Planning to start up a fund-raising effort for your Palm Beach County charity … but unsure where to begin? Perhaps the person who oversaw the prior outreach retired or departed? Or, you’re just low on employees and long on work?
You need a turnkey mailing service that understands how direct mail for charities operates. Put differently, you need Bresser’s Information Services, a mail service provider (MSP) that does the charity fund-raising can be intimidating, and ripe for errors. How do non-profit postage rates function? Which types of operations are eligible? Can any materials be mailed, or only specific types?
First, a definition. Non-profit mail is printed material eligible to be mailed as USPS Marketing Mail®, by organizations authorized by the Postal Service™, at substantially reduced non-profit postage rates.
You can realize momentous savings on postage … as long as you stick to the rules. Bresser’s Information Services knows them completely, and is prepared to help.
Remember, nothing that requires sending via First Class Mail® qualifies for non-profit rates. The rules are well defined. Unbendable. Don’t even try.
So, what can you send at non-profit rates? Self-mailers, letters, newsletters and booklets weighing less than 16 ounces can classify for USPS Marketing Mail®.
Only materials of authorized organizations, registered as non-profits with USPS, can be mailed at non-profit rates. Stated otherwise, don’t try to utilize the non-profit status of another Palm Beach County organization. It won’t work. Authorized organizations are barred from sharing their mailing privilege. Get your own.
How? Complete PS Form 3624, Application to Mail at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® Prices. Be ready to show documentation that your organization is a legal non-profit. Fill out the form entirely. Doing so can make the difference in a decision returning in days, versus weeks.
Is your Palm Beach County organization eligible? Very likely, as long as your due diligence is complete. The classifications of organizations approved for Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail® prices are lengthy: philanthropic, religious, educational, veterans, scientific, labor, fraternal, political … the list goes on.
Got your non-profit authorization? Great. Let’s get your mailing moving. Bresser’s Information Services will mail on your organization’s behalf, using our mailing permit.
There’s a reason our name includes “services,” though. We don’t stop at preparing your mail for the largest postage savings, and delivering it at the post office.
We provide advice on designing your mail piece. Print your materials in full color. Populate and expand your mailing list, using recipients known to give to specific causes. Clean up your list, deleting vacant and duplicate addresses. Find new addresses for recipients who have relocated.
Since its founding in 1946, Bresser’s Information Services has printed, addressed and mailed millions of fund-raising materials. We know the regulations, the rates, and how to land your fund-raising outreach in the right hands.
Contact us to begin your next Palm Beach County fund-raising campaign. We’re a mail house, for sure – one dedicated to keeping your non-profit house strong, vibrant, and doing good work in the community.