The Salvation Army began in 1865 when William Booth, a London minister, gave up the pulpit to take his message into the streets where it would reach the poor, homeless, hungry, and destitute. Today it is a global army of good, helping millions of people in need, including, most recently, the victims of Hurricane Katrina. This week, we celebrate the fundraising successes of The Salvation Army's corps in Texas and Florida.

The Salvation Army, one of the largest and oldest nonprofits in the country, has a broad mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs without discrimination. This mission manifests itself through more than 110 services offered, including shelters, meal programs, Christmas toys, after-school programs, emergency assistance, and drug and alcohol counseling.

When Target, Inc., announced last Christmas that it would no longer allow kettle ringers outside its store, The Salvation Army was faced with losing $9 million, and corps across the country were gearing up for budget shortfalls.

But many were already looking into other sources of fundraising. Several corps went through a special, customized Benevon 101 Workshop for The Salvation Army in Dallas in October of 2004. Afterwards, each team began holding Point of Entry tours called "Behind the Red Shield" that gave potential donors a better understanding of what they do.

This spring, six Texas Division corps—Fort Worth, Arlington, Galveston, Abilene, Brownwood, and Tyler—raised a cumulative total of $748,018 in gifts and pledges at their "Doing the Most Good" fundraising Ask Events based on the Benevon Model.

In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, The Salvation Army received a surprise $2 million gift from one of the donors at its Ask Event breakfast. "No one knew he was going to do this," said Sally Gress, director of development. "He got up during the pledge and went outside, so we thought he was leaving."

Instead, the anonymous donor was talking to someone about his intended gift to help The Salvation Army provide housing and services to families.

"This [Benevon] program is something we should have been doing a while ago," said Paul Curnow, the divisional director of development in Texas. "This program gives us a step between direct mail and major gifts, and it gives us a new group of potential major gift donors."

Curnow said this spring The Salvation Army in Texas was blessed to receive donations from 329 donors, 59% of which were new donors.

"What you all have captured is doing the things we know we should be doing, but you make us do them," he said of Benevon. "For me, the highlights have been coaching and training, especially when it comes to speeches. The way you work with officers and staff is right on target. You won't let us get away with anything, and what we come away with is a high-quality product."

Curnow said he was skeptical of putting on a fundraising Ask Event^™ because in all his years of major donor work, he's never liked the idea of getting people together in a room to ask them for money. But he said this approach, when done well, really works.

"What's remarkable is that when we follow the 'recipe,' we are successful," he said.

To donate to The Salvation Army's efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, please click here.