CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society annual fund drive recently ended, netting the most ever collected per capita on the island, according to the fund drive coordinator.

In all, $415,709 was raised during the 10-week campaign, said Lt. Cmdr. Tom DeLucia. The total donation among the 14,664 persons contacted averaged $28.35 per person.

“Of course not everyone contacted made a donation and many folks were very generous,” DeLucia said. “In fact, we had nine folks that gave over $1,000 each and 44 people that gave over $500.”

With more unit deployments, he said, the number of potential contributors decreased by more than 4,000 — 28 percent — from 2004.

“I was hoping people would give generously and they did,” he said. “Thanks to my entire team for educating our troops on the benefits of giving to the society.”

The high operating tempo also might have sparked more donations, DeLucia said. “Maybe because of all the deployments in recent months ... folks may know what it is like to experience some type of financial crisis while their spouse was deployed,” he said. “That experience may have motivated them to help others.”

DeLucia said that while not worried about people being less generous, he did feel he took a risk this year by not offering prize drawings or raffles to attract donations, as has been done in past years. He said the society prefers drives be focused on education about the organization’s benefits, not prizes.

The NMCRS provides financial assistance through budget counseling, post-secondary education scholarships and grants or loans for active-duty and retired Navy and Marine Corps servicemembers and their families.