Change shortage, pandemic forcing Salvation Army in Elgin to adjust tactics

It may only be October, but it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at the Salvation Army Elgin Corps.

The organization is gearing up for its busiest time of the year both in fundraising and giving, as officials get ready for the annual Red Kettle campaign and Elgin's Hope for the Holidays toy giveaway.

The Christmas fundraising campaign brings in 70% of the donations that the division uses to fund programs and services.

"As Christmas goes, we go," said Rick Reigner, resource development director of the Elgin division. "We need to be successful at Christmas to continue to do everything that we do throughout the rest of the year."

The Red Kettle campaign has changed quite a bit since it was conceived in 1891 by a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco. While the iconic red kettles and bell ringers will still be out at 40 locations in the communities the Elgin division serves, the pandemic and a national change shortage forced them to find other ways to take donations.

They still have change slots to take your quarters, but the kettles are now also adorned with QR codes to allow for donations of any amount through Apple and Google Pay, Venmo and PayPal.

"We used to be able to say that your change can help change someone's life," said Elgin Corps Captain Rich Forney. "Now that there's a lack of change we have to find other ways to impact people's lives."

The Elgin division raised $240,000 last year through the kettle campaign, be it from the traditional kettles you see in front of stores or "virtual kettles" used by local businesses to raise money within their ranks.

The Virtual Red Kettles, which were set up by about a half dozen companies last year, make it easy for them to participate.

"During the pandemic, we're finding that a lot of businesses that want to support the Salvation Army that would normally send people to man the kettles just aren't able to do it now," Forney said. Virtual Red Kettles are an easy way to allow an unlimited number of companies to set up a giving link online that they share with employees, customers, vendors and friends. The program raised $27,000 for the Elgin division last year.

Virtual kettles are also used with Elgin's "Design-A-Kettle Challenge."

That program allows groups to decorate one of the iconic kettles, which will be displayed in the Salvation Army lobby with a link to the organization's virtual kettle that the group can share. The virtual kettle that raises the most money wins.

Last year also marked the first effort at a new high school challenge, with four high schools in the Elgin division's area - Streamwood, Jacobs, Barrington and South Elgin - competing to see who could collect the most money ringing bells on the campaign's all-volunteer day. South Elgin won last year.

The four schools will be back at it this year, and Reigner is trying to get more schools involved. "We want this to grow because the kids have a good time and it helps them pick up volunteer hours they may need," he said.

Volunteerism is a key to the bell-ringing campaign. When volunteers aren't available, the corps has to hire people to staff the kettle locations. The kettles are out for about six weeks, six days a week for 10 hours a day.

"Every time we have a volunteer out there, we're not paying money out, and in general, volunteer bell ringers perform better than paid bell ringers because they're there for a different reason," Reigner said.

Ninety cents of every dollar the Salvation Army raises goes back to programs and services.

Elgin's Hope for the Holidays is one of those programs, and it will be in its second year as a collaborative effort with Elgin's Community Crisis Center. Last year, the program provided toys and gifts for more than 2,300 kids from 900 area families.

Family registration for Hope for the Holidays begins Monday. Kettles for the "Design-A-Kettle Challenge" are also available. They must be submitted by Nov. 5.

"Finding creative ways for people to engage in giving and provide for people in need, we want to help facilitate that as much as possible," Forney said. "We know that our success is based on local donors, people who really want to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors in need, and who really care about the people in their communities."