The current nonprofit postage rate for sending newsletters, letters, and other bulk mail through USPS Marketing Mail starts at $0.148. Nonprofits can get discounted rates for periodicals and Marketing Mail items from USPS. These rates are lower than regular postage, but there is a catch.

USPS won't give your organization nonprofit postage rates unless you follow some strict rules. You need to make sure your business mailers meet these rules to get approved for nonprofit rates by USPS.

Also, firms under this category must apply for and acquire an annual commercial mailing permit to send bulk mail under USPS Marketing Mail. Keep reading to learn more details!

USPS extends the nonprofit mailing rate to a select few categories of organizations. It is also responsible for categorizing organizations as nonprofits depending on their primary purpose or goal. Only organizations belonging to these categories can apply for USPS authorization to access nonprofit prices for their mailers.

Besides the category of organizations listed by USPS, some voting registration officials and political committees can also apply for nonprofit postage rates. However, there are only eight categories of organizations that the USPS finds eligible for nonprofit prices, and they are as follows.

• Religious Organizations
• Educational Organizations
• Fraternal Organizations
• Agricultural Organizations
• Labor Organizations
• Veterans Organizations
• Scientific Organizations
• Charitable/Philanthropic Organizations

#1 Religious Organizations

Generally, churches, temples, mosques, etc, are nonprofits that are primarily engaged in religious worship. These organizations also offer specific nonprofit postage rates to their supporters who back religious activities.

According to USPS, any organization that teaches or spreads a religious faith, including religious instructions, is also a religious organization. If your organization belongs to one of these categories, you could be eligible for nonprofit postage from the USPS.

#2 Educational Organizations

Educational organizations are also eligible for nonprofit mailing rates for their postal communication. According to USPS, an organization falls in the academic category if its primary purpose is to provide individual instruction or training.

The USPS also considers educational organizations to provide instructions to the public. An organization can promote a specific point of view or opinion and still classify itself as educational if it uses relevant facts. USPS does not allow organizations that preach an unsupported idea to access nonprofit postage rates.

Some famous examples of educational organizations that are generally eligible for the nonprofit mailing rate include the following.

• Primary/secondary schools
• Professional/trade schools
• Museums
• Zoos
• Planetariums
• Symphony orchestras
• Organizations that present programs, such as forums, public discussion groups, lectures, etc, including radio and TV broadcasts
• Organizations offering instruction courses through direct correspondence or mass media like TV and radio

Note: USPS states that schools must have a planned curriculum, regular faculty, and students to qualify for nonprofit postage.

#3 Fraternal Organizations

According to USPS, nonprofit organizations that primarily focus on promoting mutual benefits and fellowship between their members are called fraternal organizations. USPS also states that fraternal organizations must follow a chapter or lodge system to access nonprofit postage rates.

Additionally, USPS states that fraternal organizations must elect their members via a vote by their existing members and follow a ritualistic format. Fraternal organizations may have members belonging to one or more genders. Some examples of fraternal organizations that can access USPS's nonprofit postage rates include the following.

• Elks
• Masons
• College Fraternities/sororities
• and more

#4 Agricultural Organizations

Agricultural organizations also enjoy lower nonprofit mailing rates from USPS. A firm becomes a farming organization only if its primary purpose involves agricultural pursuits for creating better products and enhancing the efficiency of farming or agricultural processes.

Organizations that collect and spread information related to agriculture are also considered agricultural organizations by USPS. Your business can become eligible for the lower nonprofit mailing rate if involved in the following activities.

• Sponsorship for agricultural activities.
• Conducting agricultural fairs.
• Collecting and propagating agrarian information.
• Managing livestock, including rearing and feeding them.
• Promoting activities that promote agricultural or rural interests.

#5 Labor Organizations

Labor organizations are one of the eight categories of nonprofit categories that can access nonprofit postage rates. USPS classifies an organization as a labor organization if its primary purpose is to provide better living conditions for workers.

