The recent postal rate increase has significantly hurt nonprofit organizations, driving many away from the mail and into alternative channels such as e-mail.
The increases have also hurt the delivery of programs at a time when many nonprofits have been called upon to provide additional services following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a DMA study of its nonprofit membership.
Based on an index of 0 to 100, with 100 being significantly positive, the June 30 rate change was rated 39 for fundraising and existing donors, 26 for fundraising from new donors and a “very disturbing” 31 for its negative effects on program delivery.
Nonprofits, which depend heavily on direct mail for donations, are taking three major steps to reduce the financial burden of postal rate increases. They are seeking work-sharing discounts and changing individual direct mail formats to avoid additional postal charges. And, perhaps most significantly, nonprofits are exploring other channels such as the Internet to avoid future dependence on mail and the debilitating effects of postal rate increases.
