BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Church Posting//Church direct mail drop dates//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Church direct mail drop dates
X-WR-CALDESC:The backward schedule for a Christmas Eve 2026 mailing and an
  Easter 2027 mailing\, from churchposting.com. All-day markers\, so they
  land on the right date in any calendar.
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-3624@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261012
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261013
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: file PS Form 3624
DESCRIPTION:Only if the church is not already authorized at this Post
  Office. No fee. Attach evidence of the qualifying category and of
  nonprofit status. A responsible official signs it\, not the printer.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-routes@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261026
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261027
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: pick routes and pull counts
DESCRIPTION:Use the EDDM Online Tool. Write down the residential count for
  every route you select. That number is the denominator for everything
  you measure later.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-copy@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261102
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261103
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: copy signed off
DESCRIPTION:One job for the card. Service date\, start time\, street
  address\, one sentence on what happens\, and the church name and return
  address as they appear on the nonprofit authorization.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-print@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261109
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261110
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: place the print order
DESCRIPTION:Confirm the trim size clears 6-1/8 in high or 10-1/2 in long\,
  the stock is at least 0.007 in thick\, and the indicia block is bigger
  than 0.5 by 0.5 in.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-arrive@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261116
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261117
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: cards arrive
DESCRIPTION:Count them against the invoice before the volunteers show up.
  Measure one card with a ruler.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-bundle@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261120
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261121
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: band bundles and attach facing slips
DESCRIPTION:Stacks of 50 to 100. No bundle taller than 6 in. A facing slip
  on top of every bundle with the piece count written on it. Two people\,
  about an hour per thousand.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-drop@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261124
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: drop at the Post Office
DESCRIPTION:The office named on the order\, not the nearest one. Bring the
  printed forms. Keep the receipt: it is the only proof of how many pieces
  were actually accepted.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-xmas-inhome@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261213
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: in-home window
DESCRIPTION:Our two-week margin\, not a USPS commitment. Marketing Mail
  carries no delivery guarantee and December is the fullest month on the
  network. Ask two members to tell you the day theirs arrived.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-3624@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270119
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: file PS Form 3624
DESCRIPTION:Skip if the authorization is already on file. While an
  application is pending you may mail at regular prices and claim the
  difference back once it is approved.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-routes@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270202
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: pick routes and pull counts
DESCRIPTION:Same routes as Christmas if you want a second impression on
  the same households. Different routes if you are still testing where
  the church is legible.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-copy@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270209
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: copy signed off
DESCRIPTION:Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027 and Palm Sunday is 21 March.
  If you hold a Good Friday service\, the card has to carry both dates or
  pick one.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-print@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270215
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270216
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: place the print order
DESCRIPTION:Reuse the Christmas layout and change the dates. The second
  mailing of a year should cost you design time once\, not twice.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-arrive@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270222
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270223
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: cards arrive
DESCRIPTION:Count them against the invoice. Set aside twenty for the
  welcome table and the members who will hand them to a neighbor.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-bundle@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270226
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270227
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: band bundles and attach facing slips
DESCRIPTION:Stacks of 50 to 100. No bundle taller than 6 in. Write the
  piece count on every facing slip.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-drop@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270301
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270302
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: drop at the Post Office
DESCRIPTION:Keep the receipt. Enter the accepted piece count in the cost
  model before you forget it.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-easter-inhome@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270315
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270321
SUMMARY:Easter mailing: in-home window
DESCRIPTION:Two Sundays of margin before Easter. If the cards land in
  Holy Week they land after most people have already decided where they
  are going.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-annual-fee@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261002
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY
SUMMARY:Church mail permit: annual mailing fee due
DESCRIPTION:$390 per 12-month period per permit as of 12 July 2026. If
  the church mailed fewer than about 3\,145 pieces in the year just
  finished\, the fee cost more than it saved. Move the date to your own
  anniversary.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:cp-dm-measure@churchposting.com
DTSTAMP:20260729T120000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20270118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20270119
SUMMARY:Christmas mailing: write down the four numbers
DESCRIPTION:Six weeks after the in-home window. Pieces delivered\,
  households on the routes\, new households present\, and how many named
  the card. Then decide about Easter with a number instead of a feeling.
CATEGORIES:Church direct mail
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR