PIR's email setup, explained for volunteers
Which service sends which email, how PIR's email evolved, and what SPF, DKIM, and DMARC mean in plain language.
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Who does what
| Kind of email | Handled by |
|---|---|
| People writing to PIR (and replies) | PIR’s role mailboxes (info@, helpdesk@, convention@, …) |
| Website system emails (receipts, password resets, checkout reminders) | The website, ideally relayed through Brevo |
| Newsletters and campaigns | Brevo (since June 2025) |
| A.L.E.X. helpdesk sign-in links and ticket updates (planned) | Brevo, with Resend as a backup |
A short history
MailPoet sent a weekly online-meetings digest from 2020 to 2022, then Mailchimp took over, and PIR moved to Brevo in June 2025. The De Vine News committee (January 2026) is a separate, curated newsletter.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC — in plain words
Big email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) want proof that a message claiming to be from
@psychedelicsinrecovery.org really is. Three small text records on our domain provide it:
- SPF — a list of the services allowed to send as PIR (our mailbox host, Brevo, …).
- DKIM — a digital signature each sending service adds, which providers can verify.
- DMARC — tells providers what to do with mail that fails those checks, and sends PIR reports. We start in “monitor only” mode, then tighten once everything legitimate passes.
Getting these right is the single biggest step toward PIR’s emails landing in inboxes. Note that PIR’s website hosting and its domain settings live with two different companies, so these records are added at the domain provider.
Two caches, one more gotcha
Unrelated to email but often confusing: the main website has two separate caches (a WordPress plugin and the host’s own). If a change “didn’t show up,” both need clearing.