Postal

During the Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award Luncheon at the 2011 New York Nonprofit Conference last Wednesday, the talk prior to the Human Rights Campaign accepting the honor centered around the measures to eliminate nonprofit mail discounts and restrict charitable deductions.

With the United States Postal Service looking to downsize, some of America's favorite nonprofits that rely heavily on direct mail fundraising could become a new kind of charity case.

That’s because legislation to restructure the money-losing agency includes a provision that would eliminate reduced postage rates for nonprofit mail.

Under Rep. Darrell Issa’s bill, the 40 percent discount that nonprofits have been getting for the postage rates on their mailings since Congress authorized it in 1951 would be reduced by 5 percent a year, and to 10 percent after six years.

The U.S. Postal Service ended its third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011 with a net loss of $3.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $3.5 billion for the same period in FY 2010. Total mail volume declined to 39.8 billion pieces for the quarter, compared to 40.9 billion pieces in the third quarter of FY 2010. Postal Service third quarter revenue reflects the anemic state of the economy during the past three months. Additionally, the growth in electronic communications continues to erode core First-Class Mail volume.

Three fundraising professionals shared 30 ideas for fundraising success at Fund Raising Day in New York. Here are ideas 21-30.

NewView Oklahoma is preparing to begin a new contract to handle mail services for the U.S. Navy.

Lauren White, president and chief executive of the nonprofit company, said the company is hiring up to 29 employees for the July 1 start date in eight initial locations, which include naval bases in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Work will be managed from the Oklahoma City office but performed on site.

As part of the Navy contract, employees will handle all aspects of the mail except driving. Adaptive technology may be used to aid employees.

The Postal Regulatory Commission has officially approved the USPS Mobile Barcode Promotion and determined that nonprofits can play too! All of the other regulations have remained the same.

If you have already planned on some great campaigns this summer that incorporate QR Codes then you’ll be all set to save 3 percent on postage. If you have not planned on using this 2-D barcode technology into your next campaign, then get started; the promotion starts July 1!

While a larger postal rate case remains on appeal, postal rates increased by an average 1.7 percent effective this past Sunday — the first increase in two years.

An average 5.6-percent rate hike, proposed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) last summer but rejected by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) the past fall, remains on appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Two seemingly disparate developments spur this writing. One is the fiscal disaster that is the United States Postal Service and the other is the unprecedented attack on the deductibility of charitable donations. I see these as related and stemming from the same problem.

The Postal Regulatory Commission announced this morning that it would not approve the U.S. Postal Service's request for an "exigent" price increase.

"We have concluded that we must deny the Postal Service's request," Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway said in a prepared statement. She said the decision "is a consensus, and is unanimous."

Everyone wants a breakthrough. Every nonprofit wants to leapfrog into the dominating position it knows it deserves. Everyone wants to travel the fast and sexy path. But breakthroughs are rare. Fortunately, there's another path to success, and it usually works — the slow and boring path.