‘Concerned’: Salvation Army donations down significantly
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign in West Michigan has seen a significant drop in donations compared with last year.
The Grand Valley region of the nonprofit is $295,000 below where it was at this point in 2022.
Richard Turnquist, a Salvation Army bell ringer who was working at a Grandville store Friday, is hopeful the organization can get closer to its goal.
“If they can see how nice we are and considerate to people that we are, maybe they can donate,” Turnquist said.
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Major Tim Meyer, the area commander for the Grand Valley region, says the total kettle amount is noticeably less full this year.
“Last year at this time, we were at about $922,000,” Meyer said.
The Salvation Army has also gone digital, with payment terminals that allow people to tap a square and make a donation.
“We’ve also included, with our mailings that go out, a QR code or something that will take someone that might have a smartphone, take them to our digital donation page,” Meyer said.
The campaign officially finishes at the end of January, but donations around Christmas are the most crucial.
“We receive most of our donations by the end of December, and so I’m getting a little bit concerned at the rate that we have fallen behind last year,” Meyer said.
The nonprofit counts on the Red Kettle Campaign to help fund programs for the community.
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“With last year having run so far above the averages for things like food pantry, requests for housing, utility assistance, it’s very crucial that we meet our goal for Christmas fundraising,” Meyer said.
While the donations being placed in the kettles at stores have been going well, mail-in donations, online donations and donations from retirement accounts are down this year.
“People are unsure what the next year’s going to hold for their own personal finances,” Meyer said. “And they’re trying to be careful with that as well as balance the generosity that they want to have to help others.”
Fewer kettle locations and less drop-in volunteers since the pandemic are also playing a role.
“It is difficult to staff those kettles at times,” Meyer said. “So we’ve had an uptick in volunteers from last year, but not enough to fill all the spots.”
An anonymous donor is matching every gift up to $100,000 between now and the end of the year.
“We’re very blessed to have that, so if people do give, their money will be multiplied,” Meyer said.
If you would like to donate online, you can visit the Salvation Army website.
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