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Using Email Aliases for Volunteer Registration

There are some instances where volunteers may not have an email address. For example, a volunteer manager may need to register a volunteer without knowing their email address, or a parent will need to register their child who does not have an email. Whenever these cases arise, we strongly recommend using email aliases to register these volunteers.

An email alias is created by adding "+FirstLast" to another email address, prior to the "@domain.com". For example, if my email is chris@goldenvolunteer.com, and I am trying to register my child named Nick Minaj, the email alias that should be used is chris+NickMinaj@goldenvolunteer.com

Considerations

  • Parents/Guardians should use their own email address. The "base" email should be one that they personally have access to, and will be able to monitor for communications from the organizer.
    • Using a generic email (such as test@gmail.com) to create an alias may result in a failure to add the volunteer.
    • If you have volunteers who do not have someone responsible for them (such as a parent or guardian), we recommend an organizer create a standardized, universal email in their domain, such as volunteer@myorgsdomain.org that can be used as the "base" email for aliases.
  • Be specific and comprehensive in your alias creation. Using a generic alias like chris+1@myorgsdomain.org may allow you to register that volunteer. However, if another volunteer from your organization has already registered using the same alias, their data and records will merge into the existing account.
    • As a result, it's a good idea to use aliases with first and last names to ensure duplicate records are not generated in your Golden Account.
  • Important: Golden's email validation system removes the alias portion (everything after the "+") before checking if an email is valid. This means the base email address must be a real, deliverable email account. If the base email is invalid or blocked, the registration will fail even with an alias.
  • Note that not all email services use this convention. Golden will recognize this method as a unique, valid username. However, you or the participant might not receive important emails related to the Opportunity if the right alias technique is not used. See this resource for help with the different techniques based on the email servicer that you use.