My last donation to the Salvation Army was in January 1998. Periodically, since then, they have written for money, referring to the fact that I have donated in the past.The latest letter, received a few days ago (like all the others), was sent to the address they knew. But I left there more than five years ago. I believe that, on average, people move house every seven years, or so – and (unlike my situation) letters tend not to be forwarded.
It does not, therefore, seem to be a good plan to write to somebody with whom one’s last communication was more than 11 years ago – without doing some checking.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I work for a major national charity and believe that after two years of non-response, names and addresses should be removed from a charity’s database. In the long run, e mails must be more efficient than letters, and why send out glossy brochures and those free pens? It can’t make sense and is just ’spending money to make money’ which isn’t justified.