Salvation Army Rings Up Credit Card Kettles

 

The Salvation Army has a new tool in its holiday 

fundraising arsenal—credit card kettles.

After a trial run last year in three cities—Dallas, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs—the Salvation Army rolled out the kettles enabled to take payment with credit or debit cards at 300 locations in 120 cities this holiday season.

About 25,000 volunteers have been ringing bells across the country in 5,000 communities soliciting donations for the Alexandria, VA-based nonprofit. Last year’s Red Kettle Campaign set a record of $130 million. Salvation Army spokesperson Jennifer Byrd said that donations to the bell ringers are about 6% off projections nationally (the organization's fundraising is decentralized and run by the local chapters, each which sets their own fundraising goals).

Still, the kettles equipped to take credit and debit cards are helping fill the coffers: While the average donation from someone tossing coins or bills into the kettle runs about $2 to $3, that skyrockets to about $15 when they are charging their gift.

Byrd said that there had been no security concerns regarding the electronic payment enabled kettles, noting that no personal information is stored on the machines and donors receive a printed receipt for their tax deductable donation.


The 2009 Red Kettle campaign began on Thanksgiving Day with a performance by the band Daughtry, fronted by former "American Idol" season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry at the halftime show of the Dallas Cowboys/Oakland Raiders game, and will continue through Christmas Eve.

Daughtry is also hosting one of the Salvation Army's online red kettles, which allow donors to give online via kettles created by individuals or groups. Kettle hosts create their own kettle pages and then invite other to donate via e-mail or social media. The nonprofit has so far raised $980,492.17 with the online kettles, with a goal of hitting $2 million.

Other components of this year's kettle campaign include a free bellringer app for the iPhone. As of 12/14 there have been 27,822 downloads, and Apple recently added a donation feature. And, a holiday compilation album, "Holiday Party," was released in conjunction with The Weather Channel. The CD and a new single from Aaron Neville is downloadable from http://www.theweatherchannelmusic.com.

The Red Kettle Campaign, the oldest annual charitable fundraiser of its kind in the United States, helps provide toys for kids, coats for the homeless, food for the hungry and numerous social service programs year-round. It began in 1891 as a fundraiser started by a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco.

 

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