National Arbor Day Foundation

I donated and I am on a very small budget, most couldn't survive on it but having moved into a place bereft of trees I needed some. As a horticulturist I need plants around me. Here it is the end of Nov and no trees have come. I found some by shopping the clearance sales and by starting my own as I always have but at my age living long enough to see them mature is not likely. I found the trees on the catalog mostly unsuitable for my are and over priced, I am glad I didn't order any and will never donate again.

Awful awful charity.They repeatedly waste paper sending me "tree surveys".Almost weekly!!!Then decide to email me over and over despite my many calls to them pleading them to cease!!They harass basically Ridiculous "charity".Stay away from them unless you want endless,stupid communication from them.

I ordered a variety of plants in two orders in October. They have provided no updates on the delivery of the order and when I contact them, they give me a 3 month range for delivery. This is so unprofessional. I will not order from them again.

Arbor trees is a scam . I got a redbud that I think was dead on arrival. It was a twig. We filled all instructions and watered for months. Dead. I got sent another one. Same thing . It was a twig , we filled all instructions, and then it was dead. Do not buy from arbor trees. Instead work with local native growers who can source plant and trees for you. Do not buy from them

Tree killer.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found out that the contracted employee that fielded my call and took my credit card information and charged my card is a 4 time convicted felon for theft and Grand theft. Sheila is a remote ,work at home employee with XACT communications. XACT COMMUNICATIONS is the company that Arbor day foundation contracted for it's customer service phone and email fielding. I did a background check and Sheila lives in Wichita Falls TX.. She's a 4 time convicted felon for theft and Grand theft over $25,000. I looked at her criminal record and she was part of a professional theft ring that took Best Buy's in Houston for $900,000. I'm shocked and angry that Xact Communications would hire a multiple felon that has a history of would hire a multiple felon that has a history of Grand theft! How ridiculous is it that they hired a convicted felon for theft to be in direct contact with people's credit card information and bank card information plus personal information. Her records showed that SNAP, The food stamp office caught her faking documents to get food stamps for herself and using other people's information to apply and get food stamps in their name without them knowing. SNAP has barred her from ever getting food stamps ever again and she's having to pay everything back she fraudulenty took from them. One day people will be calling because they had their identity stolen and bank account wiped out. What's it gonna take to make sure the people entrusted with sensitive financial and personal information aren't allowed to have access? No telling how much damage she's already done.

So I still have not received the tree/plant order from the first time I donated to you, over two years ago. I have donated to your organization twice. This is ridiculous. You only ship twice a year, both times around the winter and spring breaks when I need to travel to see my grandchildren. You told me this last time that I called that my order would be going out on November 6, and yet I have had NO notification about my order being shipped. And I leave in two weeks to go to my daughter’s in New York for Christmas. Why is it so hard for you to honor your promise? My plants and trees are going to be delivered while I am gone for two months, and die while I am gone. I will never donate to your organization again. AND, I called you and asked for someone to call me back, and in the middle of our conversation, I was disconnected. This was after she told me my shipping window was between today (November 28) and December 1 because of weather or some other delays. How convenient that it was set for today when I called you to complain that it wasn’t shipped out on November 6 as promised. The plants won’t get here in time for me to plant them before I leave. Pretty sure she just hung up on me. So frustrated!

Denise Trone

Received my free trees after my donation -- should have said my free dead twigs in a black goo like substance -- totally disgusting to handle and send potential future beautiful trees as a total mess dk

I recently ordered a Free Red Maple tree. In order to receive that free tree I also ordered three shrubs. I received the three shrubs with instructions on planting them. Days later I received instructions on planting my tree (which I have never received). I have contacted them several times via email but received no response. So sad that what is viewed as a reputable organization seems shady.

I will NEVER donate to NADF again. They don't send you trees...they send you STICKS....twigs !!!
Boy those trees in their 'Tree Book' sure are beautiful, aren't they ??? I'm going to have a booklet like that printed up and go around collecting twigs and sticks then send them to people who 'Donate' to my tax write-off charity. WHAT A SCAM !!!!

Sent a donation. Got ten “free” trees which were both dried out and moldy when they arrived. Put them in water anyway. Two still have pliable branches so possibly living? The rest are just brittle sticks.
I remember the delight of planting trees for Arbor Day when I was a kid.but the current interaction just feels like I was scammed.

My sister received a dead tree after donating $10 last year. This year they have asked her to donate her property to them with legal paperwork. She is not going to donate anything; their mail went in the trash. I told her to pull it out and send me a copy.

Alright, so first off. BARE ROOT TREES LOOK DEAD SOMETIMES THAT IS WHAT BAREROOTS ARE THEY ARE TREES IN STASIS FOR STORAGE PURPOSES UNTIL THEY CAN BE PLANTED- FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.

So I started sending the tree groves instead of flowers or bibles to people because doing so not only helps the planet but memorializes the person in a way many people don't think of. They send personalized cards and things to the recipients and I have never not gotten a thank you after sending them in memorium.

I got the Tree Survey around November of last year, and the warning clearly shows when your trees will arrive based on your zone. My zone is marked on there between MAY and JUNE. So I sent them 40 dollars and they sent me updates and welcome letters to their membership along with some non-tree made paper gifts. Card, some letter heads which I desperately needed, bookmarks and just a bunch of stuff that was well worth the 40 dollars already. I completely forgot about the trees.

NOTE: If you do not say you want the trees, or that you don't want the trees when filling out the form they will NOT SEND TREES. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE BOX.

So, today (May 17th) mine arrived in a white ecosafe plastic sealer bag. I open them expecting complete bareroot trees (Which means they are literally in stasis). They where damp and everything inside the bag was damp, it was very messy. But, I got them out and look them over, already have the water waiting to soak them and to my surprise they already have little leaves and shoots on them. Which is absolutely amazing for how short a time they where in shipment.

So long story short, look into bare root and read everything before you order. Read the pamphlets that clearly state that they DO NOT guarantee anything at a certain time and your region and zone are not proper for just any time of year. The 'order for arbor day' is a gift registry and sent out when your ZONE is ready, not when you are ready. The Trees are the important part of this, you are not a customer, you are a donor.

I made a donation to this organization about a year ago. I liked what they were doing and wanted to support. However I did not agree to sign up for any mail service from them and they send me mail at least every other week. They also sold my personal information without my knowlege, approval or consent to many other organizations who now sent me mail every week. This was an invasion of my privacy and I would not recommend donating to this organization until they take major steps to protect donors privacy and respect the people who have decided to donate their money.

Aside from the ridiculous amount of junk mail you'll get if you join, or the "free" trees that are never the ones you asked for , or are dead, with your donation: they do have a business where they sell trees. While some trees are actually what they advertise, many are not. I ordered specific cherry and apple tree species back in the day, and what I found out too late was they are wild apple and cherries and not the Bing, Red Jonathon etc that I purchased. Eventually I got my money back- sort of. All the care I put into these trees over the years just to find out they weren't what I purchased, I can never get that expense back. They tried to blame their nurseries for the "mix up", which happened over and over ( I at first gave them the benefit of the doubt and asked for a replacement for my plum. To this day the replacements have never fruited and I'm not entirely convinced it even is a plum tree.) Many others were scammed too, just google and scroll past all the hits from ADF website ( they probably do this so you don't find posts from people who have been scammed, keep going until you find them. ) As another person pointed out here, the CEO is making a lot of money and using wild trees in place of the cultivars I purchased.
They might actually do some good work planting trees, not sure if this is to throw people off or if they really care about trees. I suggest donating to Audubon, WWF or Sierra club and buy your trees from Starkbros, they guarantee your purchase. So it's not just about the "free" trees you're supposed to get with your donation, it's also the spam you'll get in your mailbox trying to get you to purchase trees that may or may not be what they say they are!

