Political "ruff" start: candidate and animal-related letters ruled the mailbox.

Political mail pieces continue to flood mailboxes from all sides, as the presidential candidates ramp up for the 2008 election. But while some charities have chosen to reduce their mail flow in response to the influx of political pieces and postal increases, animal welfare groups seem to be doing just the opposite.

According to Fundraising Tracker, a weekly analysis of fundraising appeals completed by May Development Services (MDS), nearly one quarter of all nonprofit mail during June was political, up from 10 percent just two months prior. Animal welfare groups shot to 12 percent that same month, up from 7 percent in April. Conversely, religious appeals fell off drastically in June.

May Development Services, a division of Direct Media Inc., in Greenwich, Conn., analyzes fundraising appeals in the sector on a weekly basis via the list brokerage's Fundraising Tracker. The Tracker is not the only fundraising appeal analysis available, nor is it representative of every piece of direct mail in the sector, but provides a metric for sector professionals to gauge their own fundraising efforts.

"Overall, an analysis of direct mail appeals tracked during the second quarter yielded similar findings to those of 2006," said Diana Estremera, vice president at MDS. There were, however, some interesting developments.

"Some of the packages we saw were definitely related to the summer months and awareness," she said. "But as to why you would see more general animal appeals now as opposed to any other time, we're not so sure about the reason." Estremera said MDS plans to delve further and will present its findings in future reports.

Additionally, the study found 41 percent of nonprofits employed premiums during the second quarter, a 35-percent increase compared to the same period in 2006. "In fact, until now, fourth quarter has been the only quarter in which the use of premiums exceeded 40 percent," said Estremera.

Labels continue to be one of the most popular premium items. According to Estremera, one nonprofit even mentioned labels in a non-premium mailing, e.g., "We hope you found the labels we sent you to be helpful...."

While the analysis tracked about 16 percent more pieces in the second quarter of 2007 than in 2006, the number of appeals from the same nonprofits was down slightly in this year's second quarter, by about 4 percent.

Regarding package size, Estremera said there was no significant change from last year. The #10 envelope with window overtook other standard envelopes in June, but the front-runner seems to flip-flop each month. Standard envelopes include #10, #10 with window, 6"x9", 9"x12" and 5"x7" Also, 3D boxes (undefined) made an appearance in both May and June of this year, as opposed to the same periods in 2006, but Estremera attributed the cameo to how the Tracker has evolved to include 3D boxes.

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Despite a lackluster second quarter, Estremera sees changes on the horizon. "With the increase in postal rates on flats and non-machinable material ... you're going to start to see a decrease in mail altogether,' said Estremera, "and you're going to start to see people attempting to change the size of their packages in an attempt to cut down on postage costs."

As mailers move away from the larger-format packages, Estremera said response rates will inevitably decline. "It's that sort of, you're cutting your nose off to spite your face," she said. "So if you go down to a standard #10 as opposed to mailing the flat, you're saving yourself money on production, you're saving yourself money on postage, but at what risk?"

Estremera abstained from giving any advice based on the study's findings. "Essentially what the tracker is there to do is to watch trends, particularly trends that are readable, and make decisions on their own programs based on what they think is right for their program, but then to sort of look at the way the industry is swinging."