Junk mail is the bane of my existence. I hate to call mail from a nonprofit organization junk, but that's what it feels like when a bunch of envelopes show up from organizations I've barely even heard of. I pick charities to support myself, I don't need them to pick me.

The worst offenders, in my opinion, are the packets of address labels. To begin with, my husband and I both go by our middle names, so labels from a mailing list with the name on my credit card are only usable for bills - which we mostly pay online these days.

They also make me wonder how much the organization spent to send them to me when we don't even have a connection. I don't read mail from companies and organizations I don't know, even if it's a fat envelope. And are flowers and puppies on address labels for my husband really going to make him write a check?

Can You Argue With Success?

Apparently, though, nonprofits use the address labels because they work. A 2006 article in the Barre Montpelier Times Argus (VT) called Stuck with labels: Return-address stickers are popular ways to elicit donations may be a couple of years old, but it reported that major organizations who use the labels report a healthy return from those campaigns despite a low response rate:

They would typically expect only a 1 percent response rate to such a mailing, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy in Chicago. That's not a problem for agencies like the American Red Cross, Disabled American Veterans or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, all of which report substantial proceeds from their campaigns. The labels cost so little to produce and distribute that even a small response more than covers the costs. And the nonprofits say their real goal is to establish loyal, steady supporters, not one-time donors. For each of its mailings, St. Jude grosses about $6 million, said Lori O'Brien, senior vice president of national direct marketing.

(The word "gross" leads me to think that you need to subtract the cost of the mailing to get the actual dollars raised, meaning they're making less than $6 million, but that may also be sloppy reporting.)

In Show Me The Premium: The old acquire-by-gift, renew-by-gift cycle continues, The NonProfit Times reports that address labels result in a higher response rate and larger average gifts than a letter alone. The article also includes some details about St. Jude's testing approaches, showing that the inclusion of items like address labels, notepads, and other gifts isn't just a whim - it's a science.

Feelings... Nothing More Than Feelings...

It turns out I'm not the only one who dislikes the clutter. On Suite101, author Estela Kennen says "Stop with the Free Address Labels" for a few reasons: she doesn't send many letters, she gets too many, and she ends up feeling guilty when she doesn't donate.

In the Nonprofit Times article, an executive with a direct marketing firm says that last part is what's most important:

Guilt is absolutely one of the major motivations for all charities. So anything you can do to get (donors) into that frame of mind is probably a good thing.

I hate to argue with success, but I really wish people would explore the full range of human emotions when trying to motivate giving, including joy, hope, and fun! Ziggy address labels are probably fun for some demographic, but not mine.

Avoiding Junk Mail (And Guilt)

I've found that most nonprofits are better than most companies about removing you from their mailing lists if you ask them to. Some people feel bad about making these type of requests, but remember that you're not doing the nonprofit any favors by staying on their list if you don't intend to give them any money.

To make it as easy on yourself as possible, go to their website to make the request. Using their contact form or email address, whichever they have, and send them a note with the exact name and mailing address on the document you received. I've never gotten anything less than a pleasant, courteous response when I've made these requests.

You should also contact the charities that you do support and ask them to not share, sell, or trade your name on their mailing lists with other charities. They may not do so right now, but it never hurts to check.

[Image by ever figueroa.]