St. Grand is back, dropping $1,000 cash in a Salvation Army red kettle in Coon Rapids

The mysterious Twin Cities philanthropist dubbed St. Grand is back, helping the Salvation Army to close a fundraising shortfall this holiday season.

The charity found a $1,000 donation Tuesday in a red kettle in Coon Rapids on Tuesday — and like past $1,000 donations stuffed into the signature red kettles, this one was a bundle of 10 hundred-dollar bills.

The modus operandi is leading Salvation Army officials to suspect it's the same secretive donor (or donors, perhaps) who has given more than $150,000 over the past 13 years, always dropping bundles of cash totaling $1,000, usually in the north metro.

"It has all the earmarks of St. Grand," said Dan Furry, a Salvation Army spokesman. "It's always exciting when that happens."

The generous gift comes as the Roseville-based charity, one of the largest social service nonprofits in Minnesota, remains short of its fundraising goal of $1.9 million by Sunday, which is Christmas Eve. So far, it's collected about $1.3 million at the nearly 300 red kettles placed outside stores across the Twin Cities.

"We're behind the pace of last year," Furry said. "If people can give, they're helping their neighbors who are really struggling this year."

The annual Red Kettle campaign is part of the Salvation Army's year-end goal to raise $11.3 million — fundraising that usually provides more than two-thirds of its annual revenue.

With local and national declines in giving, donations have slumped for the charity as they have for other nonprofits. The Salvation Army reduced its fundraising goals this year as a result, and may have to dip into reserves or scale back services if the year-end campaign doesn't meet its goal.

The charity is trying to make it easier to give money for donors who don't carry cash or spare change. The organization this year is testing tap technology at about three dozen of its red kettles so donors can give with a tap of their credit card or smartphone on a sensor.

Furry said the tap technology is gradually taking off. It's an easier option than online giving because donors don't have to submit their info or credit card details.

"In two seconds, you're done. We think that may be a big help in the future," he said. "We're always in need of donations."