Year-End Giving 2026: Where Your Gift Goes Furthest
Year-end giving 2026: what $25, $120, $150 a month or $3,500 provides in clean water, sight, and orphan care, plus the Dec. 31 tax deadline.
By Embrace Relief Team · Updated October 21, 2026
The useful part before the long read.
$120 sponsors a cataract surgery in rural Mali, and $25 funds free eye check-ups in our mobile clinic truck.
$3,500 builds a new water well, and $1,500 restores a broken one.
$150 a month fully supports a child in orphan care.
To count for the 2026 tax year, give by December 31, 2026. Embrace Relief is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Year-end giving is the gift you make in the final weeks of the year, often around Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday, and the December holidays, and before the December 31 tax deadline. With Embrace Relief, a year-end gift can do three concrete things: bring clean water to a community, restore a person's sight, or give a child steady care. This guide shows what each gift provides, where it goes furthest, and how to make sure it counts for 2026.
What your year-end gift provides
| Gift | What it provides | Program |
|---|---|---|
| $25 | Free eye check-ups in the mobile clinic truck | Cure Cataract |
| $120 | One cataract surgery in rural Mali | Cure Cataract |
| $150 per month | Full care for one child: nutrition, shelter, education, health | Orphan Care |
| $1,500 | Restores a broken community well | Clean Water |
| $3,500 | Builds a new community water well | Build a Well |
Our 2026 year-end goals
Before 2026 ends, Embrace Relief aims to:
- Clean water: provide 35 more wells, reaching about 35,000 more people.
- Sight: provide 500 more cataract surgeries for people on the waiting list.
- Children: keep steady, year-round care in place for children in partner orphanages.
This year so far, our Year-End Giving page reports 90,000 people reached with safe water, 840 free cataract surgeries in our mobile unit, and 465 children fully supported throughout the year. Source: Year-End Giving 2026.
Where does a year-end gift go furthest?
There is no single right answer. It depends on what you want your gift to do:
- One-time gift with a lasting result: a well serves a whole community for years and comes with five years of maintenance reporting. A cataract surgery takes about 15 minutes and restores a person's independence.
- A small gift that still counts: $25 funds eye check-ups, the first step before surgery.
- Support that continues into 2027: a monthly orphan sponsorship lets a care center plan food, rent, school, and medical visits ahead of time.
Year-end giving for orphan children
For a child in orphan care, the most valuable gift is consistency. Embrace Relief works with partner orphanages in countries including the DR Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, and Uganda. Full sponsorship is $150 a month, which covers nutrition ($60), shelter ($35), education ($45), and health care ($10). You can also give to one of these needs on its own. Many donors start a monthly gift at year-end so that support carries on through the new year. In winter, a hot meal costs $4.
Make sure your gift counts for 2026
- Deadline: give by December 31, 2026. Card and online gifts count on the date they are charged.
- New in 2026: even if you don't itemize, you can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly).
- Receipts: for a single gift of $250 or more, keep the written acknowledgment we send you.
- Appreciated stock: donating shares directly can avoid capital gains tax. See how to donate stock to charity.
For the full rules, read our 2026 charitable tax deduction guide. This is general information, not tax advice.
Other ways to give at year-end
- Giving Tuesday (December 1, 2026): see what Giving Tuesday is and how to take part.
- Gifts in someone's name: choose a meaningful gift from the Gift Catalog.
- Zakat: if your zakat falls due at year-end, see is zakat tax-deductible?
Frequently asked questions
What is year-end giving?
Year-end giving is charitable giving in the last weeks of the year, usually between Thanksgiving and December 31. Many donors give then for the holidays and so their gift counts for that tax year.
What is the deadline for year-end donations in 2026?
To count for the 2026 tax year, a gift must be made by December 31, 2026. Card and online gifts count on the date they are charged.
How much does it cost to restore someone's sight?
Through Embrace Relief, $120 sponsors one cataract surgery in rural Mali. A $25 gift funds free eye check-ups in the mobile clinic truck.
How much does it cost to build a water well?
A new community water well costs $3,500 through Embrace Relief, and restoring a broken well costs $1,500.
Are year-end donations to Embrace Relief tax-deductible?
Embrace Relief Foundation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 26-2393075), and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.