Several B.C. charities are making a last-minute call for donations as this year’s giving season has been particularly slow.

Deborah Lowell, communications and marketing director for the Salvation Army’s B.C. branch told CTV Vancouver that the donations for its annual kettle campaign are currently $150,000 behind where they were this time last year.

"We are significantly behind," she said. "We’re just asking the community to show a strong response in these last few days before Christmas so that we can in turn continue to provide support and practical assistance to those we serve."

The Salvation Army, which offers food, shelter, clothing and safe houses for those in need, has a goal of raising $4.5 million by the campaign’s deadline on Christmas Eve.

It’s not the only charity seeing a donation shortfall this year. Don Evans, executive director of Our Place Society in Victoria said that his organization is short $130,000 this giving season.

"We’ve seen things much slower this year," he said. "We depend on December. Half of our donations come in in December and that funds our operation for the year."

Our Place Society offers meals, shelters and drop-in spaces in Victoria, as well as Christmas gifts to those staying in their shelter on Christmas morning.

"The pressure on our shelters is high with people that are trying to get inside and trying to get warm," Evans said. "This is such a difficult time for a lot of people to wake up on Christmas morning and have a gift or have a stocking is pretty important when you don’t have a home and don’t have family to be with."

Evans also said he’s not sure why giving is lower this year, but that there could be many factors involved.

"I don’t know if it’s more organizations that are in need or if people are feeling stretched, but there could be some donor fatigue," he said. "We’ve seen this trend for a little while here so I think it’s something that we need to be concerned about as a community of charities."

Meanwhile, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank has had a stronger season of holiday giving.

"We’re doing well," said Aart Schuurman Hess, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. "We are focusing on nutrition and I think what’s really important is that people have really picked up on donating money."

Schuurman said the food bank is focusing on acquiring highly nutritious options that are low in sodium and sugar. He also pointed out that monetary donations go a long way, since the food bank is able to purchase items at a cheaper rate.

"One dollar converts into at least three dollars’ worth of food for us," he said.

Schuurman also said that monetary donations given now help support the food bank’s needs throughout the entire year.

"Hunger is around 365 days a year," he said. "Anything we collect right now we really put to work, particularly in the summer months when we work with local farmers and we get that highly nutritious food from our own fields to our members. So yes, those dollars are being spread out until the summer."

To all those who already have donated, Schuurman said he is grateful.

"A huge thank you to our community," he said. "There are people in our communities that need that support and they are really thankful for a community that stands behind them."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber