You don't have to donate, but they sure make it easy for you to "accidentally" donate... "marketing" they will call it. I've worked with enough internet companies to know how button placements and wordings are never accidental. They intended to trick people into donating to them. If 1 out of 100 gets tricked... that's still a lot of money. I'm not faulting you for setting it up... I'm just calling their scam for what it is.
And since they take no responsibility to sending the message, whats the point? Don't our website have polls and such that can also gather names?
I think a thousand pennies...even if most are thrown away... creates a bigger impression than a plain txt document with 5000 names. Names can be easily added and falsified because it's basically free to do so... snail mail and prop mailings are not free and will get more attention. If a note is included, I guarantee the first 2 WILL get read. The rest is a nagging reminder, whether trashed or not. This tactic has been used pretty effectively... it might not actually change the course, but it can't be ignored. An email attachment with a bunch of names? Trashed and forgotten.
A couple years ago, over 10,000 bricks were sent to congressmen to remind them to secure our borders. The effort got a lot more attention than any online petition. Perhaps a larger object than a penny?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/washington/31immig.html?pagewanted=print
Maybe we send 10,000 used spark plugs to the nice folks at Chrysler?