ROSEVILLE, Minn. — It has been a tough year for nonprofits in our area, with fewer donations and higher demand for their services.
Directors at the Twin Cities Salvation Army says donations are down about $700,000 compared to this same time last year.
“Everyone is feeling the pinch right now,” Executive Development Director Paul Deakins said.
“There has been kind of that perfect storm of the pandemic and inflation and everything else that is really touching people’s lives right now.”
Bell-ringing may be the most visible way to donate, but Deakins says the red kettles only bring in about 10% of their annual revenue each year.
The remaining 90% is donated by private donors and corporate sponsors.
Deakins says a majority of those donations — about 75% — come in during the final two months of the year.
“And almost 50% of that money comes during the last two weeks of the year,” Deakins added.
So, this time of year is critical for the Salvation Army.
Every day matters between now and the end of the year.
Deakins says there is some hope that they will be able to reach their goal for the year. He says bellringing has been doing well this year thanks to the warm weather.
“We’re seeing a lot more people at our kettles. I think people are out more and people are shopping. It’s getting more people to see our kettles out in the community,” Deakins said.
The Salvation Army also saw a steady number of toy donations this year for their annual Toy Shop donation drive.
Deakins says the Salvation Army will give away more than 30,000 toys to 13,000 kids and 5,000 families.
The toys are being distributed this week at three Toy Shop locations across the Twin Cities.
The Salvation Army is also looking for bell-ringers to help them during this final stretch of the Red Kettle campaign.
Volunteers can search for available shifts online. Click here to find an opening in your area.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: