Charitable giving drops this season High oil costs, cold weather press donors to keep their cash

PORTLAND – Charitable organizations are seeing falling donations this holiday season as high oil prices, cold weather and the mortgage credit crunch have combined to create a “perfect storm of economic pressures.”

About half of the 24 Salvation Army offices in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have had a decline in Red Kettle Campaign donations or are just breaking even, said Salvation Army regional spokeswoman Patricia James.

Internet shopping also might be a factor, suggested Maj. Carl Carvill of the Nashua, N.H., Salvation Army.

“I’m always impressed with the generosity of people of northern New England, especially in this area,” Carvill said, “and they’re just as generous as they’ve always been. There just don’t seem to be enough of them passing by our kettles out there.”

Capt. Joshua Lyle of The Salvation Army’s Bangor office said that so far this season, the 25 red kettles in the Bangor and Brewer area have brought in 20 percent less than they did last year. He said donations abruptly dropped off on the first very cold Saturday and have remained low during the past two weeks.

“We only get 35 days a year to stand. We’re not allowed inside the stores and people are rushing to their car and they don’t think to stop and give to us,” Lyle said Monday.

Lyle said he hopes that by putting kettles in new areas, such as Ellsworth, Newport and Lincoln, his area will reach its $150,000 goal this year. He was reluctant to mention how much money each kettle collects because in the past, the volunteers and paid workers staffing the kettles have been followed to the bank on their way to make deposits. Some have even been robbed, he said.

The Nashua agency is having a hard time finding workers to man the donation baskets, so it is not operating as many as usual.

In the Portland area, red kettle donations are shy of the $150,000 fundraising goal by about $20,000, said Lt. Col. Joe Bassett of the agency’s Portland office.

“We are seeing fewer and fewer people at our kettles,” said Bassett. “The impact means we can’t provide the same quality programs or services that we have in the past, and more and more people are asking for help this year.”

The Salvation Army uses the money collected in the kettles for its year-round programs and services, from summer camps to general assistance.

At The Salvation Army office in Rockland, officials worry they may not have enough food to provide food baskets to needy families this holiday season. As of Friday, only 90 baskets had been filled, leaving 50 families without a food basket.

While donations are down for many agencies, the need for assistance is going up.

The Rev. Bill Bliss, pastor of United Church of Christ in Bath, said the surge in heating oil prices is leaving some of his parishioners on the brink.

“I know of some people who are in the midst of a mortgage foreclosure,” Bliss said. “This year seems to be the perfect storm of economic pressures.”

Jessica Tysen, executive director of the Mid Coast Maine Community Action program in Bath, said her agency has received 3,300 applications for heating fuel assistance this year – and winter hasn’t even officially arrived.

The high fuel costs have increased the calls for help while also making for tight times for people who give.

“Even if people have extra money, they are probably not going to be as generous as they have in the past,” Tysen said. “Everyone is uncertain about what is going to happen this winter [with heating oil costs]. We are seeing fear, concern, and to be honest, people are desperate.”

BDN staff writer Anne Ravana contributed to this report.