Contents

• Overview
• What is Program Inbox?
• ⚠️Before You Begin
• Step-By-Step Instructions
  • Set Up Program Inbox
  • Authorize Your Email
  • Send Emails from Program Inbox
  • Access and Manage Program Inbox
    • Filter Emails
    • Manage Multiple Emails at Once
    • Manage Individual Emails
• Applicant Experience
• Troubleshooting
  • Fix a Disconnected Program Inbox

Overview

This step-by-step guide shows Program Admins how to set up and use Program Inbox to send one-off emails to applicants and awardees.

What is Program Inbox?

Program Inbox allows you and your team to send individual emails and manage correspondence with applicants and awardees inside of Next. Team members can only see emails sent or received through Program Inbox within the platform. If you use an individual's email, their other inbox contents remain private.

⚠️Important Notes

• Program Inbox only works with business email accounts from Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace only. Personal email accounts (like @gmail.com, @outlook.com, or @hotmail.com) are not supported.
• Only one email account can be associated with each Program Inbox.
• The email must be a real, validated account (not an alias) that can be authorized.
• You can use either a shared administrative email or an individual employee's email.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Set Up Program Inbox

1. From the Programs page, click View Program to open the program you want to work in. 
   
   
    
2. In the program, click Program Settings in the left-hand menu, then click the dropdown arrow on the far-right of the Program Inbox section.
   
   
    
3. In the textbox, enter the email address you want to authorize. 
   
   
    
4. Click Authorize.
   
   

Authorize Your Email

1. Log in to your Google or Microsoft account when prompted.

2. Complete the authorization:

• Microsoft 365 users: You may need to approve the sign-in request through your Microsoft Authenticator app if your organization uses multi-factor authentication.
   
• Google Workspace users: You'll see a request to allow the nylas.com integration. Click "Allow" to continue.
  
   
  
  3. If the authorization is successful, you'll be brought back to the Program Settings screen in Next and a confirmation message will appear in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Send Emails from Program Inbox

You can send an email from an application in any intake or review round, at any status.

1. Open the application in the intake or review round, then click the envelope icon at the top of the page.
   
   
    
2. Compose your email:
   • To: Filled in automatically with the applicant’s email address
   • CC/BCC: Add more recipients if needed
   • Subject: Enter a subject line
   • Message: Type a message
      
3. Click Send or Save as Draft.

Access and Manage Program Inbox

1. In the program, click Program Inbox in the left-hand menu. A yellow badge shows how many unread messages you have.
   
   
    

• Emails are sorted into the following tabs:
  
  
  • Inbox - All emails sent and received
  • Draft - All draft emails
  • Sent - All sent emails
  • All Mails - All emails
     
• To see emails from one cycle, select the cycle from the Select Cycle dropdown in the upper-right corner.
  
  

Filter Emails

• To filter emails in any tab, click Filter in the upper-right corner. You can filter by:
  • Date Range
  • Read status
  • Unread status

• To search for an email, use the Search bar in the upper-left corner. 
  
  

Manage Multiple Emails at Once

Select the checkboxes next to the emails you want to take action on, then click an icon in the upper-right corner of the inbox. 

• Trash can icon: Delete the emails.
• Envelope icons: Mark the emails as read or unread.
• Archive icon: Archive the emails.
   

Manage Individual Emails

1. Click a recipient's name to open an email.
   
   
    
2. Use the icons in the upper-right corner of the inbox to take action: 

• Trash can icon: Delete the email.
• Envelope icons: Mark the email as read or unread.
• Archive icon: Archive the email.
   

3. To respond, click Reply or Forward in the bottom-right corner of the email thread.

Applicant Experience

• No inbox in Next: Applicants don’t see Program Inbox messages in Next. Your emails go to the email address on their account.
   
• Replies: Applicants reply from their own email, like any other message. Their replies appear in your Program Inbox.

Troubleshooting

Fix a Disconnected Program Inbox

If you get an error when you send an email from Program Inbox, or applicant replies stop showing up, your Program Inbox may have lost its authorization with your email provider (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace). This can happen after:

• A password change or reset on the connected email account
• A "sign out of all sessions" action on that account
• A security or policy change made by your IT or email administrator

To reconnect Program Inbox:

1. In the program, click Program Settings in the left-hand menu. Then, click the drop down arrow on the far-right of the Program Inbox section to expand it.
   
   
    
2. In the Program Inbox section, click Revoke Access to remove the current email connection. Then click Revoke in the pop-up.
   
   
    
3. Confirm the email address is correct, then click Authorize.
   
   
    
4. Log in to your Google or Microsoft account when prompted and complete the authorization. For details, see Authorize Your Email above. If your email provider asks for admin approval, your IT or email administrator must approve the connection before Program Inbox can reconnect.

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