Red kettle campaigns running short of goals

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Salvation Army needs a strong finish to make its $715,000 goal for its Christmas fundraising campaign.

The non-profit known for red kettles and bell-ringers raised $511,000 through Sunday, which was about 71 percent toward the goal.

'The kettles are up from last year, but walk-in and mail-in donations are behind,” said Lia Pontarelli, development and communications director.

The Salvation Army scaled back kettle sites this year because of a shortage of bell-ringers last year, Pontarelli said. The organization cut sites at Hy-Vee Drugstores and Walgreens.

'We want to make sure our highest-volume kettles are more frequently manned,” she said.

More than $222,000 had been dropped in Cedar Rapids kettles through Sunday, compared to $235,000 for the entire campaign in 2013. Bell-ringing will continue through 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Donations made through Jan. 31 will count toward the overall goal.

The Iowa City Salvation Army was 91 percent to its $350,000 goal through Sunday, officials said.

The organization surpassed its direct-mail goal of $240,000, but kettle donations were only at 62 percent of goal, said Brianna Wills, development and community relations director for the Iowa City Salvation Army.

'We've struggled this year to have people manning our bells,” Wills said.

Kettles with bell-ringers - some who sing, play instruments, or just smile encouragingly - bring in 200 percent more donations, she said.

The Salvation Army has offered to pay bell-ringers in recent years, but couldn't get enough of those people this Christmas, Wills said. Like Cedar Rapids, the Iowa City Salvation Army may reduce kettle sites next year to focus bell-ringers on popular locations, including Hy-Vees and Walmarts, she said.

Wills, who recently joined the organization, also has been speaking with community groups and laying the groundwork for more volunteers next year.

Neither Wills nor Pontarelli believe Iowans are withholding cash based on news reports suggesting the Salvation Army is anti-gay.

Emails recently obtained by Queerty, a lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT) news organization, show the Salvation Army will not perform same-sex marriages, the Washington Post reported. However, when the organization's facilities are rented to outside groups, they may be used for same-sex marriage receptions.

The non-profit, founded in 1865 by a Methodist minister in London, has emphasized it does not discriminate in providing services or hiring.