Cooperative
Mail Rules
Section
E670
5.0
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ELIGIBILITY
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ELIGIBLE AND INELIGIBLE
MATTER (excerpt)
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Organization's
Own Mail
5.1
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An organization authorized to
mail at the Nonprofit Standard rates may mail only
its own matter at those rates. An authorized
organization may not delegate or lend the use of
its authorization to mail at the Nonprofit Standard
Mail Rates to any other person or organization.
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Ineligible
Matter
5.2
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No person or organization may
mail, or cause to be mailed by contractual
agreement or otherwise, any ineligible matter at
the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates.
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Cooperative
Mailing
5.3
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A cooperative mailing may be
made at the Nonprofit Standard Mailing Mail rates
only when each of the cooperating organizations is
individually authorized to mail at the Nonprofit
Standard Mail rates at the post office where the
mailing is deposited. A cooperative mailing
involving the mailing of any matter on behalf of or
produced for an organization not itself authorized
to mail at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates at the
post office where the mailing is deposited must be
paid at the applicable Regular or Enhanced Carrier
Route Standard Mail rates. The mailer may appeal
the decision under G020.
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Prohibitions
& Regulations
5.4
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Nonprofit Standard Mail rates
may not be used for the entry Restrictions of
material that advertises, promotes, offers, or, for
a fee or consideration, recommends, describes, or
announces the availability of:
a. Any credit, debit, or
charge card or similar financial instrument or
account, provided by or through an arrangement with
any person or organization not authorized to mail
at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates at the entry
post office.
b. Any insurance policy,
unless the organization promoting the purchase of
such policy is authorized to mail at the Nonprofit
Standard Mail rates at the entry post office; the
policy is designed for and primarily promoted to
the members, donors, supporters, or beneficiaries
of that organization; and the coverage provided by
the policy is not generally otherwise commercially
available as explained in 5.5
c. Any travel
arrangement, unless the organization promoting the
arrangement is authorized to mail at the Nonprofit
Standard Mail rates at the entry post office; the
travel contributes substantially (aside from the
cultivation of members, donors, or supporters, or
the acquisition of income or funds) to one or more
of the purposes that constitute the basis for the
organization's authorization to mail at the
Nonprofit Standard Mail rates; and the arrangement
is designed for and primarily promoted to the
members, donors, supporters, or beneficiaries of
that organization.
d. Any other product or
service unless one of these exceptions is met:
(1) The sale of the product or the provision
of such services is substantially related to the
exercise or performance by the organization of one
or more of the purposes used by the organization to
qualify for mailing at the Nonprofit Standard Mail
rates. The criteria in 5.6 are used to determine
whether an advertisement, promotion, or offer for a
product or service is for a substantially related
product or service and, therefore, mailable at the
Nonprofit Standard Mail rates.
(2) The product or service is advertised in
Standard Mail (A) material meeting the prescribed
content requirements for a periodical publication.
The criteria in 5.8 are used to determine whether
the Standard Mail (A) material meets the content
requirements for a periodical publication.
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Definitions,
Insurance
5.5
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For the standard in
5.4b:
a. The term not generally
otherwise commercially available applies to the
actual coverage stated in an insurance policy,
without regard to the amount of the premiums, the
underwriting practices, and the financial condition
of the insurer. When comparisons are made with
other policies, consideration is given to policy
coverage benefits, limitations, and exclusions, and
to the availability of coverage to the targeted
category of recipients. When insurance policy
coverages are compared for determining whether
coverage in a policy offered by an organization is
not generally otherwise commercially available, the
comparison is based on the specific characteristics
of the recipients of the piece (e.g., geographic
location or demographic characteristics).
b. The types of insurance
considered generally commercially available
include, but are not limited to, homeowner's,
property, casualty, marine, professional liability
(including malpractice), travel, health, life,
airplane, automobile, truck, motorhome, motorbike,
motorcycle, boat, accidental death, accidental
dismemberment, Medicare supplement (medigap),
catastrophic care, nursing home, and hospital
indemnity insurance.
