I considered giving a charitable gift in somebody else's name once and ended up ditching the idea specifically because of what you're talking about, IncogNeato. It is almost impossible to get off the mailing lists. My mom contributed to a number of fine charities. After she passed away, I forwarded her mail to my house. And now, going on three years later, I still get multiple mailings a day addressed to her. Some took her off their lists after we explained the situation, but it seems like once you are on some of these lists, there's no getting off.