Even in the midst of a recession, some local charitable organizations say donations remain constant.

The Boy Scouts of America have seen a rise in donations this past year.

“Donations actually increased this year by about 10 percent,” said District Executive Tom Heneghan. The Boy Scouts raise most of their money through Trails End popcorn sales.

Seventy percent of all popcorn sales go back to the Boy Scouts. From there, the money is divided in half. Thirty-five percent goes to the council and 35 percent goes to the actual troop. In response to the recession, the Boy Scouts have had to change fundraising strategies somewhat.

“We are proactive; we want people to make sure they know what the money is being used for,” Heneghan said. “We use a brochure with pictures and graphs so they can see examples of where their money is going. We have found that by showing people where their money is going, it goes a long way.”

Another organization that has seen more donations is Relay for Life, which works with the American Cancer Society. Relay for Life holds a walkathon for 24 hours and will hold a walk in April at the Convocation Center, Nelson said.

“Last year, we had 93 teams signed up; to this day, this year we are at 53 teams, which is ahead of where we were last year,” said Keri Nelson, income development manager for Relay for Life. “We are heading in the right direction and it looks very secure.”

Relay for Life raised $70,006 last year. This year, they are hoping to raise $100,000. As personal donations remain constant, business donations have dropped slightly.

“We are seeing a crust of smaller amounts being donated from corporate businesses,” Nelson said. “The donations are harder to get, and it’s a little harder to get them to say yes in sponsoring us.”

To this day, the organization is $500 ahead of last year’s numbers.

Some students try to find room in their budgets to donate even in a recession.

“I donate because there are people less fortunate out there, and they don’t have the things I have,” said freshman biology major Chelsea Mamott. “I donate a lot to the veterans, because I feel they are underrepresented in our society, and people need to look out for them.”