This was a bizzare experience with Arbor Day. As they said they will send trees with a donation, i made a donation but asked that they be sent to a different address. Therefore I gave them my address and the address I wanted the trees sent to. They could not comprehend this simple request. As the time got closer to the supposed shipping date, i would call to find out if they were shipping, because the time of shipment was always given in vague generalities, such as early fall, late fall, early spring, etc. Each time i asked to confirm the shipping address, but they always stated my billing address. I made about 10 calls trying to straighten this out. Finally they did ship to the wrong address. When I called they simply said to return the trees to them at the post office which I did. End.

Idiots sent an approx. 10x14 inch envelope with about 10 pages asking me to donate to plant and save trees. Just think of all the trees they could have saved if they hadn't sent the mailer.

Great IN THEORY, but awful in-practice. The first time I donated through my work, I was sent a red maple to plant. That tree is still alive and well, so I decided to continue donating. This is where the issues began.
- They misspelled my name (this is an important detail for later)
- I was supposed to receive 10 “free” trees that would be sent to me at the “optimal” time to plant. I get a bag of tangled twigs sent to me IN DECEMBER! In what world is December in the midwest (when the ground is frozen solid) an optimal time to plant? When we were finally able to plant them, they predictably died
- The cherry on-top, they sold my information so I get a TON of junk mail. How do I know they specifically sold my info? My name is misspelled on this junk mail the same exact way Arbor Day misspelled my name the first time around.

Absolutely miserable company to deal with built on a solid idea with no follow-through or quality control.

When I joined the Arbor Day Foundation, I was to be sent 12 "free" trees. Of the teeny trees I received, 4 have done well. The others have not developed. The most annoying thing for me is that I diligently dug the huge holes and purchased mulch to surround the "trunks" as directed. Later, I purchased 2 catalpas and was to be sent a free red maple. The two catalpas came twisted together and when I separated them, I saw that one of them had a good bushy root system; the other had a single skinny thread of a root. I complained to Arbor Day, which told me to plant them and watch to see what happens. As expected, five months later, the one tree has many leaves; the other has a handful of leaves on top. The red maple never sprouted a single leaf. And of the greeting cards I received recently from Arbor Day to tell friends that a tree was planted for them the printing was blurry on some. Arbor Day's quality is poor. Their commitment to their mission is suspect.

Great organization fighting climate catastrophe by planting desperately needed trees. I donate to them as often as I can. BUT I can't believe how many people in these reviews have completely melted brains. Why is anyone treating a non-profit like a Home Depot nursery? You're donating money because you know we need more trees, that's it. If you prefer to buy local, great! Do that. Don't come in with these whiny comments "they sent me sticks, waaah!" You think they were gonna send you 10 fully mature trees?? A lot of these one star reviews are from toddler-brained doofuses that can't be arsed to search for basic tree 101 info, and are instead blaming one of the few organizations ACTUALLY working hard to reverse the effects of climate catastrophe. I hope all you idiots get sucked into a category 7 hubris hurricane and leave the world to those of us ACTUALLY trying to better the earth for the sake of future humans.

Just got their request for a donation, masquerading as a “Tree Survey”
What a scam.
The “OFFICIAL” questionnaire is full of stupid questions like:
Did i ever climb a tree?
Did i ever relax under a tree?
Then i did some research on this foundation and found out they are a “Not For Profit” - sounds good huh, kinda like a charity, except that the CEO makes about $350,000 per year (so at least it’s profitable for him).

This is a bad charity to donate to. First only 73% of donation goes to actual charity, the Admins take home over $100k a year of salaries each with some taking home almost $400K. Then when they profess to sale trees, they ship you dead trees. They are not worth your trust. Donate elsewhere and never purchase any plants from them as you will just be funding a bunch of people's lifestyle

Many don't seem to like the organization because they "Donate" money to receive trees and aren't happy with the shipping or quality. In reality, it's not a donation if you're personally expecting something in return.

