A coworker recently told me that a holiday ornament he had ordered in early December was finally delivered by the United States Postal Service…at the end of January…broken.

If that story sounds analogous to your calendar year-end direct mail fundraising, you are not alone.

The USPS has been experiencing unprecedented backlogs and the details aren’t only eye-opening, they should be a concern for any fundraiser that relies on direct mail:

-In the fourth quarter of 2020, the USPS never achieved its on time service standard of 96%.

-The USPS has been prioritizing the delivery of parcel packages over first-class mail. Packages have an on-time delivery rate of 95% versus a 64% delivery rate for first class mail.

-Gift processing centers are seeing large numbers of donations that are postmarked up to 3 weeks later than the dates on the checks inside those envelopes, which seems to confirm the prioritization of parcels above all else, including first class mail.

The backlog got so bad at some distribution centers that the USPS embargoed delivery to those sites and redirected mail to other locations. This resulted in mail and packages sitting unprocessed for extended periods of time and then crisscrossing the country, sometimes multiple times, once they started to move.

How did we get here?

There are multiple factors. They include operational changes at the USPS which had contributed to declining delivery performance since July, an explosion of holiday parcel packages, the very real impact of COVID-19 on USPS staffing levels and extreme weather conditions.

What’s the impact?

The consequences of this perfect storm run deep for public media stations, and all non-profits, impacting everyone from customer service reps to CFOs and every employee in between.

How?

Let’s start with cash flow. The delays are affecting both the solicitation of gifts AND the return of check donations sent by donors via first-class mail.  This is resulting in serious delays in bank deposits and is shifting revenue into subsequent months making it difficult to assess fundraising campaign results or get a clear view of the overall revenue picture. This could result in a cash crunch for those without reserves, cost-cutting measures, under-informed budget reforecasts or the delay of capital investments.

In addition, the situation is creating a spike in customer service cases as donors that contributed in December continue to receive follow-up solicitations in January and February due to their gifts not being processed. Not only that, but those donors remain unacknowledged as the backlog persists. At a time when non-profits are focused on the donor experience and donor retention, this is the last thing you want to have happen.

So now what?

When contacted by donors, it’s important to point out the issue lies with the USPS and to remind donors that you are both in this situation together. Chances are they’ve been affected by this issue in their own daily lives and you can use the opportunity to draw the donor closer to your organization through this shared experience.

While service levels are slowly returning to normal, significant backlogs remain in Greensboro, Houston, Philadelphia and Richmond. We strongly recommend watching USPS service levels and planning accordingly, especially if delays remain as you head into your fiscal year end campaigns. Whether that means adjusting your marketing calendar to change production schedules and drop dates or testing the impact of first-class postage on delivery times and performance, now is the time to be developing your Plan B.

For public media stations, consider going on the offensive and launching an on-air campaign to increase online giving, above and beyond your normal digital push. Utilize QR codes, texting and social media to drive donors online to fulfill their good intentions.

While you’re at it, use the current situation as an incentive to review your organization’s digital donation experience. Optimize and streamline the process wherever possible and increase visibility, especially on your mobile site. In addition to expediting the donation process and putting those funds to work more quickly, you’ll also be giving the USPS a bit of a break and telegraphing to donors that you’re aware of the issue and trying to do something to improve the situation.

And remember, if your current agency or vendor is not proactively discussing these options and tactics with you, CDP stands ready to help. Simply click the “Contact” button at the top of this page.