Sending Emails from your Organization's Own Email Address by Setting Up Your CNAME Info

Sending Emails from your Organization's Own Email Address by Setting Up Your CNAME Info

Why do we recommend setting up CNAME Records?

Inbox Service Providers (ISPs) like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and many others want to make sure that email sent to their users is legitimate. These providers have gotten smarter and stricter over the years, and may review your Domain Name Server (DNS) records to verify the From address sending the email. You can give Double the Donation's 360MatchPro platform permission to send emails on your behalf by adding a few new records in your DNS to connect your domain and prevent emails from getting caught by Spam filters. 
This article outlines how this can be completed in just a few minutes. To streamline the process, we recommend adding a member of your IT team as a user to your 360MatchPro.

To add CNAMEs to your DNS settings, you'll need to copy and paste information from 360MatchPro into your domain's records. We recommend that you work with two browser windows or tabs to easily move between the 360MatchPro website and your domain's records. In the instructions linked below we'll provide you with customized instructions based on the service you use, and if your service isn't listed, you can refer to a generic set of steps later in this article to guide you through.

If you do not know where your domain is managed, reach out to the person or team that manages your website or email address for help.

Instructions for specific DNS servers

If your organization uses one of the following common DNS servers, see instructions specific to that provider:
  1. GoDaddy
  2. 1&1 Web Hosting (1and1.com)
  3. BlueHost
  4. CloudFlare
  5. cPanel control panel (HostGator, JustHost, WebhostingPad)
  6. DreamHost
  7. Google Domains
  8. Hover
  9. MediaTemple
  10. Microsoft Azure
  11. NameCheap
  12. Network Solutions

General CNAME Setup Process

1. Open two browser tabs. In the first tab, login to your DNS Provider and navigate to the Advanced DNS Settings. Look for the option to add CNAME records. In the example below, all DNS record types are displayed together. Your DNS provider may show each record type (A, CNAME, TXT, etc.) in a separate section; if this is the case, find the section for CNAME records. Add a new record by clicking Add (Add Record, Create new record, etc).


 Please note: each DNS provider has a unique layout and interface. These instructions give a general overview of the steps to take within your own DNS provider; however, the navigation and steps may be slightly different.

2. In the second browser tab, log in to 360MatchPro.

3. In your 360MatchPro account, navigate to "Settings" on the left-hand side, then click "Email Settings".

4. Under the From Email Address box, enter the email address for your organization's domain where you'd like emails to come from.  (ie. matchinggifts@example.org). Then click "Save Email Settings."



Optional: Reply-To Email Address

If you want replies from donors to go to an inbox other than the email address you've listed as the From Email address, you have the option to enter a Reply-To email address. Make sure to click "Save Email Settings" for any entries to apply. Then click "Save Email Settings."



5. From the CNAME Setup Table, there are three CNAME records. Copy the first value from the Hostname column, switch to the browser tab containing your DNS settings, and paste it into the corresponding field in your DNS provider account. Some DNS providers will refer to Hostnames as Aliases.
Some DNS platforms (such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions) automatically add your domain, resulting in a CNAME entry with too much information and a failure when trying to complete domain authentication. An example of this would be em123.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com.

Below is an example of the CNAME values under the HOST column as they are displayed and how you will need to enter them into your GoDaddy/DigitalOcean DNS Management:

Type
CNAME           YOU ENTER HOST/NAME within GoDaddy AS:  dtdsendgrid
CNAME           YOU ENTER HOST/NAME within GoDaddy AS:  s1._domainkey
CNAME           YOU ENTER HOST/NAME within GoDaddy AS:  s2._domainkey

***Entries made in the VALUE or POINTS TO field do not need to be changed.***



6. Switch back to your 360MatchPro browser tab. For the same record, copy the value in the Should Point To column. Back in your DNS browser window, to paste into the corresponding field in your DNS provider account.

7. Complete these steps for all three CNAME records in your 360MatchPro, then Save your changes in your DNS provider account.
If your DNS records are set up correctly, you'll see a Valid message letting you know your email sending domain is verified. Please be aware that it can take up to 24-48 hours for changes made with your DNS provider to be reflected in 360MatchPro.

Troubleshooting CNAME records 

If your DNS records still need to be set up or are still processing, you'll see each record with a CNAME Not Found error displayed for one or all of them. Please check back 24-48 hours later to see if the changes have propagated. If you still see the CNAME Not Found error, please refer to the troubleshooting tips below.

1. If there are one or two valid records, but at least one record still invalid, confirm that all three records have been added to the DNS settings.

2. Ensure CNAMEs were added to the correct domain. (If the from address in 360MatchPro is matchinggifts@catrescueclub.org, ensue CNAMEs weren’t accidentally added to the catrescueclub.com domain). 

3. Ensure the CNAME records do not include typos- CNAME records should be copied and pasted directly from 360MatchPro to ensure best results. Hand-typing records from a screenshot can lead to accidentally entering the wrong value. Double check for extra spaces or punctuation on the records.

4. Refer to instructions provided by your individual DNS service. Instructions for service providers such as GoDaddy, Network Solutions, and DigitalOcean require Hostnames/Aliases to be entered without your organization’s domain includes (for example dtd._domainkey.catrescueclub.org will be entered as dtd._domainkey for these providers).

5. If you use a custom nameserver, in place of the default nameserver of your provider, your CNAME records need to be entered into the account associated with the custom nameserver.



If these scenarios do not apply to your CNAME records, please reach out to support@doublethedonation.com to troubleshoot to find a solution.

Training Video: CNAME Information



    • Related Articles

    • Email Sending

      From Email Address When your initial 360MatchPro account is created, you may see the primary account holder of your organization's email address in the from email address section. However, we default to sending matching gift emails from a Double the ...

    • Getting Started: Email Settings Overview

      Email Settings Email Sending - From Address and Reply-To Address Under the Email Sending section, you have the ability to set the From email address, Reply-To email address (optional) and the From Email Name.   Then we highly recommend completing the ...

    • Previewing Emails

      Within your 360MatchPro account, you have the ability to preview emails so you can view their appearance before automated emails get sent to your donors. Scroll to the sections below to see specific instructions for each email stream.  Sending a test ...

    • The Importance of Connecting Your Email Domain to 360MatchPro

      Email filters have gotten smarter and stricter over the years, and may review your Domain Name Server (DNS) records to verify the From address sending the email. You can give Double the Donation's 360MatchPro platform permission to send emails on ...

    • Settings: Email Sending Limits

      360MatchPro gives you the ability to limit the number of emails sent to donors within a given period of time using a number of different configuration options. You can find these configuration options under Settings --> Email Settings. These settings ...