An uncharitable rant...

I seem to have found myself on multiple mailing lists for multiple charities.
I've just dealt with several letters asking for money - very few solicited!

Now, before I begin this rant, let me say: charities do good work.  Times are tough. We need our charities more than ever.  They need donors more than ever.

BUT...

How many address labels does one person need? Taking into account that Charity A does not know that Charities B, C, & D also send me address labels; Charity A has sent me enough address labels to cater for multiple letters a month.  Who writes letters these days? (Well, I do... but apparently no one else does).  I know address labels are simple, mailable.  But please...

Don't send me crap.
I hate the labels, the calendars.  Last week I got two different envelopes that each had a carry bag in them.  A cheap, unpleasant carry bag.  Dear Charity, please hope I don't actually use it.  It's going to make you look bad and make me feel bad about you.
If you must send me cards, send me nice ones. I'm not sending those cheap and nasty cards to my friends. They are going in the recycling and that's a waste of time, money and resources for both of us.
Try to 'value-add' in a creative way.
I love what the Salvos do; for the Christmas appeal they include a card you can sign and send with your gift (a nice card!).

Dear Charities, please don't address your letter to "Dear Supporter" when I've never supported you before in my life.  See me... I'm not a generic supporter.

Having said that, please don't mail-merge my name into every second paragraph.  I know how to use mail-merge too you know.

I *loved* opening a letter recently that promised "no address labels you'll never use", "no gifts that we can't afford" (yay! good start!), but even though they didn't send me crap, they still managed to send a three page letter! I hate the long letters  - who reads them? Do they advocate for this in fundraising school?

If I decide to send you a cheque, make your form fit in the pre-paid envelope you sent me.  It's a small thing, but I hate having to re-fold the form.

Give me an 'unsubscribe' option.  And don't hide it in the fine print.

Oh how uncharitable can one person be???

In my defence, I have a number of charities I support regularly.
I recommend The Wayside Chapel.
I've been 'friend' for some time and they do good work.  They've never sent me address labels.  But they do have a cool newsletter called "The Verge".
I support Australia for UNHCR.  UNHCR are on the front line of assisting displaced people around the world providing clean water and shelter in times of need. They've also never sent address labels, but they do send email updates and a newsletter.

Supporting charities is such a personal thing. I hope if you're able to, you do.  Don't let an uncharitable rant discourage you!