Year-End Stock Gift Checklist for Nonprofits (2026)

Short answer: Before December, a nonprofit should put a stock option on its donate page, name Stock Donator's 24 December cutoff in its appeal, get its receipt wording ready, confirm how it gets paid, pick who checks the dashboard each day, and plan for shares that arrive with no name.

Written for a development director or treasurer. It assumes the year-end appeal is already planned and adds the stock step.

What goes on a December checklist for stock gifts?

Six jobs, each with an owner and a moment. The moments are relative to your own appeal, so the list works whether the appeal goes out this week or next. For the general steps of processing a stock gift, see the stock gift processing checklist.

Is the stock option on your donate page?

A donor who holds shares will not always email to ask. Give that donor a place to start. Your Stock Donator account has its own donation link on the dashboard. Link to it from your site or add it as a Donate Stock button, and put it next to your card form.

If you have no account yet, open one first. It needs your tax ID (EIN), contact details and an email address. Stock Donator verifies your 501(c)(3) status when you sign up, and you can accept gifts once you are verified. For what else belongs on the page, see what to include on a donation page to promote stock gifts.

Does your appeal name the 24 December cutoff?

Give donors one date. Stock Donator asks for gifts on or before 24 December 2026, and a gift usually takes 5 to 10 days, sometimes less. Put that line in the appeal and every reminder, with your donation link beside it.

The stock donation deadline guide shows the year-end dates it found for donor-advised funds and Vanguard and names the big brokerages where it found none. For a countdown from 1 December, use the Giving Tuesday guide.

Stock Donator still processes gifts after 24 December, but they may not complete before 31 December. Ask your tax adviser how a gift still in transit at year end is treated.

Is your receipt wording ready?

Stock Donator sends each donor's receipt for you and copies you on the email. In your account you can add your logo and mission statement, and they appear on the acknowledgment letter emailed to each donor when the shares arrive. Add them before the first December gift.

The IRS lists what a written acknowledgment for a gift of $250 or more must contain, on its page on written acknowledgments (last reviewed 28 June 2026). Ask your tax adviser whether the letter your account sends meets it.

Then plan a short thank-you note of your own: the donor's name, what the gift will do, and no promise about taxes. Your nonprofit should not tell donors what they will save.

Who checks the dashboard every day in December?

Name one person and one backup. Stock Donator sends your nonprofit an alert the moment a donor pledges a gift, and your dashboard shows where each gift is. If a donor says they gave and you do not see it, sign in, or write to Stock Donator with the donor's name and the stock, and the team will tell you where the gift is.

Daily matters in December because the last week of the year leaves little room for a stalled gift. The treasurer should confirm how you get paid. Proceeds go by check, ACH or wire. For ACH and wire, Stock Donator first asks you to confirm your bank details in your dashboard, and after you change where payouts go it holds them for 2 business days. Do both before the first gift arrives.

What do you do with a gift that arrives with no name?

Shares that arrive with no donor name are called mystery stock. It happens when a donor sends shares through a broker without telling Stock Donator first, because the electronic transfer carries the shares but not the donor's name.

To prevent it, send donors to your donation link so they fill in the form before they transfer. If shares arrive with no name, ask the donor to report the gift on the claim form, "Report a Stock Gift" in the footer of every page. Stock Donator may be able to find the shares, and when it does, the gift is recorded for your nonprofit.

Decide before the appeal who sends that request, and keep the claim-form link in a saved reply. The steps are in how to accept stock donations as a nonprofit.

Do we need a brokerage account to accept stock in December?

No. Donors send shares from their own broker, and Stock Donator receives them, sells them and deposits the cash with you. Your nonprofit never opens a brokerage account or holds shares, so you can say yes to a December gift without that setup.

What if a donor gives stock after 24 December?

Stock Donator still processes the gift. It may not complete before 31 December, depending on the donor's brokerage. Tell the donor to start as early as possible through your donation link, and to ask a tax adviser about the year.

How long does a stock gift take?

Usually 5 to 10 days from transfer to payment, sometimes less. Stock Donator cannot receive or sell the shares until the donor's brokerage processes the transfer request, and each brokerage works at its own speed. That is why the appeal names the 24 December cutoff.

Open a free account before the appeal goes out

Your appeal can say yes to a donor's shares. Open a free account, copy your donation link, and work down the table once.

General information, not tax advice. Talk to your tax adviser.