Twin Cities Salvation Army $700,000 behind pace of holiday fundraising goal

The Twin Cities Salvation Army is $700,000 short of last year's fundraising pace with a few days to go in its Christmas campaign — an annual seasonal push that brings in about 75% of its total annual revenue.

The Roseville-based organization is expecting more gifts, but it could be hard to make up the shortfall, according to Salvation Army Northern Division commander Lt. Col. Randall Polsley. He noted that the last two weeks of December tend to be the most active for donors.

"But at this point, we're nearly 18 percent [off] last year's pace, which tells us we won't hit our target unless we see significant gains by December 31st," he said in a news release.

The annual Red Kettle campaign benefits one of Minnesota's largest social service nonprofits. The year-end goal is to raise $11.3 million, in part through donations dropped into the nearly 300 red kettles outside stores in the Twin Cities.

"Current conditions are driving an increased demand for services, but they also put pressure on charitable giving, and we're seeing the effects of that pressure this giving season," Polsley said. "The unfortunate outcome of this shortfall is that we may not be able to help all of the individuals and families we had planned on helping in 2024."

In Duluth, a sizable anonymous last-minute donation came via phone call on Saturday. The caller gave $25,000 — helping the northern Minnesota branch hit its $225,000 goal. It was the second year that the donor brought out a checkbook after seeing Duluth's director of development, Cyndi Lewis, on television news talking about the likelihood of falling short of the goal.

"The community stepped up again," Lewis said.

Last week, an anonymous donor dropped $1,000 in hundred dollar bills into a red kettle in Coon Rapids — likely the act of the secretive philanthropist dubbed St. Grand, who has made this signature donation into a north metro kettle for more than a decade.