Getting Started: Email Blocklist and Unsubscribes

This article provides an overview of the email blocklist functionality and what happens when a donor unsubscribes from the matching gift communication.

Blocklist Management Overview

The Notes Column in Blocklist Management

FAQs

Blocklist Management Overview

To prevent donors from receiving emails:

Log in to your Double the Donation Matching account.
Navigate to Settings → Blocklist Management.
Select Email Blocklist or Phone Blocklist
Click Add Entries.
- Enter specific email addresses (e.g., foundation@example.org).
- Add an entire email domain (e.g., @foundation.org) to block all emails from that organization.
- Add multiple entries at once, separated by commas, or upload a CSV file.

Once added, these addresses will be permanently blocklisted and will not receive any Double the Donation emails.

The Notes Column in Blocklist Management

The Notes column shows how each entry was added to the blocklist. This helps you quickly identify whether the blocklisting is temporary or permanent.

Notes column values include:

Donor has no matching gift opportunity – blocklisted for X more days
- The donor is not eligible and is temporarily blocklisted. Default: 180 days.
- To learn more about how long donors are added to the blocklist, view this article.
- Example: A donor self-identifies in a matching gift email as ineligible.
Donor has no matching gift opportunity
- The donor is permanently blocklisted.
- Typically occurs when donors indicate they are retired.
Donor unsubscribed from emails
- The donor clicked “unsubscribe” in an email.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Donor marked as spam
- The donor marked your email as spam.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Email address bounced
- The email could not be delivered.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Blocklisted by an admin user
- You manually added the donor to the blocklist.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Double the Donation user manually unsubscribed donor
- An admin unsubscribed the donor in the Donations Table, or a CSV import was used.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Imported from CRM
- Donor was blocklisted automatically via your CRM integration.
- Result: Permanent blocklist.
Blocklisted via an API call
- Blocklist applied through the Double the Donation REST API (add_email_blocklist or add_phone_blocklist).
- Result: Permanent blocklist.

FAQs

Q: What happens when I add a donor to the blocklist?

A: That record will be permanently blocklisted and will no longer receive any Double the Donation emails.

Q: Double the Donation automatically blocklists email addresses for six months if the donor is determined to be not eligible for a matching gift. What happens if the donor presses the "unsubscribe" link in their email after Double the Donation blocklisted the address temporarily?

A: The email address will be blocklisted permanently.

Q: Suppose an email address is added to the blocklist. What happens if that same email address is added to the blocklist again in the future?

A: Double the Donation trims leading/trailing spaces and lowercases the email to check for duplicates. If already blocklisted, the timestamp (Date Added column) will be updated, and the source (Notes column) will refresh.

Q: What happens if an email hard bounces or gets marked as Spam?

A: If an email hard bounces or is marked as Spam, the system automatically moves that email to the blocklist. Future donation records tied to that address will be flagged with a B (Blocklisted) icon, and no further emails will be sent.