Boost recurring donations this giving season with the upsell prompt!Overview
Soapbox Engage sends emails on behalf of your organization for activities such as donation confirmations, event registrations, and other app communications.
To help ensure these emails reach their intended recipients, it's important that your outbound email settings are configured correctly. If you choose to send email using your organization's domain, your domain should also be configured to authorize Soapbox to send email on its behalf using SPF and DKIM.
This article explains the available outbound email configurations and how to configure and verify SPF and DKIM for your domain.
Recommended Email Configuration
Navigate to Account Settings in your Soapbox administrator to review your organization's default outbound email settings.
There are two ways to configure the email address used to send email from Soapbox.
Option 1: Use the Soapbox Default Domain
The simplest configuration is to use:
noreply@picnet.net
for both the Default From Email and Envelope From Email.
Because Soapbox sends email from servers associated with the picnet.net domain, this configuration does not require your organization to configure SPF or DKIM records for your own domain.
You can still customize the following settings to reflect your organization:
- Default From Name
- Default Reply-To Name
- Default Reply-To Email
The Reply-To Email can use your organization's domain so replies are directed to an appropriate email address within your organization.
Option 2: Send From Your Organization's Domain
If you would like recipients to see an email address using your organization's domain as the sender, you can use your own domain for the From Email and Envelope From Email.
For example:
info@example.org
When using your organization's domain, you should configure SPF and DKIM to authorize Soapbox's email servers to send email on behalf of your domain.
Follow the instructions below to configure both records.
Configure SPF
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) authorizes Soapbox's email servers to send email on behalf of your domain.
Your organization's SPF record is managed through your domain's DNS settings. If you do not manage your organization's DNS, these instructions should be provided to the person or team responsible for your domain.
Add the following Soapbox include to your existing SPF record:
include:_spf.soapboxengage.com
For example, if your organization already authorizes Salesforce to send email, your SPF record might look similar to:
v=spf1 mx a include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf.soapboxengage.com ~all
Important: If your domain already has an SPF record, do not create a second SPF record. Add the Soapbox include to your existing SPF record.
Configure DKIM
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides an additional method of authenticating email sent by Soapbox using your organization's domain.
Add the following two CNAME records to your domain's DNS settings:
| Name / Host | Points To |
|---|---|
sbx1._domainkey.example.org | sbx1._domainkey.soapboxengage.com |
sbx2._domainkey.example.org | sbx2._domainkey.soapboxengage.com |
Replace example.org with your organization's domain.
For example, if your organization's domain is myorganization.org, your first record would use:
sbx1._domainkey.myorganization.org
Your DNS provider may automatically append your domain to the host/name field. If you're unsure how your provider handles CNAME records, consult your DNS provider before adding the records.
Verify Your SPF and DKIM Records
After SPF and DKIM have been configured, you can use a public DNS lookup tool such as What's My DNS to confirm that the records are publicly available.
DNS changes may take time to propagate, so newly created or updated records may not immediately appear from every location.
Verify SPF
Perform a TXT lookup for your organization's domain.
Review the SPF record beginning with:
v=spf1
and confirm that it contains:
include:_spf.soapboxengage.com
Verify DKIM
Perform a CNAME lookup for each of the following, replacing example.org with your organization's domain:
sbx1._domainkey.example.org
sbx2._domainkey.example.org
Confirm that they resolve to:
sbx1._domainkey.soapboxengage.com
sbx2._domainkey.soapboxengage.com
If the records cannot be found, contact the person or team responsible for managing your organization's DNS and provide them with the SPF and DKIM configuration instructions above.
Understanding Soapbox Outbound Email Settings
Soapbox provides site-wide email defaults as well as settings that can be customized for individual app pages.
Navigate to Account Settings in your Soapbox administrator to review the site-wide defaults.
| Setting | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Default From Name | The sender name displayed to recipients. |
| Default From Email | The sender email address displayed to recipients. |
| Default Reply-To Name | The name associated with the address used when a recipient replies. |
| Default Reply-To Email | The email address that receives replies. |
| Envelope From Email | The sender address used by email servers to identify where the email originated. This address is not normally visible to recipients. |
The Envelope From Email applies to all outbound Soapbox email and cannot be customized on an individual app page.
App Page-Specific Email Settings
Most Soapbox app pages allow you to override the site-wide defaults for:
- From Email Name
- From Email Address
- Reply-To Name
- Reply-To Email
When using an email address from your organization's domain as the From Email Address, that domain should be configured for SPF and DKIM as described above.
Emails That Always Use Account Defaults
Some Soapbox emails always use the default settings configured under Account Settings.
Donations Peer-to-Peer
The following emails use the account defaults:
- Fundraising page creation notifications sent to fundraisers
- New fundraising team member notifications sent to team captains
- New fundraising page payment notifications sent to fundraisers
Events Scheduled Emails
Scheduled emails from the Events app use the Default From Email and Default From Name configured in Account Settings.
The Reply-To Name and Reply-To Email can still be customized for scheduled Events emails.
Portals
The following Portals emails use the account defaults:
- New user verification emails
- Forgot username emails
- Forgot password emails
Still Having Trouble?
If you've configured your outbound email settings and verified your SPF and DKIM records but are still experiencing email delivery issues, submit a ticket and we'll be happy to help.
Please include the following information with your request:
- Reference this Support Center article and confirm that you've completed the SPF and DKIM verification steps.
- Include a link to the Soapbox page or app sending the email.
- Provide the From Email Address being used.
- Let us know whether the issue affects all recipients or only certain recipients or email domains.
- Let us know whether the emails are being delivered to spam/junk folders or are not being received at all.
- If possible, provide an example recipient email address and the approximate date and time the email was sent.
Providing this information will help Soapbox Support investigate the delivery issue more quickly.