Labor unions and employee associations are the two most common examples of labor organizations. These organizations can have the participation of both employees and workers. The purpose of such organizations is to bring worker grievances, such as labor disputes, wages, etc, to the employer's attention. USPS authorizes lower nonprofit

#6 Veterans Organizations

A nonprofit organization for veterans of the United States armed services is called Veterans Organization. USPS allows such organizations to send postal mail at a low nonprofit mailing rate, and this can also extend to organizations containing

• An auxiliary unit
• Trusts
• Foundations
• And similar organizations

#7 Scientific Organizations

According to USPS's classification, scientific organizations are nonprofit organizations whose primary goals include one of the following.

• Conducting applied/pure/natural sciences research.
• Spreading scientific information related to pure, used, or natural sciences.

Suppose your organization also has a similar primary purpose. In that case, you can also access nonprofit postage rates from USPS and minimize your mailing expenses.

#8 Charitable/Philanthropic Organizations

The last category of organizations that USPS authorizes a nonprofit mailing rate is a Charitable/Philanthropic Organization. USPS considers a firm a charitable or philanthropic organization whose primary aim is to help the public.

The following are the primary purposes of charitable or philanthropic organizations.

• Provide relief or help the poor and underprivileged.
• Maintenance and advancement of religion, science, and education.
• Provide relief to government burdens.

Besides the primary goals listed above, organizations with the following primary objectives can also access nonprofit postage rates from USPS.

• Social welfare/promotion of any of the primary purposes listed above
• Minimizing neighborhood tensions
• Eliminating discrimination (prejudice)
• Human and civil rights defense
• Combating juvenile delinquency
• Combating community deterioration

 Also Read: Canada Postage Rates

USPS Marketing Mail, previously called USPS Standard Mail, is significantly helpful for non-profit organizations. Nonprofit organizations can send their postal mail at a lower nonprofit mailing rate using this USPS mail service. 

A nonprofit organization using USPS Marketing Mail service can get up to the 60% discount for their First-Class Mail service. However, you can only send specific mailers at a lower nonprofit mailing rate via USPS Marketing Mail.

For instance, your Nonprofit Standard Mail can not include content such as statements, invoices, handwritten letters, Etc. These documents require First-Class Mail service; you can not send them for low nonprofit postage rates.

If yours is a nonprofit organization, as per USPS standards, you can obtain a standard mail authorization letter from USPS. It enables your organization to send postal mail at low nonprofit postage rates.

The current nonprofit postage rate to use USPS Marketing Mail to send newsletters, letters, periodicals, and other bulk mail pieces starts at $0.148. To most people, this may seem like a negligible discount. But this slight difference per mailpiece could be crucial to nonprofit organizations that often send bulk mail.

It means nonprofit organizations must spend more money on marketing and communication efforts. Since nonprofit organizations do not run on profits, it could significantly affect their budget. Nonprofit organizations must optimize their nonprofit postage costs by using advanced direct mail solutions like PostGrid.

More importantly, you must understand that USPS has more than one nonprofit postage rate. You can find the postage for your nonprofit mailers using the Business Postage Price Calculator from USPS. 

Nonprofit postage saves you around 35 cents per piece compared to standard First-Class bulk mail. However, you can save even more on your nonprofit mailing using advanced direct mail automation software like PostGrid.

The automated solution from PostGrid eliminates human error in your mailing process. PostGrid lets you minimize your mail return rate and maximize your deliverability. As a result, you can save more on precious resources and add to your savings from nonprofit postage rates. Schedule a free consultation with our experts to learn how to save money by automating your mail communication.

One or more authorized nonprofit organizations can share the mailing risks, benefits, and costs through the Cooperative Mail Rule (CMR). This rule only applies to nonprofit organizations entitled to access the nonprofit mailing rate from USPS.  

It is worth noting that the CMR rule only applies to nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations can't share this mailing capability with for-profit organizations. In other words, the nonprofit postage rate is not shareable between a nonprofit and a for-profit organization. 

Technically, nonprofit organizations are not getting a discount on shipping with the nonprofit postage rates. Instead, they share the cost of nonprofit mail with other nonprofit organizations through the CMR rule. 

