The year-end holidays inspire many people to reach out to those who are less fortunate. Less altruistically, but still just as important, donors need to make their end-of-year giving decisions by December 31 to qualify for a tax deduction in this calendar year.  As a result, donations to charities increase between Thanksgiving and New Years.

How much? The charities on our site received nearly $1.8 million via Network for Good’s Donate Now button just during the month of December 2011 alone. And in our 2011 year-end giving survey, the charities themselves told us just how important year-end gifts are to their bottom line noting that on average more than 40% of their total annual contributions from individuals at year-end.  The list below highlights the ten 3 and 4-star charities that received the highest percentage of their total 2011  online donations (via our site and Network for Good’s giving tool) during December 2011.