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Computer-Prepared
Mailpieces Entered by Authorized Nonprofit Mailers
May 2005
PS-323 (243.2.2)
This Customer Support Ruling discusses
whether “personal information” present in the mailpiece of an organization
authorized to mail at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates causes the piece to be ineligible
for Standard Mail rates.
Mailpieces containing personal information
must be entered at First-Class Mail rates unless eligible for Standard Mail or Package
Services rates under the provisions of DMM 243.2* or DMM 453.2*. DMM 243.2.2* provides
that personal information may not be included in a Standard Mail mailpiece unless
three conditions are met: the mailpiece contains explicit advertising for a product
or service for sale or lease or an explicit solicitation for a donation; all of
the personal information is directly related to the advertising or solicitation;
and the exclusive reason for inclusion of all of the personal information is to
support the advertising or solicitation in the mailpiece. As explained further under
section 2, for mail within the nonprofit subclasses of Standard Mail, the term “solicitation
for a donation” encompasses a request for any monetary or nonmonetary support
for a nonprofit purpose of the mailer.
The remainder of this CSR elaborates
on these tests, as well as the threshold question of what information in a mailpiece
should be considered “personal information.” We discuss each issue in
turn. The examples discussed throughout this CSR are illustrative but are not a
complete list.
1. Does the mailpiece contain personal
information?
Personal information consists of
information specific to the addressee, other than the date of the letter; the names
and addresses of the sender and the addressee; and the name, address, and alphanumeric
information that constitutes the sender’s internal routing numbers (sometimes
labeled “membership,” “account,” “file,” “case,”
or “control”). The following items are some examples of personal information:
(a)
The amount of the addressee’s
previous contribution or contributions.
(b)
The total amount of donations
by the addressee for the previous year.
(c)
The duration of the addressee’s
membership (“member since 1979” or “graduating class of 1979”)
or contribution history (“loyal donor since 1979”).
(d)
The expiration date of the
addressee’s membership.
(e)
The birth date, occupational
title, and similar personal information about the addressee.
(f)
The age, ethnicity, gender,
or other demographic characteristics of the addressee, or a medical condition of
the addressee or a family member.
(g)
The region, metropolitan
area, or neighborhood where the addressee lives.
(h)
The addressee’s polling
place, precinct, electoral district, or elected political representatives, and listings
of political candidates, ballot propositions, or initiatives recommended by the
sender for the precinct or other electoral district of the addressee.
(i)
The number of members or
supporters of the mailer in the area where the addressee lives.
The following items are examples
of information that is not considered to be personal for mail classification purposes:
(a)
Markings that qualify as
“written additions” under DMM 243.2.6 or “enclosures and attachments”
permitted under DMM 243.2.5 are not considered personal information.
(b)
The name and mailing address
of the addressee are not considered to be personal information. This is true whether
that information, or a discrete element of the name and address, is used in the
body of a letter, the heading, envelope, or any component of the mailpiece.
(c)
Markings such as “Personal
– Do Not Throw Away” or “Important – Open Immediately”
appearing on the envelopes of a mailing are not themselves personal information.
2. Does the mailpiece advertise the sale
or lease of a product or service, or solicit for a donation?
As noted above, the term “solicitation
for a donation” encompasses a request for any monetary or nonmonetary support
for a nonprofit purpose of the mailer. The following items are some examples of
the kinds of requests for donations, purchases, leases, or other actions by the
addressee that satisfy this test:
(a)
A request for a new or additional
donation of funds.
(b)
A request that the addressee
join the mailer’s membership organization or renew an existing membership.
(c)
A request that the addressee
complete and mail an opinion survey, feedback or evaluation form, petition, open
letter, or note or card (e.g., “please sign the enclosed Get Well card, which
we will distribute to children with cancer” or “please return this postcard
to your Member of Congress”).
(d)
A request that the addressee
contribute other services in kind to the organization (e.g., donate time as a volunteer).
(e)
A request that the addressee
advance a nonprofit purpose of the mailer by performing services for third persons
(e.g., “please volunteer to _____” or “please pray for _____”).
(f)
A request or recommendation
that the addressee read literature enclosed in the mailpiece or take any other action
that relates to the nonprofit purpose of the mailer. For example, a nonprofit healthcare
organization might send the following solicitations: “Because you have
a new baby in your household, we ask that you read the free enclosed booklet or
look at the following Web site, www.xxxxxx.org, on how to raise a healthy child”
or “Because you have a new baby in your household, you should consider the
proper diet for a newborn. Our research has determined that Mickey’s Company
makes excellent baby food products.”
(g)
A request that the addressee
buy or lease goods or services from the mailer described in the mailpiece.
(h)
An invitation in the mailpiece
that the addressee buy or lease goods or services from the mailer, or make a donation
to the mailer, by visiting a Web site referred to in the mailpiece (e.g., “See
www.xyz.org to order the goods or services we are selling” or “See www.xyz.org
to join xyz.”).
