Communications
Volunteer communication without the inbox pile-up
Nehemiah sends your volunteer newsletters, urgent alerts and automatic reminders in your organization’s look, without flooding anyone’s inbox. AI reply handling is rolling out.
Last updated
Broadcasts
How do I email all my volunteers at once?
Write a broadcast, choose everyone or a saved group, and send it now or schedule it. Nehemiah shows how many people it will reach and respects each volunteer’s email preferences.
| Kind | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Newsletter | Monthly news, stories and thank-yous |
| Announcement | A new program, a schedule change, a reminder about an event |
| Urgent alert | Closed today for weather, a last-minute change |
| Open needs | The shifts that still need people, each with a Claim this spot button |
- Pick who gets it. Everyone, or a saved group like “Pantry team”. Nehemiah shows how many people it will reach before you send.
- Send now or later. Schedule a date and time, and unschedule it if plans change.
- From a program page. Message everyone serving in one opportunity, like this Saturday’s pantry crew.
- A person presses Send. Coordinators write and save; owners and admins send. When Nehemiah drafts a group email, it waits for your Approve click.
Email builder
Can emails match our brand?
Yes. Nehemiah pulls your colors, fonts and logo from your website, or finds the colors in your logo, and every email uses them. Emails are built to read well on phones and in dark mode.
- Your look, pulled in for you. Give Nehemiah your website and it pulls your colors, fonts and logo, with text colors chosen to stay readable. Or upload your logo and it finds the colors in it.
- Built from blocks. Your logo, text, buttons, images, columns, callouts, an event, upcoming shifts or open needs, and one-tap reply buttons.
- Personal by default. Merge fields fill in each volunteer’s name, their next shift and their own links.
- Preview, then test. See it on a desktop and on a phone, and send yourself a test.
- Help with the words. Ask for a draft from a few words, then “Make it shorter” or “Make it warmer”.
Replies
What happens when volunteers reply?
Today, replies go to your organization’s own reply-to address, so a person sees every one. AI reply handling is rolling out: Nehemiah will answer routine replies and pass the rest to your team with a drafted answer.
Routine means confirming a shift, can’t make it, availability changes, unsubscribing and thank-yous. Anything sensitive, medical, about safety or a complaint always goes to a person, and a reply that sounds like a crisis gets a fixed holding reply with the 911 and 988 lines right away.
Urgent alerts
How do urgent alerts work?
An urgent alert goes out right away, even during quiet hours and to people who chose fewer emails, but never to anyone who unsubscribed. It can also cancel every shift on a date and tell everyone who was scheduled.
- Ready to use. Templates include alerts like “Clinic closed today (weather or emergency)” and “Services canceled (weather)”.
- One step for a closure. Pick the date, and Nehemiah cancels those shifts and adds everyone who was on them to the alert, so nobody drives in for nothing.
- Coordinators can start one. Their alert, closure included, waits for an owner or admin, and the admins get an email asking them to review and send it.
Inbox-friendly
Will volunteers get too many emails?
No. Nehemiah sorts every email by kind, holds non-urgent mail overnight, caps automatic emails at 2 per person per day, and lets each volunteer choose how often they hear from you.
| Kind | Examples | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Shift confirmations and reminders, paperwork requests, a direct note from your team | Everyone who hasn’t unsubscribed |
| Updates | Announcements, schedule digests, open-shift invitations | People who chose everything or only important messages |
| Newsletters | Newsletters, the monthly needs update, birthday and anniversary notes | People who chose everything |
| Urgent | Closures and last-minute changes | Everyone who hasn’t unsubscribed, right away |
- Quiet hours, 9 PM to 7 AM by default: non-urgent email waits until morning. A personal note from your team isn’t held.
- At most 2 automatic emails per person per day. Any more roll to the next morning.
- Onboarding emails go out at most 3 a week per person, 48 hours apart.
- Each volunteer picks how often they hear from you: everything, only important messages, or urgent only.
- Mailings carry email preferences and an Unsubscribe link in the footer, plus a one-click unsubscribe header that many mail apps show as a button. An unsubscribe is always honored, even for urgent alerts.
Text messages
Does Nehemiah send text messages?
Not yet. Text messages are coming soon: volunteers will opt in on your sign-up form, and STOP and HELP will work. Email works today.
Sender
Who do the emails come from?
Your organization’s name, such as “Harbor Food Pantry Volunteers”, which you can change in Settings. Sending from your own email domain is coming soon.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Can I schedule an email for later?
Yes. Pick a date and time for a broadcast, and Nehemiah sends it then. You can unschedule it any time before it goes out.
Can coordinators email everyone?
Coordinators can write and save a broadcast; an owner or admin sends it. When a coordinator drafts an urgent alert, including one that cancels a day’s shifts, the admins get an email asking them to review and send it.
Can we reuse an email design?
Yes. Build email templates in the same editor and start any broadcast from one. Autopilot emails use templates too, so you can change their wording and look.
Do the emails look right on phones?
Yes. Emails are built to read well on phones and in dark mode, and the editor previews each one on a desktop and on a phone before you send.
Tell us about your volunteer program.
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