SAN DIEGO--June 27, 2002-- Kintera, an Internet marketing services provider to nonprofits that include the American Heart Association, Easter Seals and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America says the postal rate hike of 7.9% for First-Class and 7.5% for nonprofit Standard Mail is expected to cost nonprofit organizations $40 million over the next 12 months in additional direct mail expenses. The study indicates that this increase could further erode nonprofits' return on investment (ROI) for traditional direct mail efforts. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) reports that nonprofit organizations spent nearly $3.9 billion in direct mail costs in 2001. Kintera estimates nonprofits spent $500 million in postage alone in 2001. Dr. Harry Gruber, founder and CEO of Kintera said as a result, “savvy organizations will accelerate their use of direct marketing such as email campaigns and eNewsletters as a complement to traditional direct mail methods to better segment and bond with supporters. By melding traditional offline marketing efforts with online methods for their most important processes -- donor acquisition, retention and stewardship -- nonprofits will be more successful."