March 1, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Trent Stamp, founder of the Charity Navigator watchdog site, is applauding a plan to raise postal rates for charities.
While most nonprofit groups are opposed to the proposed rate increase, Mr. Stamp figures that if costs go up, charities might be more cautious in sending direct-mail appeals.
Writing in his blog, Trent Stamp’s Take, Mr. Stamp notes that the proposed increase would largely affect direct-mail pieces that are too big or bulky to go through the Postal Service’s automated processing service.
That means that nonprofit groups that send pieces that include items such as pens, magnets, greeting cards, and lapel pins could see their postage costs jump significantly.
Mr. Stamp, a outspoken proponent of keeping overhead costs low, says he hopes the proposed increase will encourage nonprofit groups to scrap the practice of sending mail that includes such add-ons.
“We wonder why confidence in nonprofits is low, when nearly half of everything they mail to us is a ‘front-end premium,’” Mr. Stamp writes.
“I’m no fan of tax increases, but if this new law means my mother-in-law will get less fountain pens, rosary beads, umbrellas, and yes, Frisbees from the predatory, sound-alike organizations that try to convince her she should send them money in return for their unsolicited gifts, count me in.”
The Direct Marketing Association, which represents many nonprofit groups, strongly opposes the increase. It has filed a formal complaint with the Postal Service about the plan on the grounds that it will “more than double the postage for some nonprofit mail pieces” and has sought a one-year delay in the increase.
Where do you stand on the plan to raise postal rates? You can tell us by clicking on the comment link just below this posting.
