Salvation Army Facing Pushback at Some Locations
By: Robert Bumsted
Updated: November 18, 2012
It's a 120-year-old tradition, but this year the Salvation Army says it's facing a major drop in donations through its "kettle" program because of resistance by big box stores.
The Fort Wayne/Allen County Salvation Army tells WFFT that almost every big box retailer that participates in the kettle program has asked the organization to wait until after Black Friday to begin its program -- two weeks later than normal.
Local officials say roughly $75 thousand is raised in the two weeks before Thanksgiving last year. The loss of revenue from the highly-trafficked stores could do serious damage to the year's collections.
The holiday drive collects roughly half of all donations for the year.
According to Salvation Army officials, corporations have requested the push-back because they want to give more time to a number of other charitable organizations who have requested time.
The Fort Wayne/Allen County Salvation Army tells WFFT that almost every big box retailer that participates in the kettle program has asked the organization to wait until after Black Friday to begin its program -- two weeks later than normal.
Local officials say roughly $75 thousand is raised in the two weeks before Thanksgiving last year. The loss of revenue from the highly-trafficked stores could do serious damage to the year's collections.
The holiday drive collects roughly half of all donations for the year.
According to Salvation Army officials, corporations have requested the push-back because they want to give more time to a number of other charitable organizations who have requested time.
