Think about how you spent your last New Year's Eve that fell on a weekend versus a weekday. Your supporters also spend their time differently. And when December 31st lands on a Saturday or Sunday, their giving patterns may differ from when it's a Wednesday.
The what
Last year's data suggests a pattern worth watching. Nonprofits raised 11% more on December 31, 2024 (a Tuesday) than on December 31, 2023 (a Sunday). While this is just one year of comparison, it raises an important question about timing. When the year ends midweek, donors are in a different headspace. They're at desks, checking emails, wrapping up work before the holiday break. Weekend December 31sts mean brunches, family time, travel. Different rhythms create different giving patterns.
The why
If this trend holds, weekday year-ends catch people in planning mode. They're thinking about taxes, annual goals, inbox zero. Weekend year-ends? People are already in celebration mode, away from computers, focused on personal time rather than financial decisions. It's not that donors care less about your cause on weekends. It's that the moment when they would naturally make that last-minute gift just doesn't arrive in the same way. No morning email check at the desk. No afternoon reminder notification while wrapping up work tasks. The friction isn't intentional, it's circumstantial.
Should you really care?
This year, you're in luck with that Wednesday deadline. For years when it falls on Saturday or Sunday, shift your urgency messaging earlier. The lesson isn't to write off December 31st when it falls on a weekend. It's to recognize that the final days of December need to feel urgent regardless of what day they fall on. When that last day is a weekend, build your peak intensity around December 29th or 30th. Give people that desk-time reminder before they're fully off the clock. Your donors want to support you. Make it easy by meeting them when they're most ready to give.