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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There could be less jingle in the Salvation's Army's hallmark red kettles this season. The charity is testing kettles that take debit and credit cards.
The growth of so-called "plastic kettles" comes as fewer shoppers carry cash. Bell ringers who stand outside stores during the holiday season say that more and more shoppers are shaking their heads and smiling as they pass by, apologizing for not having spare change or cash to drop in the red kettles.
Last year, the Salvation Army tested the credit machines in two cities, Dallas and Colorado Springs. This year, the plastic kettles will be tested in more than 120 cities.
In Colorado Springs, fundraising last year went up $64,000 from the year before, an 11 percent increase. About $5,000 of the increase was from donors using credit or debit cards at the kettles.
"It used to be people would spend their money at the store counters, walk out and drop their change in the kettles. They don't shop that way anymore," said Maj. Don Gilger, coordinator of the Salvation Army of El Paso County, Colo. "We all realize that people are carrying less cash than they did 10 years ago."
The kettles that take credit don't look any different. But next to the red metal kettles are wireless card readers that resemble do-it-yourself readers at gas stations. The machines print two receipts, one for the donor and one to drop in the kettle. Salvation Army pays credit-processing fees the same as any retailer.
The charity says its red kettles brought in more than $130 million nationwide last year, an increase of 17 percent from 2007. Salvation Army officials aren't sure how much of the increase came from credit or debit donations.
Anecdotal evidence indicates people who stop to make credit or debit donations make larger gifts, at least a few dollars.
Denver-area bell ringers getting ready to try the new machines said the plastic kettles could make it safer to volunteer. The charity insists that red kettle thefts are rare, but volunteer bell ringers say that robberies happen and that volunteers would be safer standing next to kettles with less cash.
"It's a lot cleaner process, a lot safer for everyone," said Hardway Boyed, who runs a drug and alcohol treatment program for the Salvation Army and volunteers as a bell ringer. A volunteer he works with was robbed three years ago outside a post office, and Boyed called the cashless donations "fantastic."
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