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AOL's Pro Bono Email Accreditation Service for Qualifying Non-Profits As part of the company's longstanding commitment to helping non-profit organizations harness the power of the Internet, AOL now offers a pro bono email accreditation program which allows these groups to have their email securely and efficiently delivered to AOL members for free. Through the program, qualifying non-profit organizations - and qualifying non-profit advocacy organizations - receive the full functionality of AOL's email system, including having all images and web links enabled in emails, at no charge to either the sender or to the recipient. The program is in many ways modeled after AOL's CertifiedMail program, which is offered to commercial email senders for a fee. (To see AOL's press release on the framework of the proposed program, as announced in early March, click here non-profit press release).
 
The non-profit program is available through two of the Internet's leading email accreditation partners – Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail. Non-profit organizations have the option to select whichever partner best meets their needs. As always, AOL's Postmaster stands ready and willing to assist any email sender with questions, concerns, or issues that need to be addressed (AOL postmaster contact).
Please note that by submitting your information to AOL you agree to allow the information to be shared with the selected accreditor. Additional terms and conditions may be provided in connection with these services.
What exactly do non-profits get with these services?
Senders who become accredited by Habeas or ISIPP SuretyMail and continue to adhere to AOL mailing policies on a continued basis, can expect reliable, efficient, and effective inbox delivery:
- Reliable Inbox Delivery – messages will not be subject to AOL volume and content filters; additionally, they will not be delivered to the AOL Spam folder (unless the AOL member has indicated that he or she does not want to receive the message);
- Full Message Functionality – AOL will allow messages to display fully functional html, display images, and enable web links by default.
How do the Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail offerings differ from each other?
Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail are offering the same service through different accreditation scenarios. For more information on these services, click here Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail.
How do Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail differ from what Goodmail offers via CertifiedEmail?
The services are similar in that they all deliver a safer genre of email with reliable delivery to the inbox -- not a junk or bulk mail folder. However, AOL has worked to ensure that the services offered through Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail are free to qualifying non-profits, whereas Goodmail charges a fee to commercial email senders. Additionally, the Goodmail program offers the ability to track messages by a unique identifier as opposed to the IP address, as provided by Habeas and ISIPP SuretyMail, which means Goodmail is able to offer its customers detailed reporting.
How does this service compare to AOL's Enhanced Whitelist?
While the benefits are alike, this new, pro bono program offers non-profits the ability to know that their emails are being delivered with web links and images intact and enabled, because the non-profit chooses which IP(s) to accredit. This gets rid of the uncertainty of knowing whether your organization is on the AOL Enhanced Whitelist --which is not published and is done automatically each day, based on the sending behavior for the past 30 days (evaluated by individual IP address). Importantly, AOL has previously announced that it will continue to retain the full functionality of its free, regular "Whitelist," and its free "Enhanced Whitelist." Organizations or senders wishing to inquire about those lists and how they are maintained are encouraged to visit our Whitelist page for more information and assistance.
What about smaller charitable groups and organizations that do not qualify as a non-profit?
Community groups, clubs, schools, small businesses and small non-profit organizations across America that send small volumes of email and conform to good sending practices should not have any issue sending email to AOL customers. These groups are also able to achieve Whitelist status for free. If, at any time, outside senders experiences an issue getting email into AOL, we provide a free Postmaster web page (http://postmaster.aol.com) with FAQs, guidelines, self-help tips, troubleshooting, and a toll-free number manned 24x7x365. The site also includes an easily accessible button where any organization can quickly apply to be on AOL's free Whitelist.
How do I apply for the email accreditation service?
To be considered for the accreditation service you must:
- Agree to and comply with AOL's email delivery guidelines which will be presented after you select an accreditor.
- Select one of the email accreditation service below:
Habeas Request Form
ISIPP SuretyMail Request Form Additional terms and conditions may be provided in connection with these services.
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