Snail Mail Charity Solicitation Items

[redhawker]

It seems that at least a couple of times a week, if not a couple a day some weeks, we receive something in the mail from a charity organization asking for money. Many of these have little "enticers" inside, such as return address labels with your name and address printed, note pads, Christmas or other types of card samples, or the like. I understand the intention here is to guilt you into making a donation. Approximately 99% of the time, there is no donation coming from us unless it's for an outfit we were likely going to donate to anyway.

My question to all of you is, what do y'all do with this stuff? Do you toss it or use it? Do you feel any obligation to send a donation?

I usually run the return labels through the shredder, and most of the other stuff I just toss in the round file. I usually keep the note pads because I'm always writing stuff down when I'm sitting at the computer. The Christmas and other greeting cards I have used a few of those but I usually just toss them too. Personally, I don't feel any obligation to donate, as I didn't ask them to send me anything, so I don't really feel any obligation to "pay" for the items.

I'm just kind of curious if this "guilt" tactic works at all. I'm sure it must work on enough people to make it worthwhile, or they wouldn't do it.

 

[coachk64]

Like you, I have a couple of charities that I give to. I generally don't give to those who send out the labels and cards, because I believe that too high a percentage of the money they collect goes to paying for solicitations, as well as the employees who work to develop them, which of course means a much smaller percentage goes to the charity. And I also believe that this model must work for them because these keep on coming, so I don't feel guilty if I happen to use some of these un-asked-for little gifts. Most of them do get trashed, but I usually keep the address labels, but nowadays we send so little mail that I probably have enough to last me the rest of my life.

 

[Jeepnik]

The junk mail has decreased in recent years. But email junk mail has increased. I just throw it in the trash. I donate to charities I support without enticement.

 

[Yaworski]

I use the return address labels on the rare occasion that I mail something. Those are the only freebies that I get.

 

[RoninPA]

Just remember that when you give to XXX charity, they will then sell your name and address and make money from that. I probably get 2 solicitations per day, 6 days per week no mail on Sunday). I only give to 3 or 4 regularly (but not every time they ask for it). Others, because I have investigated them and saw how actually much goes to the charity, they don't get a dime. Others, where the majority of the money goes to the charity and not to "overhead" (read that as executive salaries) have a better chance of me parting with some of my money. I keep some of the "gifts" that are sent and pitch the rest.

 

[Kevin]

It all goes in the trash.

And talking about solicitations, we have a "No soliciting" sign on our front door. It stops some people. but yesterday, someone must have seen it. Instead of leaving their business card on the door like usual, they just threw it in the front yard as they were walking away. I picked it up later when I took my dog out for a walk. Threw it away too.

What a jerk.

 

[Mobuck]

I keep and use the labels. Things are still 'old school' out here in the sticks and a significant amount of our monthly payments get mailed so the labels are useful.

 

[WAYNO]

I contribute to nobody that sends me labels. I can't grind them, as they've destroyed multiple shredders, so I cut them apart with scissors. I don't want their solicitations. I hope eventually they'll figure out they're wasting their time on me.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

I give to a select few, and very well vetted charities. But, if I like any of the labels that certain solicitors choose to send me...I'm absolutely 100% going to keep and use them...Because why not?!
Besides, I always figured that if they have enough money to print and mail complete strangers perfectly good adhesive labels, they don't need any of my money anyway.

 

[KIR]

I just sent the address label with my name and address to my GF as she recently said, she likes getting snail mail. I told her to send me some of her address labels to me. This way we won't have to write in each other's mail to info.
I also got a large Dream Catcher which I sent to my G'Daughter.
Finally in some of this soliciting mail, I get some note pads which come in handy. Sad to say, I never respond by sending $$ to any of them as I know they will continue sending solicitations and/or sharing my contact info with others.

 

[sceva]

I use the labels without any guilt. I remember many years ( several decades?) ago we received a bunch of fairly nice Christmas cards with envelopes from some charity outfit I never heard of asking for a donation or a return of the cards (at my expense). After getting nothing from me they sent a rather nasty letter saying that they had not received their expected donation and the wanted the cards back. My wife was all worried saying that we needed to pack them up and take them to the PO; instead I sent a polite letter back saying thank you for the Gift and a reminder that in Ohio at least any unsolicited items received could be considered as gifts and there was NO requirement to pay for or return them. Never heard from them again.

 

[eveled]

FWIW, I don’t like to put stickers on letters.

Having worked in a mail room, I remember stickers coming off and getting sucked up into the machine on the rollers.

At the very least it leaves your letter with no return address.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I use the address labels and note pads. Cook Children's Hospital is the largest donator of office supplies and I used to give to them when a friend had a cancer patient kid that was being cared for by them. But he ended up being a cancer so when we parted ways online, I stopped donating. I have labels for the rest of my life.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Keep anything useful.

Shred labels and anything else with my name/address on it. (I've saved enough labels to last for the rest of my life.)

Trash the rest.

 

[wproct]

I will use the labels. I have gotten sucked into charities because sometimes a person will request donations to their favorite charity when they pass away and if you write a check you will get stuff from them forever wanting more donations. Anymore I get really selective as to who I will donate to. One that I try to donate regularly to is Wounded Warriors.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Keep what’s useful, toss the rest. Except one entity which irks me. I open those and use their post paid return envelope to return all their unsolicited crap back to them. They don’t seem to have ever gotten the message.

 

[AJGUNNER]

While it has been a few years, I always appreciated the ones that came with a crisp new 1 dollar bill, or some would come with a shiny new quarter or even a Nickle. Don't forget to check before you trash.

 

[redhawker]

While it has been a few years, I always appreciated the ones that came with a crisp new 1 dollar bill, or some would come with a shiny new quarter or even a Nickle. Don't forget to check before you trash.

I got one the other day that had four nickels in it.