Sort station renewal appeals from recurring gifts
Before you contact the station, check the appeal against your own giving records. A mailed renewal appeal does not by itself show that your recurring gift has changed or stopped. Sorting that out first tells you whether to send a mail request, a gift question, or both.
Compare the appeal with your gift first
- Note what kind of piece it is: a renewal reminder, a request for a larger gift, a thank-you with a reply card, or a pledge-drive appeal.
- Write down what your own receipts or station emails show about your giving, such as a one-time gift or a repeating gift. Use your records, not the appeal, as the reference.
- Mark any mismatch, such as a renewal request that arrives while you believe a gift is still scheduled. Turn it into a question for the station.
- Decide whether you want fewer appeals, no appeals or a change to the gift. Only the first two are mail requests.
- Contact donor services through the station's official website. Put the mail request and the gift question in separate sentences.
Why the requests stay apart
A paper opt-out is not an instruction to cancel a membership or recurring gift, and a gift change is not a mail preference. Keep your receipts either way. Only the station can confirm whether a gift is active, so ask it directly.
Appeal versus gift worksheet
Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.
Send only the lines that apply
Fill in the worksheet, then send the station only the mail request line. If your gift status is unclear, add it as a separate question so the station can check it and answer separately.
Official source
Have an unwanted advertisement ready?
Photograph one piece you are authorized to handle, with the sender and full mailing label visible. Review the details before submitting. The first request is free; the sender controls the response.
Try one request free