DENVER -- Local charities are gearing up for their busiest time of year with aggressive campaigns to get donors giving in time to get a 2009 tax deduction.

Some charities receive up to 60 percent of their charitable giving on Dec. 30 and 31. With donations lagging, nonprofits are urging people to donate now, or miss out on a charitable giving tax deduction.

"It's a great strategy to remind donors of that," said Aleah Horstman, president of the Colorado chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Horstman said nonprofit donations plummeted in 2008 and 2009, and next year also looked bleak. Charities have been forced to get creative.

"I think charities are using a lot of different approaches this year," said Horstman.

One is social networking. Goodwill officials said a strong television and radio campaign, coupled with active Facebook and Twitter accounts have garnered the nonprofit its highest amount of Web donations ever.

At least one state chapter of the Salvation Army is offering a Facebook app and a widget that allows users to play interactive games and donate.

Despite some success with social networking, a recent study by the Colorado Association of Nonprofits showed 48 percent of charities expect to miss their donation goals for the year, which could make the final days of 2009 even more critical.

"We're up against our largest single day of donations coming up Dec. 31," said Goodwill Industries of Denver vice president Ric Berninzoni. "If we don't have enough donations coming in, we don't have enough to fill our stores."