The Other Side of Spam

Find additional tools and tips for greening your nonprofit through TechSoup's GreenTech Initiative, where social benefit organizations can share and learn more about technology choices that can help to reduce our overall impact on the environment.

Everyone knows that spam can waste your time, introduce viruses to your computer, and potentially lure you into a costly, life-ruining Nigerian 419 scam.

And yet, no one could ever accuse spam of consuming nearly 100 billion gallons of water a year, or 100 million mostly old-growth forest trees — something nonprofit ForestEthics estimates the junk-mail industry consumes annually in the low-return business (by some estimations less than 3 percent) of direct mail, according to a new article in Salon.com.

Yet you don't have to take all the junk mail lying down. Salon's article Stop Junk Mail for Good offers some good antidotes for unwanted mail, including:

• GreenDimes.com
  For a $15 fee, GreenDimes will ask about a dozen direct-mail companies to remove your name from their lists, then monitors these lists to ensure they follow through. As an added bonus, the group plants 10 trees with each new membership.
• 41pounds.org
  Named for the average amount of junk mail we receive annually, 41pounds guarantees it will stop junk mail for five years with a fee of $41, contributing $15 of the fee to nonprofits like Stopglobalwarming.org.
• Stopthejunkmail.com
  "Will put the brakes on junk mail to small businesses as well as consumers, for $20 a year.
• Catalog Choice
  A free site that "allows businesses and individuals to remove their names from the mailing lists of catalogs they don't want."

Unfortunately, though, as with spam, nonprofits are not entirely innocent when it comes to junk mail, and many are prime culprits, sending out dozens of mail campaigns a year. If this sounds familiar, consider revisiting your approach. What is the return on investment for these campaigns? Could you accomplish the same thing by using email or the Internet to spread the word about your organization, its events, and its causes?

If you absolutely must send out direct mail, try reducing the amount or printing more responsibly. TechSoup's A Nonprofit's Guide to Green Printing shows you how to choose eco-friendly paper and printing techniques, and organizations like ForestEthics and Renourish can help you educate yourself on the true environmental impact of your paper and design decisions.

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