The nonprofit stamp is just another fancy name for the precanceled postage stamp. It is a unique postage stamp from USPS that costs less than the standard one. But, USPS charges the postage once their customer posts an item at the post office. 

It is relatively low compared to regular postage for stamped letters, which is $0.73. That's not all. USPS requires you to contact your post office if you want to use nonprofit precanceled stamps to get lower nonprofit postage rates.

Nonprofit Authorization Number Lookup

The nonprofit authorization or NPA number lets the mail carrier know that the organization addressed on an envelope is a nonprofit. It allows USPS to understand that the organization can mail its letters at a lower nonprofit postage rate.

It is also worth noting that the postal service sends an approval letter containing your nonprofit authorization number. Typically, USPS sends this letter after approving the nonprofit status of their customers, and they can send mail at a low nonprofit postage rate.

Nonprofit Mailing Permits

Besides the nonprofit authorization number, nonprofit organizations should also be aware of the permit number. The permit number differs from the nonprofit authorization in every way, other than helping you get a low nonprofit postage rate.

The permit number lets your organization identify its relationship with the local USPS post office. The nonprofit mailing permit number is technically only relevant to your post office. After assigning the NPA number and allowing your organization to access nonprofit postage, USPS also lets your post office know about it.

The post office also knows you can access low nonprofit postage rates. Moreover, you can send unmasked mail via USPS without them asking for a permit. All you have to do is pay the bulk mailing fee if you intend to use that service.

However, the bulk mailing is significantly easier using an automated direct mail solution like PostGrid. You can use a single template to send hundreds or even thousands of personalized mail. It lets you pre-sort your mail and optimize the entire mailing process, getting you a lower nonprofit postage rate.

Strategic Advantages of Using USPS for Nonprofit Organizations

USPS offers an affordable, dependable, and scalable method to reach supporters and donors across the U.S. Here are some of the benefits:

1. USPS’s lower postage prices for nonprofits help further fundraising efforts and outreach budgets without affecting campaign volume.
2. USPS has a nationwide delivery network. This coverage makes sure nonprofits can communicate with their audience in every ZIP code, even remote and rural areas.
3. Bulk mailing discounts make it easy to carry out large campaigns with predictable and lower costs.
4. Specific mailing tools allow nonprofits to target their ideal regions or demographics for improved impact.
5. Trustworthy and credible channels of communication enhance donor confidence. It is especially important for fundraising campaigns.
6. Using USPS for nonprofit mailing gives immediate access to other USPS services like address verification and presorting. As a result, there is a significant drop in undeliverable mail.

Optimizing your mailing process is the most effective way to reduce your nonprofit mailing rate. You can start by using an automated solution like PostGrid to streamline your postal mail marketing and communication efforts. 

Here are some ways PostGrid can help you minimize the nonprofit mailing rate for your organization.

Zero Human Error

With a fully automated direct mail solution like PostGrid, you can automate every aspect of your mailing process. By connecting the PostGrid direct mail API to your CRM solution, you can personalize your mailers, including accurate printing of addresses on the mailers. 

There is no need for a manual intervention that eliminates human error and related loss. As a result, you can maintain a consistent nonprofit mailing rate for your organization's communication.

Bulk Mailing Discounts

Another compelling reason to use PostGrid for your organization is that it enables you to access bulk mail discounts from USPS easily. It is one of the most efficient ways to ensure lower nonprofit mailing rates for your organization. 

Bulk mail discounts are not the same as special nonprofit postage offered by the postal service provider. Any organization with bulk mail requirements can use PostGrid to access discounted mailing prices, making it more flexible. 

Minimal Wastage Of Resources

One of the best things about automated solutions is that there is no waste. The lack of human error and a streamlined direct mail process means minimal return mail. It means organizations can save resources like paper, ink, nonprofit postage, etc.., by using an automated direct mail tool like PostGrid.

Talk to our experts now to ensure the lowest nonprofit mailing rate for your organization with an automated direct mail solution from PostGrid and harness the benefits of bulk mail discounts.