If the flood of email this week is any indication, non-profits are working hard to capture any donations in the last few days of the year from people seeking a 2009 tax deduction.

In fact, Dec. 31 is the busiest time of the year for online giving, according to this story in the New York Times, based on data from Convio. In 2008 it found that charities raised 22.5 times more money on the last day of the year than on an average day, and the gift size was 57 percent larger in the last week than the average week.

Locally, Gov. Chris Gregoire sent out an appeal for donations to food banks, including
Second Harvest Inland Northwest, which provides more than 1 million pounds of donated food a month to neighborhood food banks in Eastern Washington; Northwest Harvest, which serves more than 300 food programs across the state; and Food Lifeline, which served more than 675,000 hungry people across Western Washington last year.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul appealed for year-end donations, citing a doubling of demand at its Food Bank and a 53 percent increase in demand for general assistance.

Some companies transformed the holiday parties of the past into end-of-year charity drives. PricewaterhouseCoopers in Seattle invited people from three charities into its office for a reception with more than 75 of the firm's employees, and gave each non-profit a $10,000 check. PricewaterhouseCoopers partners and staff chose Childhaven, Northwest Harvest and Treehouse as the recipients of their holiday giving campaign.

Olive Crest, which serves abused and at-risk children, said it received a last minute gift from the federal government of $500,000, which represents 13 percent of its total annual budget. The appropriations funds will go toward supporting programs in Washington State focusing on child abuse prevention and training for young teens and adults to live and work on their own and transition out of the child welfare system.

Some non-profits are making year-end donating go even further. The global health organization PATH said every donation to its Catalyst Fund will be matched up to a total of $116,000, thanks to support from the McKinstry Charitable Foundation and an anonymous donor.

Radio station KEXP challenged listeners to help with its year-end fundraising by pairing donations with a pledge from its Volunteer Leadership Boards. The board members committed an additional $85,000 if donors can raise $130,000 by Dec. 31.

For people evaluating charities as they consider donating, GreatNonprofits CEO Perla Ni had a few tips:

1. Don't look at the proportion of the budget that goes to programs. Ni considers focusing on overhead the worst way to pick a charity. "They tell you nothing about the impact that the charity has, and actually encourage charities to make decisions that make them less effective," she said.

2. Look for opinions and information from people who have had direct experience with the charity. GreatNonprofits.org and GuideStar are two sources.

3. Listen to what experts have to say about the charity. Philanthropedia provides access to opinions of experts who evaluate charities.

4. Find direct evidence of impact. Ask the charity how it evaluates the effectiveness of its programs. GiveWell has reviews on hundreds of charities based on impact.

5. See for yourself. Take a donor tour or sign up to volunteer and experience firsthand what the nonprofit does.