A rule change by the U.S. Postal Service is making the job of its mail acceptance clerks a little easier by letting nonprofit mailers certify in writing that their mailing meets all the requirements for reduced-rate Standard A (advertising) Mail postage.
Until last Thursday, when a new rule clarifying the eligibility rules for reduced-rate mailings took effect, mail acceptance clerks did the certification after reviewing a mail sample.
“This certainly is an improvement over the old system,” says Lee Cassidy, National Federation of Nonprofits executive director. “It is much better than having 25,000 or more [mail] acceptance clerks make individual decisions” on whether a nonprofit mailing meets USPS reduced-rate criteria.
While the new rule permits a nonprofit mailer to certify that a mailing does meet all eligibility requirements, it also allows postal officials to assess additional postage if, after a review, determine that the mailer’s certification was erroneous or false.
That provision, Cassidy said, “simplifies the process saying that if there is a disagreement, there can be discussions after the mailing has been processed.”
The rule change, added Amy Gotwal, Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers assistant director, “seems fair and reasonable because while it puts the burden on nonprofit mailers, it also protects both nonprofits and the USPS against fraud.”
The rule still prohibits nonprofit mailers from advertising or selling products or services in their mail pieces that are not “substantially related” to their cause even if the money they raise are used by the organization.
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