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Definitions,
Substantially
Related
Advertising
Products
5.6
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For the standards in
5.4d
a. To be substantially
related, the sale of the product or the provision
of the service must contribute importantly to the
accomplishment of one or more of the qualifying
purposes of the organization. This means that the
sale of the product or providing of the service
must be directly related to accomplishing one or
more of the purposes on which the organization's
authorization to mail at the Nonprofit Standard
Mail rates is based. The sale of the product or
providing of the service must have a causal
relationship to the achievement of the exempt
purposes (other than through the production of
income) of the authorized organization. (Income
produced from selling an advertised product or
activity, even if the income will be used to
accomplish the purpose or purposes of the
authorized organization.)
b. Standards established
by the internal revenue service (IRS) and the
courts with respect to 26 USC 513(a) and (c) of the
Internal Revenue Code are used to determine whether
the sale or provision of an advertised product or
service, whether sold or offered by the
organization or by another party, is substantially
related to the qualifying purposes of an
organization. (Advertisements in Standard Mail (A)
material that meets the content requirements for a
periodical publication need not meet the
substantially related standard to be mailable at
the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates. See 5.4d(2) and
5.8).
(1) If the advertising material is for a
product or service that is not substantially
related, it is not mailable at the Nonprofit
Standard Mail rates.
(2) If an organization pay unrelated
business income tax on the profits from the sale of
a product or the provision of a service, that
activity is by IRS definition not substantially
related. The fact that an organization does not pay
such tax, however, does not establish that the
activity is substantially related because other
criteria may exempt the organization from payment.
The inclusion of an advertisement for a product or
service in a mailpiece may disqualify the piece for
Nonprofit Standard Mail rates, even if the mailer
does not pay unrelated business income tax on its
sale.
(3) Third-party paid advertisements may be
included in material mailed at the Nonprofit
Standard Mail rates if the products or services
advertised are substantially related to one or more
of the purposes for which the organization is
authorized to mail at Nonprofit Standard Mail
rates. However, if the material contains one or
more advertisements that are not substantially
related, the material is not eligible for the
Nonprofit Standard Mail rates, unless it is part of
material that meets the content requirements
described in 5.8 and is not disqualified from using
the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates under another
provision.
c. Announcements of
activities, e.g. bake sale, car wash, charity
auction, oratorical contest, are considered
substantially related if substantially all the work
is conducted by the members or supports of an
authorized organization without
compensation.
d. Advertisements for
products and services, including products and
services offered as prizes or premiums, are
considered substantially related if the products
and services are received by an authorized
organization as gifts or contributions.
e. An advertisement,
promotion, offer, or subscription order form for a
periodical publication meeting the eligibility
criteria in E211 and published by one of the types
of nonprofit organizations listed in 2.0 is
mailable at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates.
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Other
Matter
5.7
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An authorized nonprofit
organization's material is not disqualified from
being mailed at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates
solely because that material contains, but is not
primarily devoted to:
a. Acknowledgments of
organizations or individuals who have made
donations to the authorized organization.
b. References to and a
response card or other instructions for making
inquiries about services or benefits available from
membership in the authorized organization, if
advertising, promotional, or application materials
for such services or benefits are not included.
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Periodical
Publication
Content
Requirements
5.8
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Advertisements for products
and services in material that meets the content
requirements for a periodical publication are
mailable at the Nonprofit Standard Mail rates. The
material mailed must meet these
standards:
a. Have a title. The
title must be printed on the front cover page in a
style and size of type that make it distinguishable
from other information on the front cover
page.
b. Be formed of printed
sheets. (It may not be reproduced by stencil,
mimeograph, or hectograph. Reproduction by any
other process is permitted.) Any style of type may
be used.
c. Contain an
identification statement on one of the first five
pages of the publication that includes these
elements:
(1) Title.
(2) Issue date. The date may be omitted if
it is on the front cover or cover page.
(3) Statement of frequency showing when
issues are to be published (daily; weekly; monthly;
monthly except June; four times a year in June,
August, September, and December; annually;
irregularly, etc.).
(4) Name and address of the authorized
organization, including street number, street name,
and ZIP+4 or 5-digit ZIP Code. The street number
and street name are optional is there is no letter
carrier service.
(5) Issue number. Every issue of each
publication is numbered consecutively in a series
that may not be broken by assigning numbers to
issues omitted. The issue number may be printed on
the front or cover page instead of in the
identification statement.
(6) International Standard Serial Number
(ISSN), if applicable.
(7) Subscription price, if
applicable.
d. Consist of at least
25% nonadvertising matter is each issue.
Advertising is defined in E211.
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