Salvation Army Woos Both Younger and Older Donors

The Salvation Army’s 6-percent decline in donations last year caused it to slide from second to third place in The Chronicle’s rankings of charities that raise the most from private sources, just behind United Way and Fidelity Charitable, the big donor-advised fund.

To reverse that trend, the Salvation Army is trying to reshape its image as a hip organization worthy of young donors’ support, while also reminding its older and most-loyal donors to keep the nonprofit in mind as they shape their bequest plans.

One of the most high-profile efforts brings the traditional holiday red-kettle drive into the live-music arena. In December the Salvation Army will hold its third “Rock the Red Kettle” concert in Los Angeles. It’s invited some of the hottest young bands to perform and will stream the show live on Facebook.

This fall, it enlisted the band Owl City to embark on a “Rock the Red Kettle Tour,” in which the group visited cities for events to attract volunteers, increase interest in the organization, and encourage people to donate clothes.

Seeking More Bequests

Older donors are also getting attention, in part because some local fundraisers noticed that the bad economy was prompting longtime donors to give less than they once did.

Ashley Delamar, who oversees fundraising in North and South Carolina for the Army, says that when he began noticing that pattern, he decided it would be wise to put new energy into soliciting bequests and other planned gifts from older supporters.

He reached out with that message to the 50,000 donors, out of 400,000 active supporters, who have given regularly to the Carolina division for at least a decade.

The tactic worked: He’s secured $9.7-million in planned gifts from 53 donors this year, up from $7.2-million from 43 donors in 2011.

Now Mr. Delamar is refining his pitch and aiming it at a smaller group: donors of retirement age, who have stopped giving in the last 12 to 24 months.

Those characteristics, he says, are telltale signs that donors are leaving their jobs or are planning their estates.

“When individuals begin preparing their estate plans, they pull back from what they were doing to take stock of their assets,” Mr. Delamar says. “There’s a little bit of anxiousness and fear that sets in. ‘Am I going to have enough?’”

He says he is seeking to obtain $7.8-million in planned gifts next year from among 12,000 donors.

“These are individuals, in some way or another, who have a longstanding commitment to the organization,” he says. “That’s where the success lies.”