Postcards
Explore the OER California Postcard Series and choose your favorites to customize for tabling, outreach, and campaigns. (Flip through the templates by selecting the arrows above, hover to view the name each template, or select the four arrows at the top right to see the full screen. Scroll down to access the templates.)
Introduction
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” -Cicero
Postcards aren’t just for your trip to Yosemite. Though most messages come in the form of notifications and digital inboxes, there’s something special about receiving a handwritten message from a real person. Postcards are a time- and cost-effective way to suggest and thank an instructor for choosing OER and other free course materials or to thank a hardworking OER advocate.
Below you’ll find the full set of postcard templates, simple ideas for how to use the postcards, real examples of postcard campaigns, and quick tips to help you write a note that feels natural and sincere. When you’re ready, you can follow the step-by-step directions and templates to customize a postcard for your campus.
Ideas for Use
For students
- Write a thank-you note after a big milestone (first exam, major project, end of term). Individually or as a group, share one specific way the OER helped you.
- Deliver it in a low-pressure way. Hand it to your instructor after class, leave it in their department mailbox, or give it to your library or OER support office to deliver.
For OER advocates
- Thank the people who make OER possible. Send a postcard to a faculty adopter, a faculty author, or a named donor/funder who supports OER on your campus. Include one specific impact (for example, “OER helped me access materials on day one” or “Students saved money this term”).
- Raise OER awareness and adoption. Point faculty to specific OER repositories, directories, or benefits of OER use, or suggest specific titles to teaching faculty.
- Engage student activists. Offer quick facts and figures of how using OER benefits students (see the Student PIRGs report for ideas).
For faculty
- Use it as an end-of-course reflection. Ask students what they’d want to add to the OER and why.
- Thank external reviewers. Send a postcard to peer reviewers or external reviewers who gave feedback on your OER to acknowledge their time, expertise, and support.
Inspirations
Here are a few real OER gratitude campaign examples of students using postcards to say thank you to instructors who chose free or low-cost course materials.
Community Example: Rebus at OpenEd25
Who did it: Rebus Foundation
What students did: At their OpenEd25 sponsor table and in their Discord channel, Rebus organized the #RebusPostcards exchange. Conference attendees left their mailing address, received someone else’s, and wrote a thoughtful postcard to help spread encouragement, creativity, and connection across the open education community.
Why it worked: The activity was simple, personal, and reciprocal. It gave people a low-pressure way to participate while also extending the conference experience beyond the event itself. The postcards could be sent physically or digitally, allowing an extra layer of flexibility and inclusion.
How to adapt it with this postcard set:
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- Set out postcards at a campus event, conference table, or OER gathering.
- Invite participants to write a note of gratitude, encouragement, or a welcome to someone else.
- Keep the directions simple so people can participate quickly.
- Use the postcards as a way to build connection and celebrate the people doing OER work.
Staff Example: BMCC’s Week of Thanks
Who did it: Borough of Manhattan Community College, Open Knowledge Team
What students did: The campaign centered student appreciation for faculty who teach Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses, highlighting that these choices often go unrecognized.
Why it worked: It framed gratitude as a community practice and made faculty effort visible.
How to adapt it with this postcard set:
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- Run a “Week of Thanks” table and label it clearly: “Thank Your OER Instructor.”
- Add a simple line on your sign: “Write one note. We’ll deliver it.”
- Collect postcards in large envelopes and deliver them as a batch to the department.
Quick Tips for Writing a Gratitude Postcard
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Keep it short. One or two sentences is plenty.
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Be specific. Name one thing the OER changed for you (cost, access, study habits, confidence, staying enrolled).
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Say why it matters. Tie it to learning or stress reduction: “It helped me focus on learning instead of cost.”
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Write like you talk. Warm and natural is better than formal.
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Keep it respectful. Positivity and gratitude are the goals, not debate.
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Pair gratitude with encouragement. “I hope you keep using OER” or “Thank you for making this choice for students.”
Guidance and Templates
View the video or select the arrows to read the steps for customizing your own postcard.
Get the template
Postcard Templates in Canva
Select a postcard design from the Canva links below to open the editable template. The templates are free to use and adapt, but you’ll need to create and sign in to a free Canva account in order to customize and download your postcard. To begin using the template, select View template. Once you sign in to your account, you may then be prompted to Open in Editor.
