c. 2004 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) For more than a century, the Salvation Army has been helping the needy during the holidays. But now the red-clad bell ringers are the ones getting some extra help to make sure their familiar kettles and donations of loose change don’t vanish like Santa’s sleigh.

On the heels of news that coin-catching kettles would no longer be welcome at Target stores nationwide, five retail chains are boosting the Salvation Army’s presence at their stores. Companies that will either introduce or expand their red kettle programs include BJ’s Wholesale Club, Books-A-Million, Michaels Stores, Circuit City and AutoZone.

As the bell-ringing season officially begins on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25) with the help of CBS and the Dallas Cowboys’ halftime “Kettle Kickoff” show, the Salvation Army is clearly depending on big business to open the door to thousands of small donations. Last year the red kettles at commercial properties brought in $93 million for local relief efforts. Organizers hope this year could bring in as much or more.

Though non-solicitation policies have swept the kettles off many a national retailer’s stoop in recent years, some in business are seeing a fresh opportunity to align with what they regard as a quality brand charity.

“The Salvation Army was facing a fund-raising deficit, so we decided to expand our relationship,” said Amy Russ, director of community relations for BJ’s Wholesale Club. Before this year, BJ’s had welcomed the Army’s gift shopping program for needy children at its 154 shopping clubs on the East Coast, but not its kettles.

The Salvation Army’s gains and losses for kettle platforms this year are triggering questions about what’s motivating businesses to move in opposite directions. Why would some see an affiliation with the kettles as an advantage while others are coming to see it as a liability?

The answer might have something to do with the Army’s dual identity as a brand-name, well-respected charity on the one hand, and a fiery vehicle for saving souls through Jesus Christ on the other.

“As a result of the scandals, big companies are almost desperate to show they’re about something more than making money,” said Marc Gunther, senior writer at Fortune magazine and author of “Faith and Fortune: The Quiet Revolution to Reform American Business.”

Keeping a well-known charity away may seem counterintuitive, Gunther said, but some companies may be equally sensitive to other concerns, including brand-name image and religious sensitivity.

“It just shows you’re getting different thinking within corporate America,” he said. “… Companies are becoming more caring and compassionate. They just don’t want to do it through a specific religion.”

In Gunther’s estimate, big companies almost always avoid identification with “anything that’s seen as sectarian and divisive.” Here, the Army’s dedication to Christian evangelism could potentially raise eyebrows in a corporate board room.

According to Target spokesperson Lena Michaud, concerns about endorsing a religious project were not a factor in the decision to drop the kettles. The company has a long-standing policy of not allowing any solicitation on its premises, she said. This year it chose to end its traditional exemption for the Salvation Army, lest Target be accused of playing favorites of any sort.

“It became increasingly difficult to say yes to one organization and say no to other worthy organizations,” Michaud said. “It was strictly a consistency issue.”

Kettles at Target stores brought in $8.9 million last year, or approximately $10,000 per Target store through the holiday season. To help make up the loss, the charity is steering potential givers to its Web site, http://www.salvationarmyusa.org, which generated $1.6 million during the holidays last year.

But for companies that are giving their blessing to bell ringers this year, the Salvation Army’s traditions for generosity and caring trump any concerns about sectarianism. The main question for them is who’s reliable when folks really need help. Their answer, they are finding, is the Salvation Army.

At Big Lots, a discount merchandiser with more than 1,400 stores in 46 states, the company’s 45,000 employees have over the years answered surveys about which charities they would like their employer to support. When results were tallied, the Salvation Army shared top standing with Toys for Tots and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, according to spokesperson Keri Lucas.

“We’ve had employees lose everything in a fire or suffer another kind of loss, and the Salvation Army has been there to help them,” Lucas said. The Salvation Army’s religious affiliation “is a non-factor,” she said, adding that “we’ve never had anyone come and say, `Why are you affiliating with them?’ Not at all.”

In fact, Big Lots has made a special effort to draw attention this year to its 15-year tradition of hosting red kettles. When news reports were broadcasting where the kettles would be banned, Big Lots issued a statement of support saying, “The familiar sound of ringing bells and the friendly volunteers provide a reminder of the true meaning behind the holiday season.”

Not all of this year’s kettle hosts are quite so committed to the cause. Circuit City, for instance, is welcoming kettles at only six stores near its Richmond, Va., headquarters on a trial basis for this season. Customer feedback, among other factors, will determine whether the policy gets expanded or discontinued, according to spokesperson Bill Cimino.

As far as the charity’s religious affiliation is concerned, “some (donors) may give for that reason, and others may not give for the same reason,” said Theresa Whitfield, a spokeswoman for the Salvation Army’s national headquarters in Alexandria, Va. But in the end, she expects a universal concern for those in need to win the day as a motivating force.

“The American public is generous,” Whitfield said. “We think they will in fact want to give more (as a result of cutbacks in kettle stations). We think people will want to fill that void.”

KRE/PH END RNS