Despite reported pushback, Salvation Army’s kettles set record in recent challenge

An early December poll may have found some Americans dissatisfied with The Salvation Army’s now-withdrawn document on racism, but those concerns have not hit the charity’s trademark Red Kettle campaign.

Officials at The Salvation Army’s Arlington, Virginia, headquarters said Tuesday that a four-hour national sidewalk challenge in early December raised $1.1 million, more than double the $540,000 figure from last year.

Spokesman Joseph Cohen told The Washington Times via email that The Salvation Army “is seeing a generous response to the Red Kettle campaign from the public to help hardworking Americans overcome pandemic poverty this Christmas. We have no information to suggest that the efforts of any political action group are affecting the Red Kettle results.”

Mr. Cohen said the group is “actively engaging with our longtime supporters” in the wake of social media campaigns and news coverage slamming the organization for the now-withdrawn “Let’s Talk About Racism” curriculum. The Salvation Army said the document was intended only as a discussion guide for church members and not to direct donor actions.

The spokesman said the charity “will have a clearer picture of year-over-year fundraising results early in 2022.”

Including Red Kettle contributions, The Salvation Army raised $557 million during the fiscal 2020 holiday season. That represented 23.5% of the $2.3 billion in public donations over the whole year, the group’s financial report revealed.

National Commander Kenneth Hodder said The Salvation Army hopes to raise $175 million of its overall holiday donations this year from its Red Kettle campaign, which originated in San Francisco in 1891.

The organization responded to data from RMG Research, operated by pollster Scott Rasmussen, showing previous donors’ lack of confidence in The Salvation Army.

An RMG Research survey sponsored by Color Us United, an advocacy group calling on The Salvation Army to “just say” America is not a racist country, found that 32% were either “somewhat less likely” (12%) or “much less likely” (20%) to donate when told about the anti-racism guide.

The Salvation Army guide asks White members to “consider repenting for the ‘sin’ of racism” and said the organization presents “the view that America is a structurally racist society” through a “new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program.”

Asked that same question, 32% said the moves made them “much more likely” (21%) or “somewhat more likely” (11%) to donate to the charity.

According to 28% of respondents, the disclosure had “no impact” on their likelihood of giving to The Salvation Army.

The RMG Research survey said The Salvation Army “is training members in the belief that America is a structurally racist society” and asked respondents whether they held a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the organization.

Here too, the response was evenly divided: 41% held either a “very favorable” (21%) or “somewhat favorable” view of The Salvation Army, while 41% were either “very unfavorable” (23%) or “somewhat unfavorable” (18%) in their opinion.

The RMG Research surveyed 1,200 registered voters online from Dec. 6-8. Of that number, 77% reported they or a family member had ever donated to The Salvation Army.

The poll’s margin of error was 2.8 percentage points.

Mr. Cohen, The Salvation Army spokesman, said the organization “remains focused on its mission of serving those in need without discrimination during this holiday, but it is disappointing to see a poll that uses such patently false information in its questions.

“That is simply not true and misleads the public,” he said.

The nonprofit group Color Us United describes itself as “a national campaign to advocate for a race-blind America.”

A $6,000 Facebook advertising buy, along with unspecified spending on Twitter ads, “is having a dramatic effect on The Salvation Army’s public perception,” said Kenny Xu, the president of Color Us United.

“We’re doing a no-holds-barred social media campaign for the constructive purpose of getting The Salvation Army to release a statement that America is not a racist country,” Mr. Xu said.

If the America-is-not-racist statement is not released before Christmas, Mr. Xu told reporters, “we will be back in 2022. [If] The Salvation Army does not accede to its constituents and donors, we will be back. We will be constantly monitoring this situation.”