(i)
An offer or solicitation,
enclosed in a mailpiece acknowledging the payment of a contribution or membership
dues, that invites the addressee to purchase goods or services available from the
mailer or offered as a membership benefit through a third party (e.g. “Thank
you for your donation of $20.00 to our organization. This entitles you to a 10 percent
discount on the products offered in our catalog” or “Thank you for sending
in your annual dues. Membership in our organization entitles you to a 10 percent
discount at Speedy’s Rent-a-Car. To take advantage of this benefit, call Speedy’s
at 800-XXX-XXXX and mention that you are a member.”).
(j)
A request that the addressee
apply to, enroll in, or contact the mailer to obtain more information about the
mailer’s educational institution or program.
(k)
A request that the addressee
attend a seminar or event sponsored by the mailer that relates to the educational
or other nonprofit purpose of the organization (e.g., a retirement seminar or a
health care conference).
(l)
An invitation for the addressee
to contact the mailer for additional information that relates to the education or
other nonprofit purpose of the organization (e.g., a catalog of courses or a list
of publications).
A solicitation need not contain
the exact phrases such as “please contribute,” “please purchase,”
“please volunteer,” or “please read”; however, there needs
to be content that indicates the action requested. This content may be located in
any component of the mailpiece. For example, a reply envelope including the endorsement
“additional gift” will be considered a solicitation for a donation.
The same mailpiece may contain more
than one solicitation. For example, a mailpiece may contain both a request for a
monetary contribution and a request that the addressee sign and return a petition
for forwarding by the mailer to an elected official.
3. Is all of the personal information
directly related to the advertising or solicitation?
The next step is to consider whether
all of the personal information is related directly to the advertising or solicitation.
This factor requires the presence of content that ties the personal information
to the solicitation or advertisement. For example:
(a)
The expiration date of the
addressee’s membership shall be considered to be directly related to a solicitation
to renew membership.
(b)
The addressee’s previous
history with the organization, or the amount of the addressee’s past gift
or gifts, shall be considered to be directly related to a solicitation for a donation
(e.g., “generous supporter,” “thank you for your donations in
previous campaigns,” “loyal member since 1999”).
(c)
A reference to the neighborhood,
county, metropolitan area, or region of the addressee shall be considered to be
directly related to a solicitation for a donation raised from or benefiting the
same neighborhood, county, metropolitan area, or region.
(d)
Information about the addressee’s
polling place, precinct, or electoral district shall be considered to be directly
related to a solicitation requesting that the addressee vote at that location concerning
a specific cause, candidate, ballot referendum, ballot proposition, or initiative.
Information about the addressee’s elected political representatives or political
candidates, or ballot propositions or initiatives, shall be considered to be directly
related to a request to the addressee to support or oppose those individuals, propositions,
or initiatives, or to provide support for a political cause of the mailer.
As a further note, satisfying this
factor does not require the presence of the exact terms discussed in these examples,
as long as there are some contents tying the personal information to the solicitation.
This test will be satisfied, for example, in a mailpiece containing a solicitation
for donations if the mailpiece contains (1) language indicating that the addressee
has been a regular contributor or volunteer in the past (such as a reference to
a past donation or that the addressee has been a “loyal,” “generous,”
or “continued” supporter, or similar language), or (2) language connecting
past support to the new solicitation as defined in section 2 of this Customer Support
Ruling (such as a request for an “additional,” “further,”
or “extra” gift or “increased” or “matching”
support, or similar language).
As noted above, the personal information
need not appear within the same sentence, paragraph, or component of the mailing
as the solicitation.
When a mailpiece contains more than
one solicitation, the personal information need relate to only one of the solicitations.
4. Is supporting the solicitation the
exclusive reason for including the personal information?
The final step is to consider whether
there is any purpose for including the personal information other than to support
the solicitation. If nothing in the mailpiece indicates the personal information
is included for any purpose other than to solicit the addressee to support a nonprofit
purpose of the mailer, all of the personal information in the mailpiece shall be
regarded as having been provided solely for the purpose of enhancing the solicitation.
Questions have been raised, however,
about acknowledgements of prior donations that combine an acknowledgement for a
donation with a solicitation for an additional donation. To provide clarity in this
area, we will apply the following bright-line tests.
Mailpieces containing the following
language as a description for the use of the piece, along with the amount of a prior
donation, will indicate another purpose for inclusion of the personal information
and will be considered ineligible for Standard Mail rates:
(a)
“Tax Receipt”
(b)
“Receipt”
(c)
“Keep this notice as
a receipt for tax purposes.”
(d)
“Keep this for
your records.”
The following examples will not
indicate another purpose for inclusion of the personal information and will not
disqualify the mailpiece for entry at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates:
(a)
“Your contribution
may be tax-deductible.”
(b)
“No goods or services
were provided in exchange for this gift.”
(c)
“The IRS requires written
substantiation of charitable gifts of $250 or more,” provided that nothing
else in the piece indicates that it serves as such substantiation.
*See also DMM 343.2, 443.2, 363.3,
373.2, 383.2, 463.3, 473.2, and 483.2.
(Signed)
Sherry Suggs
Manager
Mailing Standards
United States Postal Service
Washington DC 20260-3436
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