It’s hard to miss the unmistakable ringing bells and red kettles outside stores across the state this holiday season. However, not as many people donated to the annual Salvation Army fundraiser this year.
Salvation Army spokesperson, Melanie Stroupe, said donations to the campaign were down 3 percent throughout the region – which includes Arizona, New Mexico and southern Nevada.
She said there was one major explanation as to why there were fewer donations.
“We have a few less locations than we have had in previous years. I think that’s really the main thing we found,” Stroupe said. “In general, people are still very generous and our average gift is about the same. Just the number of locations have gone down for us.”
Stroop said while people still appreciate the tradition of the kettle but one of the trends they’re noticing is the move to online donations. She said they have every intention of continuing with their annual red kettle campaign but are looking for ways to utilize a greater web presence in the future.