The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Salvation Army has seen a 30 per cent drop in donations this year and is “way behind” its monetary target for its charity goals this holiday season, with the divisional commander citing the upcoming Value Added Tax (VAT) as a possible reason for the organisation’s struggle to raise funds.

Lester Ferguson told The Tribune yesterday that its meal appeal and Christmas bell ringing campaign – the organisation’s main money generating initiatives during the holiday season – have been less successful than usual.

He said: “This year we are way behind and we suspect that with the upcoming VAT, a lot of people don’t have as much disposable income as they would’ve liked to have had. We’ve seen a 30 per cent drop off in our donations this year and that is significant for us and I would imagine that other non-profit organisations are feeling the pinch as well.

“We have an annual Christmas programme and, of course, the Salvation Army runs throughout the year. During Christmas we try to concentrate on the elderly, the disabled and marginalized persons. Our budget for Christmas is around $50,000, which is used to accommodate people coming for assistance during Christmas time. Other funds we raise help sustain our programme at least during the first couple of months of the year. We try to do stuff during Christmas when people are most generous, but come January people will still need to eat.”

Mr Ferguson said it is never too late to donate to the organisation.

“We are always hopeful,” he said, “and I believe if people get the word that there are these needs that various charities have, they will step up to the plate because often people don’t know the needs that exist.”

Meanwhile Caroline Turnquest, the director general of the Bahamas Red Cross, told The Tribune that compared to last year, her organisation is meeting its monetary targets.

“We have successfully this year done four annual Christmas food parcels to the Family Islands,” she said. “We sent things directly to the people who actually need help. (Today) the executive team will be coming to help deliver meals to people in need throughout New Providence.”

Ms Turnquest said much of the charity’s success raising money this holiday season is because of the donation from a single anonymous donor.

“We had a challenge last year, but thanks to a few donors we got straight at the end of the day,” she said. “This year we have a particular donor that sent us funds so we didn’t have to do an appeal this year. We were able to use those funds and we are very grateful to that anonymous donor. The person didn’t let us know who they were, but sent the money through a law firm.”