Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service

What Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service does

The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21), founded in 2017 and headquartered at 1629 K Street NW, Washington, D.C., is a private, nonprofit industry coalition that advocates for a financially stable and operationally effective U.S. Postal Service on behalf of the postal-reliant business community. It represents the $1.6–$1.9 trillion mailing, shipping, and supply-chain industry — encompassing mailers, shippers, advertisers, catalogers, e-commerce companies, parcel carriers, greeting card publishers, financial services, telecommunications, insurance providers, paper and printing manufacturers, envelope makers, and rural/charitable mailers — collectively responsible for approximately 90% of USPS revenues, 5–7% of U.S. GDP, and 7.3–8 million U.S. jobs. Notable members include Amazon, Walmart, AT&T, Hallmark Cards, eBay, Etsy, Pitney Bowes, International Paper, and R.R. Donnelley, alongside more than twenty trade associations.

C21 does not develop, sell, or license products or technology. Its core outputs are advocacy deliverables: Congressional testimony and lobbying, formal comments and reply comments in Postal Regulatory Commission proceedings (notably Docket RM2024-4 on the Market Dominant rate-setting system), public statements on USPS policy and financial results, joint letters with allied organizations, Capitol Hill briefings, and commission-driven national polling. Its most consequential advocacy result to date was its contribution to passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, which removed approximately $50 billion in USPS liabilities and codified six-day integrated mail and package delivery.

The organization is funded by membership dues and contributions from member companies and trade associations; it does not disclose revenue, take venture or private equity funding, and operates without subsidiaries or parent entities. Leadership is provided by Executive Director (and Manager of record) Art Sackler, with a lean staff footprint consistent with a small K-Street trade association. Recent strategic activity has focused on the FY 2024 USPS financial results ($9.5 billion loss), the upcoming Postmaster General transition to David Steiner, and the announced Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) collaboration with USPS.

Name

Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service

Legal name

Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service

Website

https://21stcenturypostal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service is a nonprofit industry coalition founded in 2017 that lobbies Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission on behalf of businesses representing roughly 90% of USPS revenues, including Amazon, Walmart, Hallmark, and major trade associations across the mailing, shipping, and supply-chain sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Advocacy and Trade Association Services

NAICS

Direct Mail Advertising (541860)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Direct Mail / Marketing Mail & Bulk Mail Services (TLAAAAAJ)

Keywords

• Postal policy advocacy
• USPS reform lobbying
• Trade association
• Mail industry advocacy
• Postal rate regulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21) is a business-backed trade association and policy advocacy coalition that represents mailers, shippers, and their supply chains dependent on the U.S. Postal Service. It advocates for the financial stability of USPS, affordable postage rates capped at inflation, and preservation of the integrated six-day mail and package delivery network through Congressional lobbying, regulatory engagement with the Postal Regulatory Commission, and public communications.

