Nonprofit Postage Rates Going Up. Email More!

Earlier this month the Postal Rate Commission announced its recommendations to increase postal rates. The Direct Marketing Association reports that those rates will probably be approved and take effect in January of 2006. The nonprofit regular rates overall will go up 3%, but nonprofit enhanced carrier route mail rates, used in larger mailings will go up 12.3% overall, according to the DMA.

This means that email can be more profitable next year than this year. After all email rates aren't going up. It also means that when you use email to support direct mail fundraising, the results will be more important, since every extra dollar will be needed to pay for the postal rates.

That, in turn means that email append will be more important. With email append, you can increase the results of more house file direct mail appeals.

Don't let your organization take money out of your online budget to cover the postal increases. Instead, recommend ways that modest additional investment in online fundraising will help offset the increases, and improve the results of direct mail appeals.

Rick...