Case Studies

While the role of the Alliance is one of constant vigilance and communication, there also are stories to tell about key events that illustrate the fact that things would be very different without the Alliance. The nonprofit community is very fortunate that an enlightened and involved group of their representatives decided to form a permanent Alliance more than three decades ago.

Access to Nonprofit Preferred Rates in Jeopardy Due to New Intelligent Mail Requirements, but the Alliance Takes Leadership of Solving the Problems at MTAC
With USPS electronic submission of postage documentation (eDoc) and Full Service Intelligent Mail barcodes becoming required in 2015 in order to retain maximum nonprofit postage incentives, Mail Service Providers (MSPs) who merge multiple nonprofit jobs into a single presort to maximize postage savings were faced with limitations to list every nonprofit mail owner’s identity in the eDoc to PostalOne. Unlike for-profit mailing where By/For identity is only required if the mail owner has more than 5,000 pieces, nonprofit mail owners must be identified regardless of the number of pieces due to claiming nonprofit rates. Read-More
2011 Legislative Provision to Eliminate Nonprofit Rates Stricken
As a result of the 2010 election, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. The new chairman of the Postal Service oversight committee, reacting to the financial problems facing the Postal Service, scheduled numerous hearings to explore the Postal Service’s problems and identify legislative solutions. After extensive congressional review, the chairman introduced comprehensive legislation that, among other things, called for the elimination of the preferred nonprofit Standard mail discounts. Read-More
New USPS Personalization Rule Threatened the Viability of Mail Fundraising by Nonprofits and the Alliance Saved the Day
In April 2004, the Postal Service issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would have required the “exclusive purpose” of the personal information in a Standard Mail piece be to solicit a sale or contribution. While this might have worked for commercial companies selling credit cards or other products, it would have been disastrous for the entire nonprofit sector that historically combined requests for contributions with other programmatic purposes such as education and advocacy. Forcing these types of mailings to be sent First Class would have been catastrophic for the missions of most nonprofits. Read-More
Potential Rate Discrimination against Nonprofits is Quickly Corrected
Discrimination against nonprofit mailers with regard to their postage rates versus commercial rates was the primary driver of the formation of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers in 1980. Over 30 years later, the issue of discrimination continues to be monitored by the ANM and, when necessary, swiftly corrected. Read-More

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