Hi Chris, Your point is well taken. Even if a direct marketing campaign does make sense economically, the costs associated with it are so large as to render the donations given by donors as effectively ineffectual. That is the donors money goes towards little beyond funding the marketing campaign. This in turn causes donors to lose faith in the system, and as a result net donations will fall. As an example, I once donated a small amount ($5) in respone to a direct marketing letter from an NGO. Since then they have sent me at least two hefty pamphlets each month. Postage costs aside, I doubt that my $5 did much more- if anything- than pay for the continued publication of advertisements sent to my home. I've lost faith in the idea of investing in NGO's as I cannot trust that the money i send in will be used for what it should be. It is definitely the responsibility of NGO's to be as efficient as possible, in order to mantain the trust of its donors. Truly, Gabe Audant