week: keep every gift in one place

The final days of the year bring a rush of cash, checks, and online gifts. Keep them together, so January is easy.

• Enter cash and checks promptly. Don't let envelopes pile up over the holidays. In Culminate Life, you can import check data from your bank, and each check keeps its check number.
• Record non-cash gifts. Note what was given and when. The giver decides what it's worth, not you.
• Watch for failed recurring gifts. An expired card at year end can quietly stop a regular giver. Culminate Life can email your team when a recurring gift fails, so someone can follow up.
• Thank first-time givers. A short note from a real person goes a long way. Turn on alerts for first-time and notable gifts so your team knows who to thank.

#January: statements and thanks

Send giving statements. Givers need them to file their taxes, so most churches and non-profits aim to send them by the end of January. In the US, a donor needs a written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more, and it should say whether they received anything in return. Because every gift in Culminate Life is tied to a person, statements come straight from the dashboard.

Look back at the year. The Giving Overview shows how giving trended, which funds people gave to, and how recurring giving grew. Giving reports let you pick which funds to include, and the top givers report ranks donors by total for any date range.

Say thank you. Tell people what their giving did this year: the families helped, the missions supported, the rooms built. Gratitude is the best start to next year's giving.

#The checklist at a glance

When	What to do
Early November	Give a test gift. Tidy your funds. Turn on Apple Pay and Google Pay. Check your payment account.
December 1	Share one clear need for Giving Tuesday.
December	Mention giving from the front and in your app. Invite recurring gifts. Remind people of the December 31 deadline.
Last week of December	Enter cash and checks. Record non-cash gifts. Follow up on failed recurring gifts. Thank first-time givers.
By January 31	Send giving statements. Review the year. Say thank you.

This post is general guidance, not tax advice. Check the details with your accountant.

Culminate Life Giving is free for up to 50 donations a month, with payments processed by Stripe. See how Giving works or read about making giving easy.