Let’s begin with The Postal Customer Councils (PCC) mission statement:

“The PCC Program’s mission is to foster a close working relationship between the U.S. Postal Service and commercial mailers. Our goals are to share information about new and existing Postal Service business products, programs, services, and procedures. Through focused educational programs, the PCC strives to help industry members, and their organizations grow and develop professionally.”

PCCs do not receive funding from the USPS for educational events, membership drives, or operating expenses. Each council is responsible for raising the funds needed to host their events. The expenses may include website development and hosting, printing of membership and educational collateral, and funds for educational events including rental of meeting spaces, food, and entertainment. Examples of events could be holiday gatherings, town halls sessions, educational seminars and golf tournaments. PCCs also can partner up with other area PCCs to host an event to reduce costs and increase attendance.

Educational Seminars and Series

One of the best ways to fundraise is to host educational events. Some examples would be Business for Breakfast, Industry Insights, and teaching the Mail Design Professional Course (MDP).

A PCC in Chicago holds a monthly Business for Breakfast meeting in which postal or industry speakers discuss a relevant topic. The attendees pay a small fee to attend and as part of the session they receive breakfast. Networking time is available before the seminar and again afterwards. The funds raised help with future sessions.

The Greater Madison Area PCC hosts five Industry Insight seminars a year. They do not charge for the sessions but use the session to gain new members and sponsors. They review the list of attendees to determine new potential members or sponsors and have one of the board members discuss membership and sponsor options and invite them to the next board meeting.

Hosting the Mail Design Professional course is a great opportunity to raise funds. The expenses for the PCC may include rental of a room to host the event, printing out of the course materials, the course instructor, and food and beverages. The USPS no longer charges for the tests, which saves each person $95. A PCC can figure out the expenses and decide on what to charge individuals to take the course. PCCs can use the PCCAC Event Planning Tool to assist with expected costs and then add in the revenue and the tool will prepare a profit and loss statement. The tool can be found on Postal Pro at PCC Event Planning Template 4.0 | PostalPro.

Corporate Sponsorships

Annual corporate sponsors are a great way to fund your PCC events. Use multiple levels of sponsorships with increased benefits as the sponsor levels increase. You can use the same naming convention as the Premiere awards, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Try something a little different like the example below with Priority Express, Priority, First Class and General. One level that every PCC should have is Time and Materials. This level allows sponsors to donate printing, mailing services, or assisting at an event with registration, set up, or clean up. When developing your sponsor levels, keep in mind the area your PCC is located, the size of your PCC and your membership. If your membership is mainly small to mid-size companies, you will not want to have your sponsorship levels as high as you would if you have larger companies as your member. You do not want to overprice your membership levels as that will drive sponsors away. Be sure to thank your sponsors. A few great ways to do so is to list them on your website, feature them in your newsletter, and have signage at your events.

Special Event Sponsors

Recruiting businesses to sponsor your events assists with keeping costs down and provides you with the opportunity to highlight those businesses. Examples of sponsorships include Hole or Contest Sponsors at golf outings, or Table sponsors at events. Food and beverage sponsors for Breakfast, Lunch, or Beverages and Snacks. Be sure to recognize these sponsors with a call-out during your events, as well as an acknowledgement in your newsletter and on your website. Banners, posters and signage are also a great way to showcase these businesses. Allow the sponsors to get up during your event and share their company story with your audience. If they are sponsoring a table, have a sign or logo as a center piece on the table. Allow your sponsors to set up a table with collateral and be sure to include networking time for attendees to meet your sponsors. If you are unsure of who can or can’t be a sponsor, reference USPS Pub 286 (https://postalpro.usps.com/node/404).

Stretching Your PCC Fundraising

Now that we have taken a high-level look at some options on how to raise funds, let’s discuss how to stretch those dollars to get the most out of your PCCs fundraising efforts.

Partner with a printer and/or mail house to handle your marketing needs. Your postage is already taken care of by using USPS Permit G-10, so by finding a printer or mail service provider to assist with producing your mail piece, processing the date, and addressing and mailing your marketing materials is a huge savings. Also, check with your membership to see if anyone is a graphic designer who may be able to assist with design work. If your designer is a member of your PCC, they should be comfortable in meeting all postal requirements for your mail piece.

Look into free or low-cost venues to host your events. Do you have a member with a large conference room or a training center that is available to host your event? Do you have a college or university that might allow you to use or rent a room at a reduced rate? Does your post office have a room you are able to use? You can also investigate your local library, restaurant with meeting rooms, or a town hall.

Host a Joint Event with Another PCC

This will allow you to split the costs of your event and draw a larger audience. Having a larger audience can also assist you with your request for a USPS speaker. The larger the audience, the USPS will send a higher-ranking executive to your event.

Try utilizing some of these tips for your next PCC event.

Rob Hanks is a sales representative at Suttle-Straus and has more than 30 years of experience in direct mail. Rob is a Certified Direct Mail Professional and a Certified Mail piece Design Professional though the United States Postal Service (USPS) and serves as an Executive Board Member for the Greater Madison Area Postal Customer Council (GMAPCC), as well as the National Educational Co-Chair for the Postal Customer Council Advisory Committee (PCCAC). Rob enjoys the challenges of mail piece design within postal regulations and helping clients save on postage costs.

This article originally appeared in the November/December, 2025 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.