The North Bay Salvation Army Kettle Campaign using a debit machine was a huge success.
With donations continuing to trickle in throughout January, the campaign managed to reach its $150,000 fundraising goal, and some of that success is being attributed to the use of debit machines in a pilot project.
See: Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign going high tech...whip out your debit card
“The machines worked great. One hundred percent. We will be expanding the number of locations where we’ll have them next year,” said John Dobbs director of program services.
He says the convenience of the machines generated new donors.
“It is a service people use because they didn’t have cash on them, and that is a large group of individuals. It helped them to be able to donate to us. We’re becoming a cashless society, so we have to follow the trends like everyone else. This was a pilot right across the country,” said Dobbs.
“For us, it is a new thing, and there’s some learning and obviously some of our process is teaching individuals how to use them as well.”
At the campaign kick off, Major Bonita McGory explained that the pilot project was in response to people saying they wanted to donate, but did not have any cash on them.
They were the ones who pushed for getting a debit machine, and the Salvation Army responded.
Money raised from the campaign assists with a number of programs and services, including the Salvation Army food bank which is experiencing increased demand.
It is also seeing more children at schools needing lunches. It supplies lunches to four schools.
In the summer, 25 children get to go camping, where they can just be kids, leaving their worries behind, even for a short while.
“And emergency shelter. We’ve been seeing quite a bit of that, that’s a big thing right now. And we have had to acquire some coats and stuff because of the cold weather. And the money helps with our Sunday meal where we feed about a hundred people a week,” added Dobbs.
The previous campaign raised $146,000. In order to meet increased demand for services, the campaign target was upped to $150,000.
The debit machines are being given some of the credit for reaching that goal.