Product overview

The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21) is an advocacy organization, not a product or technology company. It does not offer commercial products or services. The organization represents businesses and trade associations that depend on the U.S. Postal Service, advocating for postal reform, rate stability, and service improvements. Its activities include lobbying Congress, filing comments with regulatory bodies (such as the Postal Regulatory Commission), issuing public statements, and coordinating industry responses to USPS policies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• C21 advocacy contributed to enactment of the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) of 2022, which removed approximately $50 billion in liabilities from the USPS balance sheet and mandated six-day integrated mail and package delivery.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• U.S. Postal Service (USPS) / Postmaster General David SteinercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2025C21 has voiced support for new Postmaster General David Steiner's planned reforms and has offered to collaborate to ensure the sustainability of the institution. C21 represents businesses that collectively pay approximately 90% of USPS charges and has a direct interest in USPS operational and financial decisions.
• Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2025C21 issued a statement welcoming the collaboration between USPS and DoGE, offering to work with DoGE, USPS, Congress, and other stakeholders to find efficiencies, reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and stabilize the postal service. C21 expressed readiness to contribute private sector solutions to help reduce costs for American consumers and businesses amid concerns about USPS's Delivering for America Plan.
• Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2024C21 engages in formal regulatory proceedings before the PRC, filing comments and reply comments in critical proceedings such as the Structural Rates Proceeding (Docket RM2024-4). C21 advocates for rate caps tied to inflation, checks on USPS market power for Market Dominant mail categories, and regulatory modernization to ensure affordable and reliable postal service.
• Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21) Member — Trade Organizations (Partial List)coreOthers · 8 March 2022C21 is a coalition of trade associations and companies across the postal-reliant industry. Key trade organization members include: American Association of Independent Music, American Catalog Mailers Association, American Forest & Paper Association, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, Association of National Advertisers, Envelope Manufacturers Association, Greeting Card Association, Major Mailers Association, MailersHub, National Association of Presort Mailers, National Newspaper Association, National Postal Policy Council, National Retail Federation, News Media Alliance, Package Shippers Association, Printing United Alliance, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Saturation Mailers Coalition, The Insurance Coalition, and The Package Coalition. These organizations collectively represent thousands of businesses and serve as the coalition's institutional members.
• U.S. Congress (House and Senate)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2022C21 maintains an ongoing advocacy partnership with both chambers of Congress, particularly the House Oversight and Reform Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. C21 lobbied for and contributed to the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) of 2022, which transformed USPS finances and mandated six-day integrated delivery. C21 also provides Congressional testimony and statements for the record on postal reform, rate-setting, and USPS oversight.
• Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21) Member — Companies (Partial List)coreOthers · 24 February 2022C21 includes hundreds of individual company members from across the postal-reliant industry. Notable members include: Amazon, AT&T, Hallmark Cards, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, Zappo's, Zulily, Quad Inc., R.R. Donnelley, International Paper, LSC Communications, Pitney Bowes, Qurate Retail Group, QVC, HSN, Target Direct, Publishers Clearing House, and many others spanning e-commerce, printing, paper, mailing services, greeting cards, retail, financial services, and technology sectors.
• Consumer ActionminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 June 2021C21 partnered with Consumer Action, a national consumer education and advocacy nonprofit, in June 2021 to send a joint letter to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security urging Congress to amend the Postal Service Reform Act to include review of the postal rate-setting system. The partnership combined business community and consumer advocacy perspectives.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC): Labor union representing city letter carriers; counterpart organization in postal labor/management policy discussions relevant to C21's reform agenda.
• National Retail Federation: Broad retail industry trade association that engages on shipping and postal policy; one of C21's institutional members and a peer in industry-wide advocacy.
• News Media Alliance: Newspaper and periodical industry trade association that advocates on USPS periodical rates and delivery standards; sector-specific counterpart within C21's broader coalition.
• Greeting Card Association: Trade association for the greeting card industry, a postal-reliant sector whose members C21 also represents; an adjacent industry-specific advocacy body.
• American Postal Workers Union (APWU): Labor union representing USPS employees; the principal labor-side counterparty in postal policy debates in which C21 engages.

Direct peers

• MailersHub: Coalition of mailers focused on USPS policy, workshare incentives, and rate advocacy; analogous function to C21 for a narrower mailer constituency.
• PostCom (Association for Postal Commerce): Trade association representing business mailers and postal users; closely mirrors C21's advocacy on rate-setting, service standards, and postal reform before the PRC and Congress.
• American Catalog Mailers Association: Trade group representing catalog marketers on postal rates and service issues; directly comparable segment-focused advocacy within C21's universe.
• Major Mailers Association: Coalition of large-volume mailers that engages in postal policy and rate advocacy; comparable niche advocacy on behalf of high-volume USPS customers.
• National Postal Policy Council: Industry association engaged in postal policy and rate proceedings; directly comparable advocacy role before Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=5CjblmBft_A
• Facebookfacebook.com/KeepUSPSDelivering
• Xx.com/c21postal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service