California Forest
California Seaside
California Desert
Need more options for adapting your asset template?
Once you’ve created your free Canva account and signed in, you can open the Growing Your OER Starter Kit alongside any asset template to copy and paste colors, graphics, icons, photos, and design elements to help your version stay within the OER-California branding theme.
Customize and send your postcard
Step 1. Open the postcard in Canva and choose how you want to use it.
Use the Canva links above to open your postcard design. You’ll access the template in Canva first, then choose what you want to do next:
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- Customize it
- Keep it as-is and just download it (skip to Step 2)
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The tagline text is editable in Canva. Feel free to change it to match your class or your thank-you note. Here are some suggested taglines:
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- Clear skies. Lower costs.
- Stay Golden. Thank you!
- Bloom Boldly – with OER.
- Knowledge grows, thanks to you!
- Deep Roots. Big Thanks!
- Rooted in Gratitude.
- Open Trails. Thank you!
- Thanks for Choosing OER!
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You can also open the Growing Your OER Starter Kit in Canva to copy in colors, fonts, icons, and other design elements from the OER-California theme to further customize your postcard.
Step 2. Download your postcard file.
When you’re ready to print, download your postcard from Canva. To download, select the Share button at the top right of the screen [1] and then select Download [2].
From the File type drop-down menu, select PDF Print [3] (best quality for printers). If “PDF Print” isn’t’ available, download a PNG file at the highest quality.
From the Select pages drop-down menu [4], select the page of the postcard you wish to download.
Then, select Download [5], and your file will be downloaded to your device.
Note: If you’re printing a postcard with a design on both sides, you’ll download two files—one for the front and one for the back.
Step 3. Print your postcard.
You are now ready to print. Choose the option that fits what you’re using:
Option A: Print on a personal printer
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- Paper size: Many home printers do not list 4″ x 6″ (postcard size). If you don’t see it in your printer setup options, choose A6 (the closest option) in your printer settings.
- Paper: Use postcard stock or photo paper that feels sturdy (thick paper).
- Scale: Choose Fit to page (or “Fit to printable area”) so that the design prints cleanly without cutting off edges.
- Run a test first: Print one sample or a small batch to make sure you like the colors and the feel before printing the rest.
Option B: Print with a campus print shop or commercial printer
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- Paper size: Choose 4″ x 6″ (standard postcard size).
- Paper: Ask for postcard stock. A great option is 12 pt C2S (smooth, coated cover stock).
- Finish: Glossy makes colors pop; satin/matte can be easier to write on (especially on the back).
- Proof: If possible, request a proof or print a small batch first before printing a full set.
Note: If you’re printing a postcard with a design on both sides, print your postcards double-sided (flip on the long edge) or print the front and back separately and ask your print shop to align them.
Alternate Step: Send a digital postcard
If you’d rather send your postcard digitally, you can use the Canva template to add your note and email it.
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- Open the Canva postcard template you wish to send (above)
- Type a short personal thank-you on the postcard.
- Download the finished postcard as a PNG or PDF file.
- Email it to your instructor with a clear subject line like: “Thank you for using OER in [Course Name]” and attach the file.
- Use the Accessibility Guidance in the Appendix to ensure your marketing materials are as accessible as possible.
Image Descriptions
Rebus postcard image description: This image shows the front and back of a postcard designed by Rebus. On the front of the postcard, the background is a warm cream color with a large blue wave shape across the top. On the left is an open coral-colored door with a black outline. Inside the doorway is a stylized outdoor scene with a yellow sun, white clouds, blue sky, green and blue hills, and a curved yellow path. To the right of the door is a centered quotation in black text: “We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are. The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined.” Below the quote, the attribution reads: — N. Scott Momaday, The Man Made of Words: Essays, Stories, Passages
At the bottom is the Rebus logo. On the back of the postcard, the background is also cream-colored. At the top left is the heading, “A message of ____ from an Open Education colleague:” with a blank line for writing. A vertical blue line divides the postcard near the center. On the right are four horizontal address lines and a circular stamp area in the top right corner. Along the bottom is a flowing orange wave. In the lower left corner, white text next to a small camera icon reads: “Share your postcard on social media using the hashtag #RebusPostcards! Learn more about us at Rebus.Foundation.” [Return to Rebus postcard image]
