How to Know the Mailing REALLY Mailed
How do you know the mailing REALLY mailed? That’s the question in today’s emailbox. Here’s my answer:
When you’re mailing a bulk mailing, the mailhouse will provide you a one-page form called a 3602: That’s the postal service form that certifies that it mailed. It’s pronounced “thirty-six oh two.” It would have the date on it and the postal cancellation. It would list the weight of the mailing, the quantity, things like that. Even if you’re not using a mailhouse, just an individual, the postal service would still provide a 3602. Mailhouses provide the 3602 with their invoice for payment.
It’s very, very rare, but it wouldn’t be the first mailhouse that took the postage check and didn’t mail some or all of the letters. I worked in a mailhouse at the start of my career, and since postage checks usually get written to the mailhouse, not to the Postmaster, there’s always that temptation for a mailhouse to cash it and use the money for payroll or something else. That’s why there are 3602’s.
A good mailhouse would fax the 3602 when the mailing drops, and then provide it with the invoice.
Since the mailing doesn’t seem to have arrived, it would be a good idea to go back and look closely at the actual 3602, not just the fax, to make sure that your understanding of when it dropped is correct.
If you have a question about fundraising or board development for nonprofits, please write me, Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, at katherine@werth-it.com.