Don’t Give Just at the Holidays

Whether it’s the guilt of not giving throughout the year, benevolence or for the last-minute tax write-off, charities see a significant increase in donations during the holiday season. Organizations report more toys, food and desperately needed money flow into shelters and service centers during December than any other time of the year. But what happens after the holidays when donations ebb? MAURA E. MONTELLANO spoke with a charity fund-raiser.

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RUSSELL PRINCE

Executive director of development, Salvation Army, Los Angeles

If we didn’t have the public’s generosity, we would be unable to serve the 600,000 people we reach in five counties. At Thanksgiving and Christmas in Los Angeles County alone, we serve more than 330,000 individuals with various types of assistance such as Christmas dinner, toys and clothes supported by our Christmas Red Kettle campaign

This Christmas season we hope to raise $1.5 million from the Christmas kettles alone. The majority of what we raise comes from the general public.

The Salvation Army runs many programs that most people aren’t aware of. We have the day care center in the garment district that has been there for 50 years. Then there’s Booth Memorial, which provides residential care for unwed mothers. We have a high school on the premises so the young women can graduate. In Pico-Union, we have a youth center where we run an after-school tutorial program for students. Our Hollywood Way-In program serves runaway teens who would otherwise be on the street.

People want to be a part of a program that changes lives. There are many benefits in giving. People want to see that their contributions are affecting lives in positive ways; they like to see the results. The American public has generously supported those needy and deserving neighbors who have fallen on hard times. People think, hey, that could be me. Most of us don’t need a motivation to help beyond simply wanting to do something for those less fortunate.

A few years ago, there was an in-depth analysis of the reasons why people give to charities. It found that the tax benefit was not even one of the top five reasons. We all want to help however we can. Many faiths encourage people to help those in need.

In America, $143.5 billion was given to charities in 1997. Of that amount, about 85% was contributed by individuals.

It’s true that donations drop after the holidays. To make up, during the year we apply to foundations for funding. We do mail appeals all year round. We also apply for government grants. We have specialized appeals throughout the year for programs such as summer camps. Raising money is an all-year-long project. Need knows no season.