Emails sent to volunteers through VolunteerLocal use a special sending address. This article explains how the From and Reply-To fields work and why they are configured this way.
Who can send an Email within VolunteerLocal
Emails sent to volunteers from VolunteerLocal can appear to come from any verified user in your account. You'll set the 'from' address as you are creating the message.
This includes:
However, because these emails are sent from VolunteerLocal’s servers, the message headers are configured in a specific way to improve deliverability and prevent spam filtering.
Understanding the “From” and “Reply-To” Fields
If you inspect the email headers of a message sent to a volunteer, you will see something like this:
From: First_Name Last_Name <hello+XXXXX@reply.volunteerlocal.com>
Reply-To: First_Name Last_Name <Email@Your-Domain.com>
Why the “From” Uses a VolunteerLocal Domain
Because the emails originate from VolunteerLocal’s servers (not your organization’s email server), the From address uses the domain @reply.volunteerlocal.com.
If the message were sent from your organization’s domain instead, many receiving email servers would detect that VolunteerLocal’s servers are not authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. This is known as email spoofing, and the message would be much more likely to be rejected or marked as spam.
Using the VolunteerLocal domain prevents this issue and helps improve overall deliverability.
How Email Replies Work
Even though the From address uses the VolunteerLocal domain, volunteer replies will still go directly to you.
This is because the message includes a Reply-To header that contains your email address.
When a volunteer clicks Reply, their email client uses the Reply-To address, and the message is sent directly to you.
If an email client does not honor the Reply-To header (this is rare), the message will be sent to the VolunteerLocal reply address (hello+XXXXX@reply.volunteerlocal.com). Our system processes the message for spam and then forwards it to the appropriate user in your account.
Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC)
VolunteerLocal sends emails using domains that are already configured with the appropriate SPF and DKIM authentication records.
Because of this setup:
You do not need to modify your organization’s DNS records
You do not need to configure SPF, DKIM, or DMARC settings for VolunteerLocal emails
These authentication methods apply to the domain used in the From address, which is managed by VolunteerLocal.
Related Articles: