We were established in 1980 when a handful of nonprofits formed the Alliance of Third-Class Nonprofit Mailers and joined with the National Easter Seal Society in the R80-1 classification case before the Postal Rate Commission.
Their success carved out the original worksharing discounts for nonprofit mailers. Until that time, discounts were available to commercial mailers - but not nonprofits.
The Alliance is the only organization to solely represent nonprofit mailesr in every rate case proceeding since 1980.
As federal funds for the Revenue Forgone Appropriation began to dwindle, the Alliance Steering Committee - later the Alliance Board - began to construct the organization to serve as the primary advocate for the preferred postal rate on Capitol Hill.
The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers was incorporated in 1984 with eight original Board member organizations:
Today, many of the same organizations serve as the Alliance Board of Directors. The Division II seat on the Alliance Board is elected every two years from the Alliance membership at large. While commercial vendors are welcomed as sponsors of the Alliance, they are not included in the makeup of the Board of Directors.
See a list and photos of the current board.
2006: Postal Reform Legislation – Prevents Massive Postage Rate Increases
The Alliance was instrumental in passage of The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act which protects nonprofit mailers from excessive postage rate increases.
The Alliance secured continuation of preferred nonprofit postage rates in the new law and strongly promoted the new ratemaking process that caps postage rate increases at the rate of inflation.
2005: USPS Personalization Rule – Alliance Stops Effort to Limit Content
A Postal Service proposal to require First-Class postage rates on nonprofit mail that contained personalized information was defeated through an aggressive Alliance campaign.
2003: Testimony Before President’s Commission on the Postal Service
Testimony at Commission hearings and direct discussion with Commission Members and staff led to this passage in the Commission Report: “The Commission also believes the existing preferences for favorable rates for the mailing of periodicals and non-profit correspondence should be maintained.�
2000: Perfecting the Preferred Rate Structure – Alliance Leads Passage of S.2686
With nonprofit rates set to increase faster than commercial categories, legislation was needed to correct the problem. The Alliance led the negotiations over corrective legislative language resulting in Public Law 106-384 which linked nonprofit rates to commercial rates:
1999: Periodicals Anomaly – Repair of Formula Lowers Nonprofit Rates
The Alliance enlisted the support of Chairman John McHugh (R-NY) of the House Subcommittee on the USPS to pressure the Postal Rate Commission and the Postal Board of Governors to correct a rate structure anomaly that caused some nonprofit periodicals with little or no advertising to pay inflated rates.
1994: Clarifying Amendment for Nonprofit Advertising –“DeConcini Amendment�
The Alliance drafted and secured passage of the clarifying “DeConcini Amendment� to the Revenue Forgone Reform Act, which allowed nonprofit Standard publications to accept most outside advertising.
1993: Revenue Forgone Reform Act – The ‘Clay Compromise�
The Alliance led the nonprofit mailing community in securing passage of the 1993 Revenue Forgone Reform Act which preserved nonprofit postage rates and ended nonprofit mailer reliance on federal appropriations.
1992: Nonprofit Rate Freeze – The “Roybal Fix�
The federal budget crisis had the Congress poised to dismantle nonprofit postage rates and end the Revenue Forgone appropriation. The Alliance worked with Chairman Ed Roybal (D-CA) of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government to construct a one-year nonprofit rate freeze with no appropriation available to offset the shortfall.