I've enjoyed working with Arbor Day Foundation's reforestation program and actually donating to plant trees in specific reforestation projects in need of funding. Last year I was able to direct my support to plant trees in Paradise, CA and Pike National Forest in Colorado in response to wildfires in recent years. And according to their last Annual Report, they planted almost 40 million trees in 2021. As an outdoors enthusiast, that's absolutely amazing for birds, animals, and fish.

Apparently not a great organization if you want to benefit from your donation. But I think it's a great organization if you're looking to make a positive impact on the environment and climate.

I was a donor for Arbor Day Foundation for many years until today after the way I was treated for an order of plants that were never shipped. One would think that after placing your order 2 and a half months ago and after two or three correspondences' inquiring about my order and they assuring it will be shipped only to find out that my spring shipping some how became fall shipping and by the way I do not consider the middle of November fall weather cant plant ground is hard especially where i live and cold . Called Arbor day and was essentially told it was my fault should have known April was too late to ship even knowing both the website and my order stated shipping in May. Plus Arbor Day stated it is too dangerous for the plants to ship now, why cause they had no intentions of fulfilling my order and were going to give me the run a round for as long as they could. Well not any more Arbor Day Foundation is a fraud all they want is your money and will never ship any as they dont want to hurt their precious plants.. I am proud to say I am a no longer a member of Arbor Day Foundation

If you get what you ordered you are extremely lucky. I have ordered 50 items and the only thing that I recieved that was actually what I ordered was a free forsythia.

Second year in a row, received dry twigs and roots, doubtful and if these will sprout. Groundhog Day for sure. Will not be a third time, save your money and frustrations.

Moist screwed up foundation. They ask you for donations and we buy something, their moronic incompetent employees will send you exactly the opposite of what you have ordered.
They are bunch of crooks looking only to fill their pockets with donations.
Look at the reviews and the one star rating and you will understand who they really are.

zero stars.
I donated the $20 with the promise of a few free trees, none were received.
They do kindly offer a "free" tree once you order from their magazine with an extra mind-blowing 33% off the "regular" price.

I would read up on the good they do, but I'm not interested after scrolling and scrolling over their facebook reviews. Complaints of dead trees, trees that never ship, donations made with no free trees received, trees dying within the first year and then being replaced by the arbor foundation but sent in the winter...the reads are forever taking and seem to go on and on.
Save your money and support local.

Do better Arbor Day Foundation.
Respect the people who believe in your cause.

I received the fundraiser letter in the summer of 2021 that stated if I donate I will receive 12 trees, assorted. The trees would be "dug" then shipped to me in late October to fit my planting zone schedule. They didn't come at the promised time. Not until I sent an email to the Foundation did I learn that the trees would be "dug" and shipped in late November/December. This is fine because I'm in zone 8, Southeast US. No trees and no correspondence until I sent another email to which the response was the Foundation was having problems getting help because of COVID and the trees would be sent in February. I responded stating that since I have been delayed the receipt of these trees that I am requesting to be put at the top of the list for the February shipping. At the beginning of February, I received an email notifying me that the trees are ready to ship and to expect them within the week. I received the "trees" just last week (February 4) in my mailbox. 12 dormant seedlings, in my mailbox! When I was told the trees had to be "dug" I was expecting a pretty substantial sapling, maybe 1.5 foot tall with a good root system, nope. It would be appreciated if the Foundation would be truthful about their products, a seedling grown in a greenhouse and pricked out is much different then a young tree that has to be dug. These little ones cannot be just planted out in the yard, they must be potted out and placed somewhere to harden up. I guess my gripe is the lack of communication from this Foundation and I do believe they should reword their flyers.

