So you’re exploring the features that come with registering a chapter of God’s Closet! How does this “chapter email” thing work, anyway?
First off, when you registered, your chapter email address should have been created, likely in the format city.st@godscloset.com (i.e. desmoines.ia@godscloset.com, or belleville.mi@godscloset.com). Take a minute to look at your chapter information page.
This email address is actually a forwarder, and does not have a mailbox attached to it.* Messages sent to city.st@godscloset.com are automatically forwarded to the external email address(es) of the staff member(s) shown on your chapter information page. Try it: using your usual email client, send a message to your chapter’s address.
If you log in to this site using your gmail address**, that message should show up in your gmail inbox. Note that it may also go to other staff members if they are opted in for chapter email. (All of you should verify that you’re receiving messages.) You may need to check your SPAM or JUNK folders, or add your chapter email to your list of “trusted senders.”
- IF THAT WORKED: You’re in business! You have verified that you’ll receive messages people send to your chapter email.
- IF THAT DID NOT WORK: Use the CONTACT form on this site to let us know; we’ll check that things are set up properly on our end.
IMPORTANT: When you respond to a message sent to your chapter address, your response will come FROM your personal email address unless you use one of the techniques below. If you do respond from your personal email, it may be courteous to BCC other staff members on your response, so they can tell what’s been said.
Suppose that you want to send messages FROM your God’s Closet chapter address. There are two ways to do that. One is to use the form found on this page (shown under RESOURCES when you’re logged in), which sends it automatically through our server. This is suitable for single messages, and also BCC’s your chapter address. The other is to set up a third-party service such as MailerLite (suitable for group messages), as we’ve described in this post.
Using your chapter email to send and receive messages gives you several advantages:
- It makes your chapter look more professional, and emphasizes that you’re part of a larger “official” network
- It allows all staff to receive messages
- It stays consistent, even if there is some turnover among staff at your chapter
- It prevents your personal information from being exposed in our chapter directory or other locations
* Setting things up this way was an administrative choice. Over the years we’ve found that people prefer to use their usual email clients and not learn a new webmail system; this is also the best way we have to make sure that all messages go to all staff. However, it means that there is no central record of all messages sent to or from your chapter. We do not monitor messages sent or received by chapter emails.
** Your site access is set up using an external email address, NOT a chapter address, so that individual users can reset their passwords independently of one another.
Welcome, visitor!