Are you a candidate to donate?
Donation size?
There is no minimum. You'll find that those pesky little pieces of paper add up fast! The average Sunday newspaper contains approximately $125 worth of coupons. Even the smallest donation, when combined with the donations of other individuals, will make a difference in the lives of many military families serving our country overseas.
Expired Coupons?
2 Months Max! Yes expired coupons are accepted. We recommend not sending any coupons older than 2 months expired on the date of shipment. They can use them for a couple of months after that but remember that the volunteers at the base must process the coupons once they arrive and get them out to be used. We also need to leave enough time for them to have the families sort through them and find the ones they want for use.
Do I need an organization?
No. You may sign up as an organization/family or as a individual. If a group of friend is signing up then please create a name for yourselves and sign up as a group.
Do I have to adopt a base?
Adopting a base is simply the easiest way to support the program. Most individuals and Organizations prefer the stability of having an adopted base.
No, you do not have to adopt a base. You may mail the coupons to an “open” base by checking the list each time to see who is open. The adoption process is simply a way to list your choice at our web site.
Should you as an individual or your organization choose to support the Overseas Coupon Program by adopting a base, just send your base choice along with the other requested information from the overseas base list page. If you have questions about the process you may E-mail us or write us at :
P.O. Box 7539 Columbia, MO, 65205
GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUALS & ORGANIZATIONS
Participation
Program Participation
Donation size?
There is no minimum. You'll find that those pesky little pieces of paper add up fast! The average Sunday newspaper contains approximately $125 worth of coupons. Even the smallest donation, when combined with the donations of other individuals, will make a difference in the lives of many military families serving our country overseas.
Expired Coupons?
2 Months Max! Yes expired coupons are accepted. We recommend not sending any coupons older than 2 months expired on the date of shipment. They can use them for a couple of months after that but remember that the volunteers at the base must process the coupons once they arrive and get them out to be used. We also need to leave enough time for them to have the families sort through them and find the ones they want for use.
Clip the Coupons
By clipping the coupons, you save the volunteers at the base valuable time. Most organizations are short of needed volunteers. You also save yourself a lot of additional postage since most of the coupon circulars are wasted paper.
What type of Coupons?
“Manufacturer’s Coupons” are the coupons of choice since they are accepted at any store.
What type of coupons NOT to send?
Do not send Assistance Vouchers, Food Stamps, or any other assistance items. Store coupons, those only good at the store named are useless on a military base overseas. The stores there are the BX/PX or the Commissary. (See below) Do not send restaurant coupons.
Sort the Coupons
Most bases have 2 stores. One is called the “Commissary” which is a grocery store and the other is the PX or BX which is a department store. We therefore ask you to sort the coupons into “food” and “non-food” bundles so that they can more easily be placed in the correct venue once they arrive at the base. If a base wants additional sorting they will let you know.
How to package the coupons?
Use baggies, envelopes, etc., to contain the different categories -- whatever will keep them separated during shipment
(Do not use rubber bands, paper clips, and similar methods of keeping the coupons sorted as they do not work and will come apart in shipping).
Be sure to label the bundles!
What's "Food" and what's not?
Here's my rule of thumb: It's food if it can be eaten by humans, is usually eaten by humans and provides calories. For example, dog & cat food would be "Non-Food," but Ensure or Slim-Fast would be "Food." Vitamins would be non-food.
Tally the coupons
Add up the face value dollar amount for the coupons. Be sure to keep the “food” totals separate from the “non-food” amounts.
If you do not wish to total the coupons you may weigh them. If you choose this method we will give you current average credit. This amount will usually not be as much as if you total them yourself.
"Buy one, get one free" offers usually have a maximum value printed on them. If not, make your best guess.
Buy something, get something by mail offers (e.g., get a stuffed bear for purchasing boxes of Sudafed products) count for zero, but please send them anyway! (These things make nice, inexpensive Christmas gifts for the children.)
"Why total coupons? That's an awful lot of work..."
* So that we may place a value on the work that you do.
* These totals also make you eligible for OCP Awards (Note: awards program currently on hold for evaluation, but remember we could restart it at any time.
* Additionally, this assists OCP HQ in tracking which bases may need to receive more coupons.Reporting
Each time you send a shipment to your "adopted" base, send an e-mail to contributions@ocpnet.org or write us at :
P.O. Box 7539 Columbia, MO, 65205 which states:
* the Individual or Organization sending the coupons
* the name of the base the coupons were sent to
* date you mailed the shipment
* the total value of coupons contained in the shipment
* the annual total of coupons mailed for the current year
* your contact information in case we have questionsIf at any time you have questions, please contact questions@ocpnet.org or the mailing address above.
