Crisis averted: After donations being down by 50%,The Salvation Army Northwest bounces back by the holiday

It wasn’t looking good for The Salvation Army (TSA) – Northwest Division a couple weeks after Thanksgiving. With increasing demand for services, some Northwest cities and towns in the region were down as much as 50%. But Lieutenant Colonel Cindy Foley knew the fight wasn’t over.

“In early December, we were 50% down year-to-date,” Foley explained. “With a lot of media support and rallying people, we closed that to about 30% a week before Christmas. Right now, we’re only two and a half percent behind across the entire Northwest, but significantly higher at 7% behind in Western Washington.”

Foley said TSA served 642,000 people last year across the region. This number represents a significant increase from the 500,000 served two years ago, underscoring the growing demand for the organization’s services.

The faith-based nonprofit is taking on housing and food, especially in hard-hit King County. While some communities exceeded their goals, others like White Center, Kent, Bremerton, Everett, Bellingham, Port Angeles and Vancouver, Washington are still significantly behind and will need to make up the fundraising gap.

“Those communities had maybe even as high as a 30% decrease in the Red Kettle Campaign (which includes those bell ringers you see during the holidays),” Foley told MyNorthwest and KIRO Newsradio. “So they’re going to have to do extra fundraisers and make some separate appeals to their communities because they can’t afford to lose up to 30% in their Red Kettle campaign alone.”

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“The campaign did well across the Northwest, but we’re still slightly short as we close out the year,” Foley noted.

She attributed the shortfall to a late Thanksgiving, which shortened the fundraising season by five days, and volunteer burnout in some areas.

Although the “bell ringing” season is over, the demand for food has skyrocketed with higher grocery prices.

“Although I celebrate the success we have in changing lives, the rising need continues to be a challenge,” Foley said.

In Western Washington, the goal was to raise $1,995,000, but only $1,866,000 was collected, leaving a shortfall of about $135,000.

“What keeps me up at night is the increasing demand for our services,” she said.

Like food insecurity, TSA’s efforts to help the homeless go beyond immediate relief. In King County, they provide shelter for 850 people every night, with an additional capacity for 200 more during winter. The organization also operates a tiny house village in Longview, Washington, and various shelters for chronically homeless individuals.

‘Street Level’ program attempts to find permanent housing to those in need

A relatively new initiative, the “Street Level” program, takes the battle mobile. The goal of Street Level is to transition people into permanent housing.

“We literally knock on the door of your car or your broken-down camper and say, ‘Are you interested in permanent housing? We’re the Salvation Army, and we’re here to help,'” said Foley.

The program utilizes mobile vehicles equipped with trained case managers who provide immediate assistance, including printing IDs and accessing necessary information on the spot. This hands-on approach has resulted in 97% of participants remaining housed after one year, a statistic that Foley proudly highlights as unmatched in the country.

TSA’s broader efforts to combat food insecurity have also been significant.

“We’ve had two years in a row of a 40% increase in requests for food assistance,” Foley noted.

The organization has responded by providing hot meals at various locations and assisting more families during the holiday season.

“We assisted about 10% more families this year for Christmas,” Foley said, highlighting the ongoing need for support.

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The Street Level program is particularly noteworthy for its personalized approach. Case managers work directly with individuals to address their specific needs, whether it’s fixing a car, paying back rent, or finding affordable housing.

“Someone’s descent into homelessness could have started with four flat tires,” Foley explained. “We can help you get new tires or fix your transmission, and then we work directly with landlords to find housing that a person can afford and sustain on their own.”

Fundraising doesn’t stop after Christmas

The kettles have been put away for the season, but post-Christmas virtual fundraising has begun at NorthwestRedKettle.org. The goal is $300,000, a figure the organization is well short of so far. Donations made online are allocated to the donor’s local community based on their credit card’s zip code.

TSA allows donors to designate their contributions to specific programs or communities.

“If no designation is given, the contribution stays in the community that matches the zip code of either your check or credit card,” Foley explained.

This flexibility ensures that donations are used where they are most needed.

2025 will be a battle against funding shortfalls

Looking ahead to 2025, Foley expressed cautious optimism.

“How we do through Christmas really determines what the rest of the year will look like,” she said. “Early indications are that Christmas did well, but Western Washington is still down six and a half percent, so we will have to make that up in the local community.”

TSA ranks high among charitable organizations that use donor funds efficiently.

“In the five years of this program, 97% of the people we housed are still successfully housed to this day,” Foley said.

This impressive retention rate is achieved through continuous support and personalized case management, ensuring that individuals have the resources they need to maintain their housing.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X and email him here.