In the face of the damage wreaked by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, you should adjust your mailing plans to exclude certain affected ZIP codes.
I want to share some important weather-related information that may impact your current and/or end-of-year (EOY) mailings for clients.
Due to the recent impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, I recommend adjusting your mailing plans to exclude ZIP codes in the affected areas. Here are two key reasons for this recommendation:
- USPS Service Disruptions: Many post offices in the impacted regions are closed, and USPS is not accepting marketing or non-profit mail for these areas. As a result, mail may be delayed for weeks, if not indefinitely.
- Sensitivity to Affected Communities: Given the devastation these communities are facing, receiving a solicitation from a non-profit could evoke negative feelings during their recovery period.
For acquisition mailings, you can coordinate with your list rental company to exclude names from the affected Southeast and Florida areas, ensuring you don’t incur printing/postage costs for undeliverable addresses. If you’re using a house file for mailing, your printer can help purge any names in these regions.
To determine which ZIP codes to avoid, I recommend visiting the USPS service alerts page:
- Service alerts across the US: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/
- Residential weather alerts: find individual state alerts using specific zip codes: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/residential/welcome.htm
These resources provide updates on service disruptions and specific ZIP code information. Please contact me at cbaez@amphil.com if you have any questions or need further assistance.
