Meera Pal, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – In today’s digital world, not many walk around with cash in their pockets.
For the Salvation Army, that provides a new hurdle during its annual Red Kettle Campaign, when the charity collects cash outside of D.C.-area grocery stores and shops.
Its solution: Create QR (Quick Response) codes that are affiliated with each kettle location. Smartphone users can take a photo of the code, use the accompanying app to read the code and find their way to the local Salvation Army donation page.
“The truth is we’ve been doing the kettle program for 120 years but people are less apt to have cash and so we don’t want that to be a deterrent from the opportunity to give,” says Maj. Steve Morris with the Salvation Army National Capital Area Command.
“We wanted it to be as accessible as possible.”
The codes have been attached to kettles throughout Fairfax County and should be at all locations in the greater Washington area by this weekend, he says.
Morris says the goal is to raise even more than the $1.1 million the group raised last year during the kettle season.
The Army collects millions each year from the Red Kettle Campaign, which is used to aid needy families, seniors and the homeless. Donations provide Christmas dinners, clothing and toys for families in need.
More families are in need because of the down economy. The group has set a goal of raising $1.6 million to help an estimated 15,000 families.
“In some communities in the greater Washington region, applications for assistance have gone up 40 to 50 percent from last year,” Morris says.
Morris says the goal with the QR codes is to provide a convenient method for on-the-go folks to donate to the annual giving campaign.
In other parts of the country, the Army now accepts mobile payments using Android smartphones donated by Sprint Nextel. The New York Times reports the Salvation Army is testing Square, a mobile payment tool that allows anyone to accept credit card payments via mobile devices.
Other nonprofit organizations such as the Girl Scouts also have used the mobile payment tool, the Times reports.
Morris says by incorporating new technology into the annual campaign, the Salvation Army hopes to reach a new demographic of donors. He says online giving is popular in the D.C. region.
The D.C.-area chapter also has launched a Facebook page and a YouTube Channel, and is on Twitter.
The Army additionally launched an online Red Kettle Campaign, where individuals can host their own virtual kettles to gather donations from family, friends and co-workers.
WTOP is a sponsor of the Red Kettle Campaign.
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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
