> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wegive.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email Sending Infrastructure and Deliverability

> How WeGive sends email on your behalf, what controls are available for deliverability, and how shared vs. custom sending domains affect your email reputation.

# Email Sending Infrastructure and Deliverability

WeGive sends all email communications (campaign messages, triggered
emails, receipts, and notifications) through Mailgun, a professional
email delivery service. Understanding how your sending infrastructure
works helps you optimize deliverability and protect your domain
reputation.

## Shared vs. custom sending domains

By default, your organization's emails are sent from WeGive's shared
sending domain. This means:

* Your emails share sending infrastructure (including IP addresses) with
  other WeGive organizations.
* Deliverability reputation is pooled — the sending behavior of all
  organizations on the shared domain affects everyone's delivery rates.

When you set up a **custom email domain** (Settings > Email >
Authenticate Domain), your emails are sent from your own branded domain
with your own SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication records. This gives
you direct control over your domain's sending reputation.

Organizations that bring their own Mailgun account credentials send
through their own, fully independent Mailgun infrastructure — including
their own IP assignment and reputation, completely separate from
WeGive's shared resources.

## IP addresses and pools

Email is delivered from IP addresses assigned by Mailgun to the sending
account. WeGive does not select or assign specific IP addresses at the
application level — IP pool assignment (shared vs. dedicated IPs) is
managed by Mailgun based on the account's plan and configuration.

* **Shared IPs** (Mailgun default): your email shares IP addresses with
  other senders on the same Mailgun account. This is the standard setup
  for most organizations.
* **Dedicated IPs**: available through Mailgun's own account plans.
  Organizations with their own Mailgun account can arrange dedicated IPs
  directly with Mailgun for full IP reputation isolation.

## Send pacing and volume

WeGive does not impose application-level send rate limits or throttling
on your email campaigns. When you send a campaign, messages are queued
and dispatched to Mailgun as fast as the delivery pipeline processes
them.

Mailgun applies its own per-account sending limits, and receiving mail
servers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) may throttle or defer delivery
based on:

* Your domain's sending reputation
* Volume relative to your recent sending history
* The quality of your authentication records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

A sudden spike in volume from a domain that has been dormant or
sends infrequently is the most common trigger for receiving-side
throttling — see the tips below.

## Best practices for deliverability

1. **Set up a custom sending domain** with properly configured SPF, DKIM,
   and DMARC records. This is the single most impactful step for
   deliverability. You can find and verify your DNS records at
   Settings > Email > Authenticate Domain.

2. **Send consistently.** A domain that sends regularly (even at low
   volume) builds a stronger reputation than one that goes dormant
   between large campaigns. Avoid long gaps followed by high-volume
   sends.

3. **Warm up gradually.** If your domain is new or has not sent recently,
   start with smaller sends and increase volume over days or weeks rather
   than sending to your full list immediately.

4. **Maintain clean lists.** Remove bounced and unsubscribed addresses
   promptly. You can manage your suppression lists (bounces, complaints,
   unsubscribes) from the dashboard.

5. **Enable click and open tracking** to monitor engagement, but be aware
   that the tracking domain requires its own DNS CNAME record and TLS
   certificate — verify both are set up correctly when enabling tracking
   on a custom domain.

6. **Check your SPF record directly** — confirm that a live SPF lookup
   for your domain actually authorizes Mailgun's sending IPs, especially
   if you use a third-party DMARC or SPF management provider. A
   provider's dashboard showing "verified" reflects that the record
   exists, not necessarily that it correctly authorizes your email
   service.

## What to do if emails are being throttled

If you notice delivery delays or bounces mentioning "unusual rate of
mail" or "temporarily rate limited":

* **This is a receiving-side throttle**, not a WeGive or Mailgun
  outage. Gmail, Outlook, and other providers apply these limits based on
  your domain's reputation and recent sending patterns.
* **It typically resolves on its own** as Mailgun automatically retries
  deferred messages and the receiving server gradually accepts more
  traffic from your domain.
* **Future sends**: ramp up volume gradually and maintain consistent
  sending patterns to avoid triggering these limits again.
* If delivery issues persist beyond 24-48 hours, contact support for
  assistance reviewing your domain's sending configuration and
  reputation.

***

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