Our mail carrier told us on several occasions that we get more mail than anyone else on his route. We average about seventy-five to a hundred pieces a day. Most of the mail is from fund raisers, so I thought I would share a few of their techniques that are common to most of them.
First, most of them are from companies hired to write letters that will evoke a response from the receiver to make them want to give. They pick stories that will arouse your sympathy or empathy with whomever the story is about, and then they apply it with a broad brush to include many who are in need.
There are needs out there, so I don’t mean this to be a turn-off to helping all charities, many of whom are worthy of your help. I’m just fed up with the ones that use the same old tactics, just to get your contributions.
We receive large numbers of mailings with surveys to fill out that always end in a request for a donation and then many of them tell you how much you should give. They are written by professional fund-raisers and the questions are organized in a way to get “yes” answers out of you right up to the last one, “will you help us?, etc.”
I often fill out the long surveys, which takes a long time, and mail them back without a contribution. My thinking is, if they really want the survey, then they will have it. If they are only after the contribution and throw the survey away, then they are not succeeding with me. Some envelopes even have a place on the outside to check if you included a contribution or just the survey. This could be for sorting, but I believe it is to see which ones have contributions in them, because that is their main focus.
Some try tricks like writing something on the outside of the envelope that entices you to open it. “Check inside.” “Do not bend, photo inside.” “Important medical information.”
Others put coins, checks for small amounts, dollar bills or bags of seeds in them. They usually ask you to return what they sent. Some might be gifts to encourage you to give. These may include socks, baby clothing, small blankets, T-shirts, flags, pens, pencils, calculators, flashlights, calendars, pads, planners, address labels and on-and-on. I have about six calculators from the mail. All this is intended to get you to open the envelope.
Then there is the “matching challenge.” This one is used by all kinds of organizations, and it works to some degree. Anyone giving likes the idea that the effect of their contribution is doubled. It’s another gimmick that even I fall prey to for some causes I believe are worthy, but they could have my money with out the tricks.
I realize that they need money to operate, but I question if what they are doing is necessary. I believe in point-blank honesty, period. I know I can’t get this from most political groups, they are mostly self-serving, sad to say.
We get a lot of political fund-raising letters. If I give them anything, it is rare. If there is a candidate that I want to see elected, then I give. I don’t give to any political party, just individual campaigns. We get, not just one of these letters, but one to me, one identical to my wife, then another identical one to Mr. and Mrs. Then I get some with misspelled name and address. These I just toss. It’s a big waste of postage and of our time. Some groups send something almost every day. I can spot the duplicates and just toss them, but I have to remove important information from them.
Here is the dilemma: Every day when I get home from work, I find my wife deep into the daily mail. I jump in and help her finish it. I am seventy-four and she is seventy-one. Seventy-five to a hundred pieces of mail takes a lot of time to open and see what they’re each about. By the time we finish the mail and eat our evening meal, maybe watch the news, it is time to go to bed. Our free time has been devoured by the daily mail.
What to do?
I invested in a shredder, then I bought a bigger shredder, but neither is large enough to handle mail with coins, and I really don’t want to grind U.S. currency up anyway. I think it is illegal. My sister-in-law has an outdoor “incinerator” which she uses to dispose of the left over mail, but I don’t want to go that way. I hesitate to toss it in the trash with perhaps some information that could aid “identity theft.”
Something’s got to give here.
I bet that if we all wrote “return to sender” on them, some of them might get the idea.
I hate to write “deceased,” that would be dishonest.
I’m sure many of you can identify with this. If you have any ideas, send me an email and I’ll post them.
