Postage hike to hit charities
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:
Third class nonprofit postal rates, used to
mail ANIMAL PEOPLE and most other humane infor-
mation mediums, are scheduled to take another big jump
in the fall, following increases of 80% over the past three
years. Further, President Clinton’s fiscal 1994 budget
proposes abolishing nonprofit third class privileges for
publications, such as ANIMAL PEOPLE, that contain
either advertising or political advocacy materials.
Nonprofit second class privileges would be removed from
periodicals devoting more than 10% of their space to
advertising (30% to 40% advertising is the usual periodi-
cal breakeven point). Letter-sized nonprofit mailing
rates, used chiefly for fundraising, may go up 32%, from
a current basic rate of 11.1¢ per piece to 14.7¢ apiece.
While the gradual reduction of nonprofit mailing subsidies
hurts all charities, some observers believe the higher rates
will most hurt organizations such as the Doris Day Animal
League, which were formed with the active participation
of commercial direct mail fundraising firms, and whose
programs consist largely of “public education” via letters
and bulletins distributed with funding appeals.
