Complaint / Review
St. Matthew's Churches
"Non-profit" organization sending mail to donations - may be fraud, or may be legit

I work in the mail industry, specifically non-profit donations. I know all about this industry, and was curious about this mail piece.

A co-worker received a mail solicitation from St. Matthews Churches yesterday. I googled it, and found this website. I decided to report based on the claims I read on this site. If you received a mail piece that was addressed to your name, it is likely that they have gained your name through your other non-profit donations you have made; they would be using lists they purchased to get your name.

The mail piece my co-worker recieved was addressed to "Resident" at his home address. If you received mail addressed to Resident, Occupant, Household, etc... These are not from a list, and they are likely getting addresses from general, public information.

In the non-profit direct mail industry, we do NOT, and I will repeat, do NOT use addresses with these titles (Household, Resident, Occupant, etc). We use names from lists of donors to other, similar non-profits. They are legally obligated to provide all tax excemption information and allocation of fund received as a non-profit. You can ask for it - it is required for them to provide it when you ask.

There is a registry of non-profits where you can look up any organization you are questioning. And when you donate, you can tell them you do NOT want your name share (rented or exchanged) with other lists. There is a required opt-out box on this type of mailing.

Now, with all this said - I cannot find a list available of names donating to this organization. And in the offer we received, there was not donation asked - just a reply card for a free cross and your information to send it. If you reply, they will have your information. That is your choice to provide, but I would question it. They seems like a genuine organization, but I have not looked up all their information.

They claim to be tax exempt, which is 501 (C) 3- alot of churches are. I would like to say this: Please do not associate this group with other organizations that ask for support. There are true organizations that use the mail to reach out, educate the community, and ask for help.

If you receive something in the mail, and have questions, you should find information on the mail you received that should either answer your questions, or provide information where you can get your answers. There are laws in place regarding this for your safety and knowledge.

Thank you.