MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Target stores in the Twin Cities area have put an end to the Salvation Army's Christmastime drive in order to standardize their no-solicitation policy.
More than one-third of the charity's bell-ringing income in Minneapolis and St. Paul has come from soliciting customers at Target Brand Inc. storefronts, but the giant retailer notified the Army last January it will have to find alternate sites to entreat the public for donations, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Target spokeswoman Carolyn Brookter said the bell-ringing ban was precipitated by increasing requests from non-profit groups for similar solicitation rights.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to have an exception to our policy, so we decided we would have no exceptions. This year we just said it's time to ... make our solicitation policy consistent," Brookter said.
The Army's bell ringers raised more than three-quarters of a million dollars at 43 Target stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last year.
