Email Addresses
A catchall rule, Gmail filters, and delegation let a small group of volunteers run every wildcard address from one inbox, with a short register of the addresses assigned.
VOICE offers people email addresses at its own domain to give to agencies, clinics, and employers. Email to every wildcard address arrives in one inbox, which a small group of volunteers monitors. A person who prefers a mailbox that only they can open can have a private account instead.
The Account
VOICE uses Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which as of 2026 is free for eligible nonprofit organizations through Google for Nonprofits. Google says that it reviews most requests to verify an organization within 2 to 14 working days. A group setting up a new account would normally make its domain the account's primary domain, although a domain can also be added to an existing nonprofit account as a secondary domain.
Three mailboxes do the core work.
| Mailbox | Purpose |
|---|---|
| A shared inbox, such as shared@example.org | Receives email for every wildcard address through the catchall rule, and is monitored by the volunteers who read and deliver messages |
| A public contact address, such as info@example.org | Receives questions, corrections, and offers to help from the public |
| The Gmail account the Switchboard reads | Receives voicemail notifications and the messages that should become relays |
Private accounts are full Workspace user accounts, created only when someone chooses one.
The Catchall Rule
The catchall rule sends email for any address at the domain that has no mailbox of its own to the shared inbox, so that a new address works as soon as it is chosen, with no account to create. In the Google Admin console, open Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Routing, and use the Routing setting rather than Default routing. A rule with these settings does the work.
- In Name, enter a description such as "Catchall to the shared inbox."
- Under Messages to affect, choose inbound and internal receiving.
- For the action, change the envelope recipient to the shared inbox's address.
- Under Account types to affect, choose unrecognized or catch-all addresses only.
If the domain is example.org and there is no mailbox for elena.r@example.org, for example, email to that address goes to the shared inbox. The message keeps its original address in the To line, so a volunteer who monitors the inbox can see its intended recipient without opening it. Test the rule by sending email to an address that has no mailbox and confirming that it arrives.
Sorting the Shared Inbox
A Gmail filter for each assigned address applies a label to the email that arrives for it, such as the label "Elena R." for elena.r@example.org. Filters are created under Settings > See all settings > Filters and blocked addresses > Create a new filter, and the volunteers who monitor the inbox then sort or search by label to find one person's email quickly.
Several volunteers can open the shared inbox through Gmail delegation, each with their own account and without sharing a password. The inbox owner grants access under Settings > See all settings > Accounts > Grant access to your account. Google limits how many delegates one inbox can have, so check its current help pages for the number.
Choosing Addresses and Keeping a Register
VOICE's volunteers choose each address in person, together with the person who will use it. Common patterns are firstname.lastname, a first initial and last name, or another name the person chooses. Every address must differ from the others and from any existing mailbox at the domain.
VOICE keeps a short, restricted register of the addresses it has assigned. For each one, it records the address, how the person would like to hear about new email, the date it was created, and whether it is active or closed, and nothing else.
Explaining the Shared Inbox
Before creating a wildcard address, a volunteer explains in plain language that the volunteers who monitor the shared inbox can see who sends each email and its subject line and open what looks time-sensitive, and that the address is not a private account. The conversation takes place without pressure or a deadline, and no address is created without the person's informed agreement. VOICE volunteers use an explanation close to this one.
Email sent to this address arrives in a shared inbox. A small group of VOICE volunteers can see who sends you email and the subject of each one, without opening it. They open anything that looks urgent, such as a code you are expecting, so that they can get it to you quickly. Everything else stays unopened until you tell them what you would like done with it, and each email is deleted once you have received it or we have done what you asked. If you would rather have an account that only you can open, or no account at all, we can talk through the other options.
A wildcard address suits agency correspondence and verification codes, and describing it as a substitute for a personal email account would be misleading.
Example
Elena comes to a session needing an email address for a benefits application. A volunteer explains how a wildcard address works. When Elena asks whether anyone else would read her benefits letters, the volunteer explains that only email that looks time-sensitive is opened and that everything else stays unopened until she says what she would like done with it. She decides to go ahead, chooses an address based on her first name and last initial, and asks to hear about new email through a call to her sister's phone. The volunteer adds the address to the register and creates its filter. When the benefits website sends a verification code, the volunteer monitoring the shared inbox sees the labeled message arrive and gives her the code within a minute.
Private Accounts
The catchall rule does not apply to email sent to an active mailbox at the domain. To create a private account, add a Workspace user with a temporary password and require the person to change it at first sign-in, without the volunteer watching. Some account holders may not have a phone to use for recovery, so a volunteer can offer to print the account's backup codes with them. If the password is lost, an administrator can set a new temporary password after a volunteer has confirmed in person that the account belongs to that person. A private account can also be a step toward a personal email account that the person sets up once they have a working phone.
Closing an Address
When someone asks for an address to be closed, a volunteer removes its filter and marks it closed in the register. Email sent to a closed address still reaches the shared inbox through the catchall rule, and the volunteers who monitor it delete that email unread. A closed address is never assigned to anyone else, so that codes and letters meant for one person can never reach another.
Connecting Email to the Switchboard
The Switchboard reads one Gmail account, and every new message there becomes a relay, so the first decision is which mailbox it should read. In one arrangement, voicemail notifications and email to the public contact address become relays automatically, while email for people's own addresses stays in the shared inbox, and the volunteer monitoring it records a relay when something needs to be delivered.