Holiday Donation Season Wrapping Up in Roseville

News of giving has blown through the winds of Minnesota in the last month as non-profits looked to reach their fundraising goals.

But at least one organzation- The Salvation Army Northern Division in Roseville- will be surprised if it meets its goal.

The Salvatioin Army had been frantically taking in donations as it looked to reach its  goal of  $11.4 million dollars for 2011. As Thursday this week, the organization had raised $9.6 million.

Salvation Army's Annette Bauer said her organization expects a few more checks to roll in and the final counting is not yet completed. But she said it appears unlikely the Salvation Army will meet its goal this time.

The Salvation Army had $11 million in donations in 2010 as donations rolled in late that year, surpassing its goal of $9.5 million.

"That was really extraordinary," Bauer said.

The Salvation Army had also seen an increased need as it served 277,000 people metro-wide in 2010 after serving 214,000 in 2009. The numbers represented about a 35 percent increase.

Roseville was the site of a string of anonymous holiday season donations of $1,000 in red kettles throughout the metro and the state. Seven donations of $1,000 were left in red kettles at the Rosedale Center on Nov. 21. Another donation showed up in a red kettle at the Har-Mar Mall Cub Foods in Roseville on Nov. 29.

"We call the person 'saint grand' because we don't know if it's a him or her," Bauer said. "It's very saintly of them to keep donating anonymously."

The Salvation Army also received a recent gift of $50,000 from a Roseville resident on a double match day.

Roseville's Goodwill store has also received a generous amount of donations and sales this past year. (The organization does not disclose individual store sales figures). The non-profit had its best year in sales for the fiscal 2011. It also received 300 donations daily, according to organization officials.

"We have lots of loyal donors and shoppers," Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota director of marketing Lisa Ritter said.

Presbyterian Homes in Roseville has also had success in donations and volunteer participation during 2011. The headquarters for Presbyterian Homes is also in Roseville, and the organization had 3,591 volunteers involved regionally in 2011. The Roseville site had 130 volunteers that put in 8,30 hours in 2011.

"They've been a very stable and faithful cadre of volunteers," Presbyterian Homes communications specialist Cynthia Ray said.