Charitable Donation Solicitations

[SavingBucks]

I get way too many solicitations by mail from charities of all kinds. I donate to charity frequently but somehow I must be on a list....

1. Is there somewhere online like a Do Not Call List that I can register to reduce some of the clutter?

2. Many charities provide a return envelope with unused stamps on it. I would like thoughts on whether or not it is acceptable to carefully remove those stamps and use them in my daily postal life.

Thanks for any thoughts......

[disneysteve]

I donate to charity frequently but somehow I must be on a list

Bingo! Many charities (especially the less reputable ones) sell their donor list. Once you donate to ABC Pet Rescue Fund, you start getting inundated with requests from every other animal-related charity. We once made a donation to our local fire department after we had a fire at the house. Ever since, and this was over 15 years ago, we continue to get frequent solicitations from every police and fire-related charity in existence.

Many charities provide a return envelope with unused stamps on it. I would like thoughts on whether or not it is acceptable to carefully remove those stamps and use them in my daily postal life.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to reuse a stamp as long as it hasn't already been used for postage. Let's say you put a stamp on an envelope then make a mistake writing the address or discover that the item you're mailing won't fit in that envelope. It is fine to remove the stamp and stick it to a new envelope.

I haven't tried this personally but I've seen a life hack thing that says to remove a stamp, put a few drops of water on it and then microwave the envelope for 20 seconds and the stamp will peel off easily.

Reattach the stamp with glue, not tape. Tape messes up the machines at the post office and can block the scanners that scan the stamps.

[bennkar]

I get way too many solicitations by mail from charities of all kinds. I donate to charity frequently but somehow I must be on a list....

Thanks for any thoughts......

Just restructure your first two sentences to answer your question (assuming there is a question of course). See below with my additions underlined.

I donate to charity frequently. Therefore I have been put on a list. Unfortunately now I get way too many solicitations by mail from charities of all kinds.

[SavingBucks]

Thank you so much for the quick reply! I will look online to see if there is some place to reduce the literal mass of paper that I get every week! I will also definitely look into the stamp hack, too.

[kork13]

Believe it or not, I've actually had a good deal of success contacting the charities directly. The ones you donate to, tell them that you want your name/information not to be shared, or just don't even give it to them in the first place. For the new unsolicited ones, tell them to remove your name from their contact list. It takes some work making all of those phone calls (though sometimes I can do it online), but it has definitely put a stopper on all of the junk mail I receive.

P.S. Some charities refuse to accept donations without donor information. This is yet another reason that I have and liberally use/abuse a pseudonym, and make up any nonexistent street address. 221B Baker Street is a favorite, and for a phone number, what better is there than 867-5309? Short story: I'm not above lying to protect my privacy.

[cypher1]

P.S. Some charities refuse to accept donations without donor information. This is yet another reason that I have and liberally use/abuse a pseudonym, and make up any nonexistent street address. 221B Baker Street is a favorite, and for a phone number, what better is there than 867-5309? Short story: I'm not above lying to protect my privacy.

So Jenny moved in with Holmes and Watson?

[QuarterMillionMan]

I will divulge my secret here to removing an unused postage stamp in order to reuse it again. Wave the envelope over steam for a few seconds and it'll peel right off. Disneysteve's method is right along the same lines where the microwave will create steam from the water but holding the stamp above a steam source will easily allow it to peel off.