Someone said to me yesterday that they'd noticed Amnesty International put out a fundraising pitch in this idle week between Christmas and New Year's, and thought they were nuts. No way. (click for a larger version) Katya Andresen this week urged people to ask for money before the end of the year with a dramatic chart of Network for Good's daily contributions for the month of December. For a fundraiser, the right time to give is always "now" ... but for donors with an eye on their IRS returns, it's 81 hours and counting to apply their gifts as '06 tax deductions. Imitation being not only the sincerest form of flattery but the coin of the realm in Blogistan, my chart above is a slightly different twist on the same notion from the DemocracyInAction network, using not total sum contributed but number of donations (i.e., in my chart, a $50,000 gift counts the same as a $5 gift). Since DIA's meteoric growth continued throughout 2006, I've normalized ("inflation-adjusted") last year's numbers so the scales are the same. Conclusion: your donors' pocketbooks will be more open the next three days than they have been at any point all year. So the question is, will they be thinking of you when they donate? Even if you've already asked -- repeatedly -- ask again this week. In an e-mail, on a website, on your blog, on the phone ... the more the better, but however you do it, ask. Update: Allow me to follow my own advice here. DemocracyInAction is itself a nonprofit providing infrastructure other nonprofits -- think of us as the progressive movement's City Light. We'd be very grateful for your support, and so would the hundreds of fantastic organizations that we serve.