Accountability and Oversight

USPS Adopts Rule on Use of Personal Information in Standard Mail

The U.S. Postal Service has adopted a new rule to clarify when mail containing personal information may be mailed at the standard mail rate instead of the first class mail rate. The final rule goes into effect on June 1, 2005. If all three of the following conditions are met, a mailing containing personal information may be sent as standard mail:

1) the mailing contains explicit advertising or solicitation for a donation;
2) all of the personal information contained in the mailing is directly related to the advertising or solicitation; and,
3) the exclusive purpose of the personal information is to support the advertising or solicitation.

The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers and other nonprofit representatives were successful in negotiating clarifications to a rule on the use of personal information in Nonprofit Standard Mail. These clarifications are contained in a USPS Customer Support Ruling (PS-323) (PDF) that includes descriptive examples of solicitations containing personal information that can be sent at the Nonprofit Standard postage rate rather than the First Class rate.

Clarification of the Personal Information Rule -- Customer Support Ruling PS-323 (PDF)
More information on this issue can be found on the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers website, including a USPS decision tree (PDF) for determining whether a mailing should be standard for first class mail.
Text of the Final Rule

Background
The U.S. Postal Service issued a proposed rule (PDF) in April 2004 to clarify the circumstances in which mail containing personal information may be eligible for the standard mail rate as opposed to the first class mail rate. Generally, mail that has the "character" of personal correspondence cannot be sent at standard mail rates, but since the 1980s the USPS allowed the inclusion of some personalized information in standard mail. The USPS does not explain what constitutes personal information other than to say that it is any information specific to the addressee.

USPS issued a final rule on October 27, 2004 which revised its April proposal. The revised rule no longer requires the "exclusive purpose" of the entire mailing to be advertising or solicitation as long as the personal information (such as past donor activity) is included for the exclusive purpose of supporting the advertising or solicitation. In other words, the rule allows dual purpose mailings such as a solicitation and a newsletter, for example, if the exclusive purpose of any personal information is to support the solicitation. This will still pose a problem for some mailings. For example, the USPS has advised that mailings which instruct a donor to keep the letter as a receipt for tax purposes would have to be sent as first class mail since the personal information is not for the exclusive purpose of soliciting a donation. (Customer Support Ruling PS-322)

INDEPENDENT SECTOR and other nonprofits had expressed opposition to the proposed rule that would have required nonprofits to send “dual purpose” mailings - such as a newsletter that also includes a personal solicitation - at more expensive first class rates. Of the 402 written comments received on this rule, 350 of them were from nonprofit organizations.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Letter to the USPS

June 16, 2004

Sherry Freda
Manager, Mailing Standards
U.S. Postal Service
1735 N Lynn St, Room 3025
Arlington, VA 22209-6038

Dear Ms. Freda:

INDEPENDENT SECTOR welcomes this opportunity to comment on the United States Postal Service proposed rule on Eligibility Requirements for Standard Mail published in the Federal Register on April 19, 2004.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization committed to strengthening, empowering, and partnering with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations in their work on behalf of the public good. Our coalition of approximately 600 nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs collectively represents tens of thousands of charitable groups as well as millions of donors and volunteers serving a wide range of causes in regions across the country.

Under the proposed USPS rule, INDEPENDENT SECTOR and its members would not be able to use the preferred nonprofit postal rate for joint mailings that are intended to solicit funds while sharing information and important program-related materials with our constituents, if the mail contains any personal information. In this time of budget cuts and belt-tightening, charitable organizations must use their resources efficiently to serve a variety of purposes. We rely upon the mail to raise funds and to inform the public about our work. A rule change that limits the use of Nonprofit Standard rates would severely hurt our programs and negatively impact the people our members serve throughout America.

It is not uncommon for development campaigns to serve multiple purposes—to raise awareness, educate the public or to motivate action, for example. These multiple purpose appeals are often the only contact a donor has with our charity and may be the sole impetus for giving. The proposed USPS rule would establish an exclusive purpose test that would prevent us from using any “personal information” like a donor’s contribution history or other relevant giving information in our multiple purpose campaigns, unless it was sent at the First Class rates instead of the preferred nonprofit rates.

Under the proposed rule, a mailing containing personal information, such as reference to a donation the recipient previously made, which is included solely to increase the effectiveness of the solicitation, may be mailed at the Nonprofit Standard rate. However, if that mailing also includes information about a public policy issue or a call to action, it could be considered a dual-purpose mailing and would have to be mailed at the First Class rate, even though both items could be mailed separately at the Nonprofit Standard rate. Separate mailings would increase such costs as envelopes and stuffing and processing fees that would most likely not be offset by the lower preferred postal rate.

The new rule would seriously harm the nonprofit community’s access to the preferred postal rate for multiple purposed fundraising and educational campaigns. Please consider a revision that would protect nonprofit access to the preferred rates of nonprofits so that we may continue using the mail to further our good work.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia Read
Vice President, Public Affairs



Last Updated:  May 2, 2005