Said if I donated 20.00 I could get a free tree and 10 free seedlings. Scam. I get a letter that says I now have to buy something to get my free tree and shipping. Scam scam scam. I will no longer be donating.

For $10 you can get some free trees. What you are really doing is allowing the Arbor Day foundation to (and paying them to do so) use your mailing address to sell to a broker who then packages the mailing addresses and sells them to such places as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and several other non-profits who, while professing to love the environment, chop down a good number of trees so that they can send you large "catalogues". Prepare for your mailbox to be overloaded --- and good luck trying to stop it.

They promise to send free trees "selected for" my area. However, 2 of the offered trees are non- native! They should know better!!!

Donated $50. Got dead trees and no replacements. I think they are a big scam. They keep asking for money but no viable trees sent or no trees sent at all. Save your money and go buy your own trees! They leave you on hold for hrs with no response. BIG RIP OFF!!!

I live in a condo, so a tree giveaway wouldn't do me any good. I'm from a family of "outdoorsy types," and whenever one of them passes away, I make a donation in their name via the Plant Trees in Memory program on their website, instead of sending cut flowers. Most recently we lost my brother-in-law, who lived for camping, hiking and hunting. The Plant Trees in Memory program was a natural choice. When I discussed it with my sister (his widow), she loved the idea and agreed that Mike would have appreciated it. She's going to get a card from Arbor Day, which is kind of anticlimactic compared to a posh bouquet, but my sister isn't dazzled by cut flowers and is happier with the focus remaining on remembering Mike.

So, for the same money as a couple dozen cut flowers (which would be normal for a funeral), I was able to plant 50 trees for my bro. It's great to have a program such as this, and I appreciate Arbor Day having it available.

I'm truly sorry I "donated" to this organization. We did receive the "free" lantern in the mail. Then, about a week later, I receive a rather thick envelope in the mail. Inside there was "The Tree Book", It seems like my "free" tree (with my "donation" of $20 on 9/2/2021, is free with any order from "The Tree Book" plus $14.95 for postage-handling-packaging. The majority of the trees cost between $7.99 and $19.99. so we'll say average is $14.00. So my free Red Maple tree is going to cost: $20 donation, $14.00 for the order I have to place to get my free tree, & $14.95 postage-handling-packaging =$48.95. Forty eight dollars and 95 cents for a free tree. Never again will I donate to the National Arbor Day Foundation!!

I ordered trees with a $10 membership fee, checked my bank and they charged me a $50 dollar membership fee and a $10 membership fee and also the price for the trees. I called and I also sent a message on their site. I never approved a $50 membership fee. I asked for someone to call me, IT HAS STILL NOT HAPPENED (6 days have passed). The person that answered said the managers were in a meeting but she would let them know to call me. STILL NO CALL. I can only guess if this will get corrected or if I will get the trees I paid for. I will call them until they resolve this. Ridiculous I have to waste time and beg them to fix their error. I would suggest using caution prior to doing any business with them.

I received their survey in the mail today. They seem to use an awfully large amount of paper for someone who’s trying to save trees.
The trees they offered me do not work in the Arizona desert so it may not be a scam but it’s definitely a profit center for them. I would never give them any money

Most bare roots tress I have purchased from the Arbor Day Foundation do not live past the first summer with proper watering, mulch etc, many never sprouted at all. Tress replaced but usually same result. The 6 peach trees I did order that did survive, Elberta's, when did bear fruit were white peaches...so no idea what they actually sent me. Will not order any more trees even though prices are good. Get what you pay for.

