When I receive these incentives, i call them and ask to be removed from the mailing list.

I have about a half dozen that I give to at the end of the year, but get so many requests.

I have been inundated with pens and calendars!

I'll keep the notepads, but I have too many address labels already, and I only use then at Christmas. The rest goes straight into the trash can. OK, recycling bin.

I hate to admit it, but I probably give less to charities just because of their mail tactics, and don't get me started on manipulative TV ads.

I return the enclosed form with a request to stop all mailings written on it, saying that if I choose to donate it will be on-line. I also write DO NOT SHARE my information because I will stop all donations if it is (I intentionally misspell my name so I know which charity sold my info) and also that I don't want to have the promo items sent to me ever again.

That’s all the mail we get. The ones that make me the angriest are the ones that send money to ask for money!

W’ve gotten the dream catcher!

Recently received 2 pair of socks with a check for $1.50. DH said he read something about how these companies representing charities try to guilt you. So i cashed the check and gave my granddaughter the socks. we get lots of these ”gifts”. Have so many note pads, address labels, tote bags, T shirts, pens and calculators, more than we can possibly use!

My dad got on everyone's mailing list when he was in Independent Living at his old place. He must have got 20 pieces per day -- literally. When he moved out here close to us, we forwarded his mail to a post office box. After a year, we simply quit the box. The woman behind the counter said she understood completely why we did not give a forwarding address for his post office box. I bet whoever has that PO Box now still gets junk addressed to dad.

I do not give to groups that send me things. Most will ignore if you ask them to stop or will increase their efforts. My theory is if the organization has enough money to send that crap they do not need mine. I also tend to drop any that send me begging letters more than twice a year.

For some reason this kind of stuff is almost non existent here. We get very little junk mail and no ’gifts’. There’s a charities code of practice which effectively prevents it.

Dad went into skilled care in 2017 and died in 2019, and the mail has dropped off considerable since i don't make his $25 donations. I’m set for a while for notepads for shopping lists, I give the packets of greeting cards to the senior home, and the pens seem to multiply in the drawer. The tote bags, socks, t shirts, and lots of pens, go to the veterans’ closet, free to veterans.

I decided i wasn’t going to reuse the 1 cent stamps on return envelopes. The nickels went into the coin jar.

I use a donation portal for virtually all my donations - I can donate to any registered Canadian charity, it keeps track of my annual donations, and I have the option of making my donations anonymous if I want to, so that's really cut back on the mail (and email) charitable requests. They charge about 1% - 1.5% than the standard credit card processing fee, though, but that's about the only way I'll donate anymore. There must be something similar in the US. .

Nature Conservancy (an organization I don't donate to) sent me 3 calendars, address labels and a lovely personalized certificate commending me for supporting environmental issues. For only a $15 donation they will send me an umbrella and a subscription to their magazine. I wrote the membership chairman saying what a terrible waste of stuff. They are supposed to be an environmental charity. hah!

I would double check where you are giving money. I have a very select few I support and never have any of them sold/shared my information. There was one organization we gave to that flooded us with requests every other month. I wrote and told them they will get my annual donation and if I continued to see them wasting money on solicitations I would end that. We no longer give to them.

Luckily I'm not inundated with mailings but I have no qualms about using their notepads or return address labels. I have called and every now and then I'll return the envelope with a request to remove my name and address from their files.

For the most part we donate to local organizations with the caveat that if they share our info we'll donate elsewhere in the future. It seems to work - they don't want to lose our donations.

I find those most annoying. I'm giving to a charity because I want them to do good with the money...I don't want my donation coming back to me in "gifts" and junk mail.

I do wonder about the admin costs and fund raising costs for those who send that crap out. I don't donate to them.

In the past 2 years or so I started getting the occasional text or phone call to my cell meant for someone ( with an unusual name) who apparently used to have this number, and who donated to a particular political organization. I ignored them at first, but finally texted back that I wasn't that person and to stop - which they said they would do (and seemed to).

But this past election season, I was inundated with texts from all sorts of (liberal leaning) political action committees and activist volunteers, many who mentioned that previous person by name. So the number is obviously on a list being disseminated amongst like minded organizations. They finally stopped after the election, but started up again last week with the newest cause du jour. I have to text "STOP" to each and every one, but the number still gets passed around.