Civil Liberties               The National Newsletter of the ACLU
#380, Spring 1994             (c) 1994 American Civil Liberties Union

                        Membership Lists

     The ACLU obtains the names of potential new members by renting
its membership/subscriber lists to, or exchanging them with, other
non-profit organizations and publications.  Sometimes the ACLU
defrays the cost of its new member recruitment program by renting
its lists to selected organizations.  We do not make our lists
available to partisan political groups or to groups whose programs
are incompatible with ACLU policies.

     All lists are rented or exchanged according to strict privacy
procedures recommended by the U.S. Privacy Study Commission.  We
never give one of our lists directly to any organization.  Instead,
we send the list to a mailing house that prints labels on the
envelopes of the organization that is participating in the rental
or exchange.  Thus, that organization never sees our lists and
never knows what names are on it unless an individual responds to
the organization's mailing.

     In addition, the ACLU always honors a members request not to
make his or her name available -- we are well aware that receiving
solicitations from many groups can be irritating.  If you do not
wish to receive materials from other organizations, write to the
ACLU Membership Department, and we will see to it that your name is
eliminated from lists that are rented or exchanged.

     Many members who have received multiple invitations to join
the ACLU have written to us deploring such wastefulness.  Please
understand that the electronic scanning device we use to eliminate
multiple solicitations does significantly reduce their number, but
it is not perfect.  For example, if a member's name appears on our
list as John J. Jones, and on a rented prospect list as J. J.
Jones, the scanner will not eliminate that duplication.  If you
receive two copies of our newsletter at your home and/or office,
please remove both address labels and send them to us so we can
consolidate the two listings.  We don't want to waste money on
duplicate mailings any more than you want to receive them!

     We remain grateful to ACLU members who understand that rentals
and exchanges of lists -- transacted under strict privacy
guidelines -- are the cornerstone of our new member acquisition
program, which in turn is key to the growth that increases our
civil liberties impact and influence.

                           -- Denise Hantman, Membership Director
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