I wish I also read reviews. I was a member 10 years back I ordered tons of stuff. The only tree that survived was the free tree and its only about 8 feet tall now and last fall I noticed its diseased. I thought it might have been different. But it has gotten worse. I asked for replacements on all the free package trees with membership. I recieved them today they look like they dieing and starving for water especially the spruces. Seems to me that they do not take care of the trees before sending them. I spent $100 on trees and bushs back in April and planted them. There isnt any that have budded yet. Except the hycythia's. The tree I bought from Aldi a month ago already has leaves on it. I didnt mind spending more money on trees from Arbor day to support a non profit. But they literally are wasting money by not taking proper care of their trees. So sad.

i joined their so called club sent money to get trees , received a letter in january 2021 saying my trees would be shipped in march , well here it is the end of may and two emails to them and still no trees ... never again will i do any business with this company . and this is the 2 times this has happened . i add a picture but oh wait i have no trees to show you .... sad sad company when they have to lie and scam people out of money .

jeanette tefft

I ordered trees for our school and was promised delivery for Arbor Day. Arbor Day was approaching and there was no delivery. When I contacted them they said there was a delay and shipping wouldn't occure until 17 days after. I told them this was not acceptable. They pretty much said "Tough Luck". I contacted them via email and told them I wanted them immediately. I got the run around. I called and said I wanted a refund. They still wanted to charge me shipping even though the trees were never shipped. Do not do business with these crooks. There are better places to get trees from with better customer service. They refuse to let you talk to a supervisor. They refuse to follow the law. So... I'm taking them to court just to cost them the added expenses. NEVER do business with this place. Unethical.

Got an invitation to join and a list of trees and benefits I would recieve. I got trees about 10 months later that were totally dead the roots were rotted. Now this could have been caused by the USPS I don't know who is to blame. In that 10 months I recieved all kinds of mail from the foundation bumming money and trying to sell me more trees. Since I hadn't yet received the original order why would I possibly want to spend more money not knowing if they would also not arrive. Not a good experience.

I purchased 15 privet hedges in the spring, eight of which died. When I called, they said that they would replace them in the fall. They showed up a month after the ground was frozen, needless to say the replacements also died. When I called again, they more or less said "to bad" we only replace them once. I wish I had read all of the negative reviews, before I tried to purchase anything from them.

I am sad for the negative experiences people have had with Arbor Day. Our personal experience has been very positive. We joined a couple of years ago, both to help a good cause and to get some trees for our new house. They arrived as promised, several months after our donation, at the appropriate time for planting. Most of them have lived and I take responsibility for the ones that didn't - I'm not a natural gardener! We have not ordered any additional plants from their catalog but do continue to support their efforts. We have received regular updates and newsletters but not an overwhelming amount of communications. As a former development officer for nonprofits, I understand the need to regularly ask for donations. Overall we have been very pleased and are happy to support the vital work they do.

We received a letter from this group saying we were "selected" for a special deal on trees ?? We ordered the trees, sent them the funds and then received a notice that they would ship them in the beginning of Nov. which would be the proper time to plant them, It's New Years and haven't received anything !! Considering they deal in numerous states, we are filing a complaint with the Federal Attorney General, Consumer Fraud Division. They need to lose their " non-profit" status. Reading all the complaints and scams this group is committing, people need to get together and file a class action suit. One thing for sure, we'll NEVER do business with them again !!!

In August 2020 I received one of many of Arbor Day Foundations mailing asking for a $15 donation. It went on to say if I donated $15.00 I would receive healthy trees. Weeks went by, then months. I contacted them in October asking where my trees are and got a reply they would be shipped in Nov or Dec.
So I waited and I dug holes and planned for an area to put my trees when they came. It will be January in two days and I never received any trees, however, they did send me an additional two mail packets asking for more money in that time span.
For an organization that is supposed to help with trees, they sure do more than their share of using paper needlessly.
I remember my parents giving to the Arbor Day Foundation. They used to be a great organization. They are corrupt now and no one should give them a dime anymore. Look up how much the CEO makes. Listen to people like me that have been taken by this group. They run a scam and I have a canceled check to prove it.

This is a scam! Beware! They promise free trees with any donation. Then after yiu donate. They send you a sevind letter staing you get ine free tree with each additional order you make. Therefore it is not free! I thought it seemed odd that a place claiming to be concerned about trees was using so much paper made from trees!

