May 29, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Washington
Charities will probably soon receive a temporary discount on mail pieces known as “flats,” which are larger than letters, under a recommendation made by a key postal service body on Friday.
The Postal Regulatory Commission’s recommended discounts — 2 cents off the new postage rates for each flat — could take effect as early next month. They would expire on September 29.
New rates that took effect on May 14 have caused problems for many charities. The commission said it took action in response to comments it received from both commercial and charity mailers, who complained about steeper-than-expected increases for flats, particularly those that cannot be processed in the Postal Service’s automated mail-processing equipment.
Charities mail 3.6 billion flats each year, many of which are fund-raising appeals that include token gifts such as greeting cards or address labels used to recruit new donors.
Some nonprofit organizations said they were pleased by the recommendations. “What they came up with is a reasonable compromise that provides a bit of relief in the short term,” said Anthony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers. “Something is better than nothing,” he said.
But others said that the proposed reductions do not go far enough.
“We’re really not thrilled with what the PRC has done. They obviously heard what nonprofits and other mailers had to say about the increases being too high, but they only provided a temporary fix,” said Stephanie Hendricks, director of public affairs at the Direct Marketing Association’s Nonprofit Federation, which represents more than 400 mailers. The federation had called for a one-year delay in putting new rates into effect.
“For businesses and nonprofits, the holidays are the busiest time,” Ms. Hendricks added. “So flat rates will go up just as people start mailing more heavily.”
The recommended postage discounts must still be approved by the Postal Service’s Board of Governors, which is scheduled to meet next month.
