In today's digital age, email remains a vital communication tool for non-profit organizations. It's how you connect with donors, volunteers, and supporters, keeping them informed about your mission and inspiring them to get involved. But are you using the right email address to maximize your impact?

Many non-profits rely on free generic email addresses like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. While this might seem convenient at first, it can actually hinder your efforts in several ways. Here's why switching to a custom email domain – one that matches your non-profit's website (e.g., @yournonprofit.org) – is a smart investment for building trust and strengthening your communication:

1. Enhanced Credibility and Trust:

• Professional Image: A generic email address like "ournonprofit@gmail.com" might raise eyebrows with potential donors. A custom domain address, like "donations@yournonprofit.org," projects professionalism and establishes your organization as legitimate. This inspires greater confidence in your mission and how you handle contributions.
• Combating Phishing: Scammers often use free email services to impersonate legitimate organizations. Having a custom domain makes it harder for them to spoof your email address, protecting your donors from phishing attempts and safeguarding your reputation.

2. Improved Email Deliverability and Security

• Bypassing Spam Filters: Free email addresses are more likely to be flagged as spam, especially when sending bulk emails like newsletters or donation appeals. So if one or two of your recipients even accidently mark it as spam, it means everyone else may stop getting your emails. A custom domain address, combined with correctly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, establishes a good sender reputation with email providers. This significantly increases the chances of your messages reaching their intended audience.
• Protecting Against Spoofing: DMARC, in particular, is a powerful tool to prevent scammers from using your domain to send fraudulent emails. It gives you control over what happens to emails that fail authentication, helping to safeguard your non-profit's reputation. You can use this tool to check your dmarc settings.
• Enhanced Data Security: Implementing MTA-STS (Mail Transfer Agent Strict Transport Security) provides an additional layer of protection. It enforces encrypted communication channels for email transmission, reducing the risk of interception. This can esp
• Avoiding Shared Reputation Damage: When using a free email service, your reputation is tied to all other users on the same platform. If someone else sends spam from a similar @gmail.com address, it can negatively impact your deliverability too! A custom domain gives your non-profit full control over its email reputation.
• Testing tools: Here are some testing tools we use to verify everything is set up correctly:

  • https://www.mail-tester.com/
  • https://mxtoolbox.com/emailhealth
  • https://glockapps.com/
  • https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/checkmx/ - For Google accounts
  • https://dkimvalidator.com/ - especially useful is the final "Spam Score"
  • or if you are comfortable with a command line, dig is a great fast tool.

3. Building Stronger Relationships and Streamlining Operations

• Donor Confidence: When donors see a professional email address associated with their contribution, they feel more assured that their donation is going towards a trustworthy organization. This fosters a sense of security and encourages repeat contributions.
• Community Building: A custom domain email address fosters a sense of connection and belonging among your supporters. It creates a consistent brand identity across all communication channels, reinforcing your non-profit's image and mission.
• Efficient Organization: A custom domain unlocks the power of aliases and group emails. Create addresses like 'donations@yournonprofit.org' or 'volunteers@yournonprofit.org' to streamline communication and ensure messages reach the right team members. Aliases route additional emails to one person and group emails can be a single email address that gets routed to multiple people in the organization.

4. Greater Control and Security:

• Independence: Free email services come with limitations and can change their policies at any time. With a custom domain, you have complete control over your email system, allowing you to tailor settings and security measures to your organizational needs.
• Data Protection: Non-profits often handle sensitive donor information. A custom domain allows you to implement stronger security protocols to safeguard this data and build trust with your supporters.
• Organizational Continuity: Relying on personal email addresses (@gmail.com, etc.) for staff creates a risk when someone leaves the organization, or cannot be reached. With a custom domain, you can implement policies to easily transfer email access and retain crucial communication history, ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing disruption to your operations.

Choosing the Right Email Service for Your Domain

Once you have a custom domain name, you'll need to choose an email service that lets you connect it to send and receive emails. Here are some popular options for non-profits:

• Dedicated Email Hosting Providers:

  • Google Workspace: Integrates seamlessly with other Google tools like Drive, Docs, and Calendar. It's a good choice for non-profits already invested in the Google ecosystem. They offer a complete free suite of apps for 501c3 nonprofits. This includes 100TB of storage to share. Lowthian Design can help you determine if you qualify and help you with the signup process. The non-free version as of writing is $6/user for for 30GB or $12/user for 2TB.
  • Zoho Mail: Offers a free plan for smaller non-profits with limited domains and users. They are known for their excellent customer support and collaboration features. They do charge for accounts and have lower limits to storage, so you need to keep your email cleaned up to prevent extra charges. As of writing, $4/user for 1GB of storage.
  • ProtonMail: A security-focused email provider with strong end-to-end encryption. ProtonMail offers non-profit discounts, making it a great option for organizations prioritizing privacy and data protection. Like Zoho, extra storage comes at a premium. As of writing, 10.99 € provides 500GB storage.
  • Others: There are other provicers, let us know if we can research something for your specific needs.

• Web Hosting Providers: Our hosting provider GreenGeeks does offer a limited email system called RoundCube. This is a potential free option if a very basic email is all that is needed. There are limits to storage and bandwidth for this email. Reach out if you would like to discuss this option.

In Conclusion:

Taking the step to set up a custom email domain for your non-profit may seem like a small detail, but it can have a significant impact on your communication efforts. By projecting professionalism, enhancing trust with donors, and improving email deliverability, a custom domain email address is an investment that pays off in the long run.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of this further.

Text and images initiated with Gemini AI and then carefully edited.