Launch

When beginning a new Ferst Foundation community, it is a good idea to acknowledge the important role the local post office(s) play in the program and eventually in each child receiving his/her books each month. The postal employees are the last step of the program. The postal employees are important (and unseen) ambassadors on the local Community Action Team. Ask someone from your local post office to be a representative on the CAT as a great way to promote the program and show appreciation for the hard work they will do each month to ensure the books arrive in the homes in a timely manner. Make an appointment with each local Postmaster to explain the program and how it works-take samples of the books so they will know how books should look when they arrive at their postal facility. Recognize key postal employees when planning key promotional events and especially when there is any media coverage. Their profession as postal employees make them a vital asset to your local CAT. Recognize them as you would any sponsor. Brownies and donuts (or fruit) are always wonderful treats to show them how much you appreciate all they do for their community!

Partnership

Once you develop a relationship with the Postmaster(s) and other key postal employees, ask them if they would be willing to return any non-deliverable books to a member of your CAT. Propose that they simply place any non-deliverable books in one of their own plastic carry bins (postal tubs) and once a month someone (name the CAT member) will come by the post office and pick up any non-deliverable books. It may take several visits to the post office before this level of commitment and cooperation is achieved.

The Postmaster(s) may indicate that according to postal regulations they are not allowed to perform your request and if a postal inspector discovers such an agreement they would be in trouble. Postmasters do have some level of flexibility in regard to such things as this, but this agreement must be documented as for whom and why this agreement was made. Postal regulation 691.45 says that undeliverable dead mail is disposed of as waste (the postmaster may quote this regulation). However, postal regulation 691.532 says that newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals on request can be furnished to reformatories, hospitals and similar institutions supported in whole or part by charity or public funds (like your Community Action Team). This regulation also states that it must take no more time than disposing of as waste (like putting the undeliverable books in a postal bin designated for your CAT), the books must be called for promptly or on a schedule, and the agreement is optional by USPS and can be discontinued without notice. The local Community Action Team is either their own 501©3 or either you use Ferst Foundation’s 501©3 and therefore you should qualify in meeting the charitable qualification. If you encounter a Postmaster that is unsure about working with you please remind them about the regulation 691.532. Tell them you are willing to document on letterhead the reason for the agreement regarding non-deliverable books as they may feel more comfortable with this documentation for their superiors.

If the Postmaster(s) will not agree to your requests without a postal endorsement (change service requested), please keep in mind they are not obligated to provide this service. Even if they are not willing to work with you, it is a good idea to maintain a good relationship with the Post Office as their feelings may change once the program starts and they begin to see the benefits for their Community. Please continue to thank them at least every other month (treats are always great) and always encourage them to attend any PR events you may have to promote the program. They are a community partner.

It never hurts to ask the Postmaster(s) periodically if they say no the first time. Remind them they are a vital part of the program and by working with the local CAT they are volunteering for a worthwhile program by placing undeliverable books in a bin for pickup by another CAT member. After all it’s for a good cause! Don’t give up!

Endorsements

Postal endorsements are another way to receive the address updates for the children in the program. The Change Service Requested tagline is the endorsement we use. This is an optional service for your CAT. The fee is $0.50 per change of address or undeliverable status notification we receive. The notices are sent to the Ferst Foundation headquarters and are changed in the system when we receive them. Your CAT will be billed on a monthly basis for this charge. You will not be charged for each registrant in the system only those we receive a notification for. We recommend this service as it is more cost effective for this service than continually sending a book out each month at $3.00 and that book not getting into the hands of the registrant. However, if you’ve developed a wonderful working relationship with your local post office(s) you may not need this endorsement. Check with them first before requesting this tagline. Keep in mind that on every newsletter a change of address section is included to remind parents to call us at 888-565-0177 or e-mail us at info@ferstfoundation.org if they move.

Missed Books

If a child misses a book, there are a few steps to follow to find out why this may have happened.

1. Check to see that the information is 100% correct in the database by logging into the Imagination Library website.  

Sometimes leaving out the smallest detail can cause a book to be undelivered or even mailed to a different address.  Please check the spelling of the address as well as the house number or apartment number and correct if misspelled. Make sure the city and zip code are correct.  Also, inaccurate abbreviations can cause the address to be undeliverable. For example, an address that is 123 Wheat Circle may be in the system as 123 Wheat Cr., this is an invalid abbreviation for Circle. “Cr” is the abbreviation for Creek not Circle, therefore the CASS process wouldn’t recognize this as Circle but change it to Creek. This means the registrant’s books would be mailed to 123 Wheat Creek- not the registrant’s correct address. Someone else would receive this child’s books. We advise checking any questionable address at http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp to determine if the United States Postal Service recognizes this address as deliverable and correct. This site will automatically correct the entry so be sure to see if it changes what you type in.

2. Check the child's registration date in the Imagination Library database. 

The child may not have been in the system long enough to receive a book yet. The registration date will help determine this. For example, children registered between July 10th and August 9th will have their first book mailed at the end of September. For children registered between, August 10th and September 9th will have their first book mailed at the end of October. Please keep in mind that it usually takes about 2 weeks for books to begin arriving in homes once they are drop shipped at the post office (this is usually done the last day of the month).

3.  Contact the family to double check that all information is accurate.

  • Ask if the address is correct and complete.
  • Ask the parent to check the newsletter in the address section for the delivery month- January book enclosed: Goodnight Gorilla to see if a book has actually been missed or if it’s just received later than usual.
  • Ask the parent if they have other lost mail.
  • See if they are using a new address and maybe the mail receptacle hasn’t been installed yet.
  • If there are multiple children in the home (and others are registered), check to see they are receiving books. Ask them to speak with their mail carrier to let the carrier know that they should be receiving books monthly from the program.
  • Suggest they use an alternate address if available like a P.O. Box.
  • All books have the Carrier leave if no response tagline that instructs the carrier to leave the book on the porch or banded to the mail box so the parent can get the book if it is too large for the mailbox.

4. Check with the local post office serving that area.

The book may have been returned as non-deliverable. If the book is located at the post office, ask the postal worker what may have caused the book to be undeliverable. This is also another great opportunity to tell them how much you appreciate the work they do for the local CAT.

5.  Try another address.

This would be a last resort. Ask for a family member’s address that may live nearby to see if the book arrives there. This is not recommended and should only be used in extreme circumstances.

The postal service does have a small percentage of lost mail. After all these other resources have been exhausted, one can assume that this child’s book may be in the small percentage that is considered lost in the postal service.

One of the steps above should uncover the reason the books are not arriving in the home.

The local CAT should be able to replace a book by using the non-deliverable books from the post office. If you are unable to secure that relationship with the postal service, you may enter a “fake” child(ren) in the system so you receive a book(s) each month. We recommend entering a child for each birth year so you can build a sample set of the books. This will also help you when parents call to ask when their books should arrive. If you are receiving a book each month you will know when they arrive in your community.