Despite their best efforts to attract the attention - and garner philanthropic spirit - of passersby, Salvation Army bell ringers aren't seeing as much money pass into their red kettles as they would like, according to the Nonprofit Times.

So far, the Red Kettle Campaign has earned $5 million along the East Coast, the source reports. This is $1 million lower than it was last year at this time. Some attribute this decrease to individual's earlier contributions to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, but Major John Hodgson, the Salvation Army's Eastern Territory community relations and development secretary, said that he expects the fundraising efforts will pick up. Last year, the organization broke records for its winter campaign, and Hodgson expects that the same could happen this year when all is said and done.

Another reason for slower dollar donations could be online fundraising options. Rich Draeger, assistant director of development at The Salvation Army division headquarters in Peoria, Illinois, told The Register-Mail that websites are becoming a more important part of holiday campaigns.

As foundations tap into emerging digital channels to raise funds online, they can benefit from nonprofit fundraising software that tracks incoming donations and quantitatively measures the success of their efforts.