Lindsay Jones, National Center for Learning Disabilities

There’s no way to stop all unwanted charity mail, but these tips can help: 1. Discard appeals that don’t interest you. No charity expects a response from everyone it solicits. Responding with even a few dollars to a charity request puts you on its mailing list, a list it may decide to share with other charities. 2. Write directly to charities...

Thrift shops, drop-off bins and collection trucks in the neighborhood make it easy to get rid of goods we don’t want. Both charities and for-profits are major players in the market for used goods, sometimes separately and sometimes in a variety of arrangements. If you care about the charitable benefit your goods provide, be sure...