What does a great report look like? Simple and complete:
USS Horizon, Starfleet
$37, 542 (2007 Total: $102,456.76)
Lakenheath, UK
Problems contact: usshorizon@mchsi.com
Be accurate with your organization or personal name
The person entering your report will look for the exact name on your report. If it does not match the name you have at our web site, your totals will be listed at two different places. It is very important that your report name match your name in our system. If unsure, give the entire name. We have the most problems with nick names (ie: Eddie Allen, instead of Edward W. Allen III or Allen Family) or with missing information/ shortened name (ie: the Horizon instead of USS Horizon, a Starfleet Chapter, Region 12)
Do we look past your report for missing or incorrect information?
No. The person posting your information may not be familiar with your adoption and will simply post it as you send it. We have hundreds of donors and hundreds more that have adopted bases and that have not sent a donation. There are donors that do not adopt a base. It is very important that you give the correct name. If you are an organization, please list the name of your group. We cannot associate the name on an e-mail with a group. Place your name in the e-mail. It is hard at times to take it from the e-mail’s address. Your additional efforts are appreciated.
What do we do with the information from your report?
The reason it is important to give us a full report is because we use that information in so many ways. One of the places it shows up is if you ask which base is in the most need. I only run that report once or twice a year so I do not always have current information, but it helps to know who gets what. :
Future Awards Program
Proper Reporting will also help us to give you the proper credit you are due for your donation. This will be important if we find the sponsorship we need to again fund our awards program. Once we find a sponsor, we will begin awarding without prior notification to those eligible.
Mailing Coupons
Mailing the Coupons
Where do I send them?
Please adopt a base. See the section above.
Send them to your adopted overseas base. It costs the same to send them to the base that it does to send them to your next door neighbor. The bases are U.S. territory. If you send them to the OCP headquarters then OCP must find the same postage to resend them to the base. That wastes your postage and effort.
Cheapest
The cheapest way to send your coupons is via "Parcel Post". Since this method takes much longer to travel to its destination, please make sure that you send coupons that are no more than two months expired on the date of shipping if you use Parcel Post.
Fastest
A fast method of shipment is to use the Priority Mailer that the Post Office has. They have one envelope that allows you to place as much in it as you can for a fee.
Contact your local post office for the current prices per pound and best suggested methods of mailing. They will give you this information by phone.
Post Office Requests a Name
If the Post Office requests a name for the address we have furnished, explain that the package is going to a "Position" not to a "Person." It is "Official Mail." By military regulations, Personal Mail requires a name with the address but Official Mail does not. The "Commanding General" may be changed as the military wishes but mail to the Commanding General is for that position not for John Smith who may now be a civilian. The coupons are also Official Mail for that base. If a person is a part of the address we have placed that persons name with the address on our site. If there is no name, then we do not have one.
Mail is Returned From the Base
We are not part of the military. This is a civilian run assistance charity. We do not always know about base closures or problems. Sometimes mail is simply misdirected by the Post Office or mishandled at the base. You are our best resource. Please let us know about any problems that you have since we may not be aware of them. We will try to solve the riddle but it will take a while (month or more). Please remail your coupons to a different base if you think that is best. We work on that type of problem as time or necessity allows.Customs Form Needed
The U.S.P.S. also requires Customs Form 2976-A be attached to the outside of the mailer when sending directly to a base overseas. Use the description "Coupons" and record the value as "--$0.00--". Be sure to check the "Gift" box on the form and for them to return the coupons if there are problems if using Priority Mail. This will allow time to resend them to another base.
Return Receipt
Confirmation of Receipt
This is no longer a good idea.
In the past we have suggested that you can get a confirmation of receipt from the base. In the past that was possible. With the success of our program, a lot of the bases no longer have the volunteers available to do this. What this means is that you may request confirmation of receipt of your shipments from your "adopted" base, but they may not have the ability to send the reply.
The persons at the base handling the coupons are volunteers and most bases operate short of volunteers most of the time. They will acknowledge your shipment as time and available volunteers allow. More and more, there is not enough time to do this.
You can try to request one, but...
To receive this confirmation, please include a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard with your shipments. The card should be in an envelope attached/taped to the outside of the shipment, as they may get missed if inside with the coupons. Mark the outside of the envelope with "Pre-posted return reply enclosed." Again, they may not have the volunteers available to return the card.
This postcard should contain a short message, such as "Enclosed please find a donation of coupons from (your name/organization). Please return this postage-paid postcard when this shipment arrives." The staff at these bases will try very hard to comply with your requests, but again please remember their work is done with volunteers, which allows limited time and minimal staff. Please be patient.
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