Manage the SMS and Email Inbox
View supporter messages, reply, RSVP, and manage contact preferences
Each group in SupporterBase has an email inbox and an SMS inbox where leaders can:
- View all supporter message threads
- Reply directly to messages
- Mark threads as responded or awaiting response
- RSVP supporters to events from within a thread
- Update contact preferences (unsubscribe supporters if requested)
Accessing a group inbox
Navigate to the inbox
Go to one of these locations:
- Email: Email Blasts > Mailbox
- SMS: SMS Blasts > SMS Inbox
Select your supporter group
Choose your group from the dropdown menu. Groups with threads marked "awaiting response" display a number in brackets (e.g. "Community Group (3)").
Open the inbox
Click Choose this supporter group.
Viewing and filtering threads
Inside the inbox, you can filter message threads by:
- All
- Awaiting response
- Responded
Replying to messages
| Channel | Thread order | Where to type |
|---|---|---|
| Original email at the top, replies below | Text box at the bottom of the pop-up | |
| SMS | Original message at the bottom, newer messages above | Body field at the top of the display |
Open any thread by clicking View.
Marking threads as responded
You can mark a thread as Responded or Awaiting response from two places:
- The main inbox page (next to each thread)
- Inside the thread itself (buttons at the bottom of the display)
This helps all group leaders know which supporters are still waiting on a reply.
RSVPing supporters from a thread
Click the RSVP to event button
- Email threads: bottom corner of the pop-up
- SMS threads: top right corner of the display
Click Add RSVP
The supporter will then appear on the RSVP list for that event.
Showing all events in the RSVP dropdown
If you want all events to appear in the RSVP dropdown regardless of group, enable this configuration:
Settings > Configurations > Show all events in the dropdown field for RSVP forms
Updating contact preferences
If a supporter requests to stop receiving messages, you can update their preferences from within a thread. Choose which channels to unsubscribe them from (email, SMS, phone).
Group vs. Nation unsubscribe
Unsubscribing a supporter from your group will not unsubscribe them from your Nation.
How SupporterBase handles message threads
Email threads: Each conversation is unique to a specific supporter, group, and the outbound email that started the exchange. This is managed using unique reply-to addresses for each outbound message.
SMS threads: If a supporter belongs to multiple groups, their SMS replies appear in the inbox of every group they are part of. All groups share a single organisation-wide phone number (via Twilio). The only way to isolate replies to a single group would be to purchase dedicated Twilio numbers per group (a decision for your organisation).