New Postal Rates for Charities to Take Effect in January

November 24, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Washington

Under a plan approved by the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors last week, charities will pay more for their mailings starting January 8. The increases will cost nonprofit groups an additional 3 percent or 12.3 percent, depending on the way they send their mail.

Nonprofit groups that send newsletters, fund-raising appeals, and other materials using “nonprofit standard” rates will face a 3-percent increase. Groups that sort their mail in the order in which it is delivered, to earn discounts under “nonprofit enhanced carrier route” rates, will see a jump of more than 12 percent. Those rates are still several cents lower than nonprofit standard rates.

The approved plan differs from a proposal made last spring by the Postal Service, which would have raised all rates by an average of 5.4 percent.

Because most groups rely on nonprofit standard mail and will therefore see only a 3-percent increase, the new rates will cost charities about $16.1-million less than the rate increase initially proposed by the Postal Service.

Last year, charities sent 11.8 billion pieces of nonprofit standard mail and 2.7 billion pieces at the enhanced-carrier-route rate, according to the Postal Service.

Neal Denton, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, said that while the January increase will cause some difficulties for charities, it is far less worrisome for them than a larger rate increase the Postal Service is expected to request for 2007. That projected increase, he said, “will cause nonprofit and commercial mailers alike to raise their eyebrows and consider their communications strategies and how much they want to put into direct mail.”

PROPOSED RATES FOR BULK NONPROFIT MAIL IN 2006

FOR LETTERS
	Current rate	Rate as of January 8, 2006
Basic rate	16.5	17.0
Sorted by ZIP code ¹	15.3	15.8
Enhanced carrier route	12.6	14.0
High density ²	10.2	11.3
Saturation mailings ³	9.5	10.5
Sorted by carrier route	11.1	11.7
Bar coding (basic)	14.4	14.8
Sorted for postal Area Distribution Center ⁴	13.6	14.0
Sorted by ZIP code to 3 digits ⁵	12.9	13.3
Sorted by ZIP code to 5 digits ⁵	11.4	11.8
FOR NONLETTERS
	Current rate	Rate as of January 8, 2006
Basic rate per piece	23.0	23.7
Sorted by ZIP code ¹	18.3	18.9
Enhanced carrier route	12.6	14.0
High density ²	11.0	12.2
Saturation mailings ³	10.4	11.6
Bar coding (basic)	18.9	19.5
Sorted by ZIP code ¹	16.6	17.1
Note: Letters are defined as pieces 6-1/8 inches by 11-1/2 inches or smaller, not thicker than 1/4 inch, and weighing no more than 3.3 ounces. 1. Under current and new rates, ZIP-code discounts under the basic rate are available for mail sorted to the first 3 or 5 digits. 2. Must be in batches of 125 or more pieces per carrier route and sorted according to the “walk sequence” of addresses on the route. 3. Mail that is sent to 75 percent of the addresses or 90 percent of the residences on a carrier’s route. Must be sorted according to the “walk sequence” of addresses on the route. 4. Postal Area Distribution Centers serve multiple ZIP-code areas. 5. Must have 150 pieces to qualify for this rate.
SOURCE: Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers and U.S. Postal Service