A truly negligent and dishonest group. I have been a donor for years simply to promote the cause. They promise ten trees with the donation, which is not why I was donating, but if they are promising it, they should stick to their word. I am done with this group.

Like others, I received a survey and an offer of "free for a donation" saplings. I really don't understand what qualifies NADF as a not-for-profit. Their "non-selling" of saplings seems to be their main focus.

If you are concerned about deforestation, there are organizations out there who actually make a difference. If you're looking for saplings, there is no shortage of mail order nurseries with excellent reputations.

If they think the silly questions in their survey can save a tree they are "barking up the wrong tree"! Just think how many trees can be saved if you stop using tons of paper begging for dollars. Shame on you!

Received a packet from arbor Day Foundation today the 20th of sept. 2016. Asking for 10
dollar donation by the 7th day of sept 2016. What is going on is this a scam. checked the address on computer not the same address, now am wondering is this real. Would Gladly donate the ten dollars to a really true company such as arbor day foundation but something is fishy.

I sent contribution and requested 2 (two) BEAR TOTES (twin grandsons) you sent seedling trees - I can NEVER get to live. I send contribution YEARLY!! Not Happy about my last request.
Frances Dennis

I read some of the comments about the 2013 survey. Yes, it is a bit simple and so on, but it is an opportunity to start the conversation off rather that simply saying "give us some money". They do offer some small trees that might be valuable to contributors. Instead of "bad mouthing" the organization, I consulted Guidestar that offers in-depth information about a million charitable organizations. Based on the 2012 IRS Form 990 The National Arbor Day Foundation supports many good causes, their officers are not overpaid and their administrative costs are reasonable. The total administrative and fund raising expenses total about 10%, which is reasonable. I have seen instances of what appear to be worthwhile organizations with great sounding titles, yet they spend 25%-30% or more of their total expense budget with a contract service to solicit funds. The description of the worthwhile contributions this organization supports are well worth public support. Enough said!

I recently received a mailing labeled as the 2013 New Jersey Tree Survey. Seriously packaged, complete with a "Participant Number" on the front. But the survey itself was just 16 silly questions... things like "Have you ever climbed a tree?" It was obviously an attempt to tug the heart strings and package a fund-raising pitch as something else. That duplicity bothered me enough to consult GuideStar.

I might have responded well to something more direct and honest, and seeing that others felt the same way, I decided to write this review. There's more than a little irony when an organization dedicated to saving trees sends such a paper-intense communication, which included a calendar, various coupons and personalized return address labels. Please!

I was a former donor to National Arbor Day Foundation and still believe that it serves a worthy cause. However, I was a bit disappointed in their recent mailing to me (2013 Forest Survey - Texas) that indicated that I had "been selected as part of a representative sampling of Texas residents to participate in this year's survey." Additionally, to "thank me" I would receive 4 free gifts. The survey was very shallow and was important to their donation marketing, I suppose (my demographics, whether I visited forests or National Parks, whether I thought the pecan was a good choice as Texas' state tree, etc.). I expected questions about how Texas was affected by the current drought, or whether I noticed signs of recovery from recent wildfires throughout the state. But, apparently it was mostly about the ten dollars that I would need to donate to get my "free gifts". I would rather have been asked to donate without the marketing survey disguised as a "forest survey," or at least, indicate clearly that their purpose is to survey to improve their marketing outreach. A forthright approach would have been much better. Their approach cost them my donation.

Duplicitous marketing. The net takeaway from their recent mailing was that it was somehow sanctioned by New York State; they used the state logo in their return address. They were also giving away "free" trees and plants, but they were available only if a donation was made. A legitimate organization wouldn't resort to such sleaze, in my opinion.

I have been a member of NADF for several years. I applaud the work that they do to restore our national forests devistated by wild fires. Their mission to plant and encourage others to plant is vital to our wild life and our protection of the environment.