Donor-based not-for-profit organizations have a short window to comment on a recent amendment being considered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that could greatly impact their postage budget.
The proposal would limit all USPS Marketing Mail, regular or not-for-profit, letter-sized or flat-sized; to content that is only paper-based/printed matter. No merchandise or goods of any type would be allowed in these mailers, regardless of value.
Not-for-profits that use premiums for donor acquisition or renewal could be especially impacted, such as public television stations that “reward” new donors with branded items or a charitable organization that entices donor renewals through a “free gift.”
Organizations using premiums would be forced to Priority Mail, Parcel Select or another higher USPS rate. Packages with goods and merchandise will have an Intelligent Mail package barcode (IMpb) and will travel through the package network stream, according to the USPS. The USPS cited the ability to improve delivery times for both paper-based mail and merchandise through this proposal.
To comment on the proposal prior to the end of the comment period on October 22, write to Manager, Product Classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446, Washington, DC 20260-5015. You may also email comments or questions to ProductClassification@usps.gov using the subject line “USPS Marketing Mail Content Eligibility.”
