One penny, nickel, dollar or credit card swipe at a time, the Grand Forks Salvation Army raised about $30,000 more than it had hoped for during its 2010 annual bell-ringing campaign.
Maj. Harold Baugh said the campaign goal was to raise $280,000, including $110,000 from donations at the red kettles stationed at stores around the community during the holiday season.
But a total of $311,226 was collected -- about $20,000 more than what was raised during the 2009 fundraising campaign.
Baugh said the Salvation Army took in $154,226 from the kettles, about $44,000 more than the kettle goal.
"That was our big increase," he said.
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One new thing for the 2010 campaign was the "paper kettles" available at Hugo's grocery stores that could be added to a customer's purchase to donate $1 to the Salvation Army. Baugh said $27,904 was raised that way, "which was amazing."
"It's always a good feeling to go over your goal, but you're never sure when you set it every year how it's going to go," he said.
Baugh said the local campaign benefited from the relatively decent weather in Grand Forks over the holiday season -- meaning local volunteers didn't lose bell ringing days to the big snowstorms that ground the Twin Cities and Fargo to a halt.
"The giving spirit of the people of Grand Forks made up for the rest," he said. "So we'll be able to buy a few more groceries and do a few other things we hadn't budgeted for in the coming year."
Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
