That takes care of that!

I appreciated this response very much...

Ms. [Me]:

Thank you for contacting The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns about HSUS mailings.As the largest animal protection organization in the country, with over 10.5 million members and constituents, the likes and dislikes of our members are quite varied. Many members enjoy receiving the mailings and gifts, citing them as a perk of membership. Other members, like yourself, do not want to receive the gifts, and would prefer fewer mailings per year.

The HSUS tests its mailings on small segments of our constituency before mailing them to our total member population. Mailings are tested for member reaction and program success. This means that if a mailing tests successfully, we expect it to bring in new members, raise funds for animal protection programs, and increase awareness of The HSUS mission. Currently the majority of our members enjoy receiving the gifts, and the additional revenue generates more support for our programs. Since 1954, and as noted above, we have developed a constituency of over 10.5 million, which gives us a loud voice when lobbying for the animals. We will continue to monitor our mailings carefully in an effort to meet the needs of our members and ensure program success.

For your reference, I have listed below The HSUS' total expenses for the year 2007. All mailings and gifts are funded within the Fundraising portion:

Current & Future Programs 84%
Fundraising 12%
Management & General 4%

As you can see, 84 cents of each one dollar donated to our organization goes directly to our animal protection programs. In addition, The HSUS meets all applicable "Standards for Charity Accountability" according to the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (give.org), and we are also rated as four stars—the highest rating possible—on Charity Navigator (*deleted because it's too long for the blog - Me)
If you would like additional financial information about our organization, you can view our annual reports and IRS Form 990 by visiting the following link: (*too long for the blog - Me)

According to your e-mail, I have reduced your correspondence to one mailing a year, the Annual Renewal Package sent each January, so that you do not receive so many mailings and gifts. Please allow approximately 8-12 weeks for this change to take effect, as we process our mail in advance.

According to our records, it appears that we only have one record for you under "[Me]." However, it is possible that you may be receiving prospect mail, meaning we received your information from an outside organization (probably with a slight variation to your name or address, in this case your maiden name) and sent you correspondence.

If you still have a mailing from us addressed to "[Me]", (or if not, then the next time that you receive one), please forward me your name and address exactly as they appear on the mailing. In addition please include the series of numbers and/or letters, including spaces, exactly as it appears on the member reply form. Following your response, I will ensure that any duplicate records that we may have for you are removed from our mailing list.

For your information, The HSUS offers two other types of restricted mailing options: Members can choose to receive four mailings per year, or they can choose to correspond with The HSUS through e-mail only. With the e-mail only option you will receive no mailings or gifts at all, but you will continue to receive information and updates about HSUS accomplishments and other important happenings in the animal protection world. Please let me know if either of these choices sounds like the better option for you, and I will make the change as promptly as possible following your response.

Lastly, please know that we take comments from our members very seriously, because feedback from our members is the best way to determine the type and amount of mailings we send in the future. Again, thank you for your comments and suggestions.I hope I have addressed your requests and concerns appropriately. If you need any additional assistance, or if you have additional questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you, again, for contacting The HSUS. We appreciate your support of our animal protection programs. Please take a moment to let us know how we are doing by taking our Membership Survey.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Rhodes
Representative, Membership & Customer Loyalty

The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20037

Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty