BRE stands for postage pre-paid business reply envelope. RAE stands for return address envelope. Both are viable alternatives for non-profits to send to potential donors. The question is, which one would work best for your non-profit?
The Facts about BRE and RAE from a Non-Profit Perspective
Postage, pre-paid business reply envelopes have long been a standard among many non-profits. The idea is to make it as easy as possible on potential donors to reply. They don't have to worry about having stamps on hand or stopping by the post office to send out a charitable donation.
The problem is that using pre-paid envelopes adds costs that the non-profit will have to bear. That, of course, reduces the revenue available for the non-profit's cause. …show more content…
The non-profit does have a small cost with purchase, printing, and insertion, but it is much less than the cost of pre-paid envelope. The donor then bears the cost of the postage, leaving more revenue available to the non-profit's cause.
The downside of return address envelopes is that donors may opt out of sending a donation if they have to pay for postage or go to the post office.
Which Option is Best for a Non-Profit?
It actually depends on what you are sending out. Many non-profits have found non-donation mailings (surveys, brochures, etc.) can be sent with just a return address envelope, with very little impact to the response rate. This holds true, in some cases, when it comes to subscription renewals and membership payments.
Things are a bit different if you are talking about a donation campaign. The non-profit is appealing to current, past, and potential donors to make a monetary contribution. There is an expectation from some donors that the only thing necessary is to write a check or fill out credit card information. The necessity of adding postage to an envelope can turn some donors off.
What do you do? Test your donor
The Facts about BRE and RAE from a Non-Profit Perspective
Postage, pre-paid business reply envelopes have long been a standard among many non-profits. The idea is to make it as easy as possible on potential donors to reply. They don't have to worry about having stamps on hand or stopping by the post office to send out a charitable donation.
The problem is that using pre-paid envelopes adds costs that the non-profit will have to bear. That, of course, reduces the revenue available for the non-profit's cause. …show more content…
The non-profit does have a small cost with purchase, printing, and insertion, but it is much less than the cost of pre-paid envelope. The donor then bears the cost of the postage, leaving more revenue available to the non-profit's cause.
The downside of return address envelopes is that donors may opt out of sending a donation if they have to pay for postage or go to the post office.
Which Option is Best for a Non-Profit?
It actually depends on what you are sending out. Many non-profits have found non-donation mailings (surveys, brochures, etc.) can be sent with just a return address envelope, with very little impact to the response rate. This holds true, in some cases, when it comes to subscription renewals and membership payments.
Things are a bit different if you are talking about a donation campaign. The non-profit is appealing to current, past, and potential donors to make a monetary contribution. There is an expectation from some donors that the only thing necessary is to write a check or fill out credit card information. The necessity of adding postage to an envelope can turn some donors off.
What do you do? Test your donor