Despite a dismal economy, the Salvation Army managed to set a new record with its year-end red-kettle campaign, which in 2008 raised $130-million, or 10 percent more than last year’s national total. The increase is the largest one-year jump the annual campaign has seen since 1997.
This year, the Salvation Army added a few hi-tech enhancements to its iconic kettles: Branches in Denver and Dallas tested “cashless kettles” that accepted credit- and debit-card donations, while several other locations gave supporters the option of making small donations via text message. The organization also partnered with a digital media company to create an iPhone application that allowed users to download Christmas music to their phones for $2.99. The Army’s “virtual kettles” raised $10-million online this year.
The 2008 campaign also benefited from considerable corporate support: Donations to kettles at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores raised $34-million, while those at the Kroger Company’s grocery stores brought in a total of $10.6-million. The Army received $100,000 through a Shell Oil promotion, and $2-million in contributions from Target, which also sold Salvation Army ornaments and CDs in its stores.
The National Hockey League provided an assist by adding online red kettles on team Web sites, as did the Jonas Brothers band, which promoted the Salvation Army campaign during a halftime performance at a Thanksgiving Dallas Cowboys game and also included an online red kettle of its own site.
Though the Salvation Army campaign was held amid one of the worst economic downturns in decades, Israel L. Gaither, the Salvation Army’s national commander, isn’t surprised with the results.
“We know that Americans always give more in time of need, so we were confident that they would again respond to the call with an outstanding show of generosity,” he said in a written statement.
Mar 18, 2009 12:59 PM
