Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign Still Successful, Iconic

This article from Philanthropy News Digest has some impressive reports about the success of the Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign:

PND - News - Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign Still Successful, Iconic

It's interesting to me that their online donations are so small... perhaps indicating that the strength of the campaign is not interest in the particular organization, but in charity itself. I would argue that ANY organization that had the ability to sit in front of stores with their kettles and bells would be almost as successful; part of the success relies on the pervasiveness of the campaign within our culture.

Kudos to Salvation Army for dominating this method of fundraising. They have, in many ways, created the market of undesignated donations from the general public (i.e. those who do not have a particular affiliation with the organization).