Google Workspace / Gmail has a limit on the number of emails you can send per day (2000), as well as the number of unique recipients you can email per day (100).
To prevent unexpected errors once these limits are hit, we recommend setting up a Sendgrid account which costs just $20 a month for 50,000 emails.
It will still send out from your Gmail account, and you'll still receive replies to Gmail. The only caveat is that if you'd like to see your outgoing submissions in your Gmail sent folder (even if the funder didn't respond), you'll have to CC yourself on all subs - which you can do automatically in MCA Pilot.
To set up a Sendgrid account, you will need access to your domain's DNS settings. DNS settings are crucial for email authentication, as they help verify your domain and ensure emails are not flagged as spam.
Here are the steps:
Create a Sendgrid account
In Sendgrid, on the left sidebar click "Domain Authentication" and authenticate your your domains. It's gonna ask you to add DNS records, make sure to copy everything exactly as it appears.
Once they're all added and verified, click "Create Single Sender" and enter the info for the email account you want to send from. You can choose to set a Reply To address to whatever email you want the responses to come to.
In the left sidebar under Email API, click "Integration Guide" and choose SMTP Relay. Name it "MCA Pilot" and click Create.
In MCA Pilot > Settings > Senders, click the "New Email Account" button. Copy all the credentials:
Users: The users in MCA Pilot who will be able to send from this email
Type: Custom SMTP
Username: apikey
From name: Your full email address
Password: Your API key from Sendgrid
Host: smtp.sendgrid.net
Port: 587
Requires SSL/TLS: FALSE (unchecked)
AI Processing: FALSE (unchecked)
Once the Sender is created, hover over it and click "Test SMTP" to send a test email. If it says verified, you're good to go.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
DNS Authentication Fails: Double-check the records added to your DNS management tool and verify there are no typos or missing entries.
Email Deliverability Issues: Confirm the DNS setup includes SPF and DKIM records for better domain reputation.
Let us know if you have any questions!
