Short answer
No. You cannot send email campaigns from a free webmail address like an @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, or @hotmail.com address. To send campaigns, you need to send from an address on a domain you own and have verified, such as info@yourcampaignforcongress.com.
If you try to add a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail address as a sending identity, you will see this message:
Sorry, our provider does not yet support gmail, etc., for spam reasons. Please use an email address with a domain you control, like info@yourcampaignforcongress.com
Why free webmail addresses don't work
The reason comes down to email authentication and a rule called DMARC.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) is a policy that the owner of an email domain publishes to tell receiving mail servers how to handle messages that claim to come from that domain. Gmail, Yahoo, and other large providers publish a strict DMARC policy on their own domains. That policy tells the world: only mail sent through our own systems is legitimate, reject anything else.
When you send a campaign through Raise More, the mail goes out through our email infrastructure, not through Gmail or Yahoo. If the "from" address is yourname@gmail.com, the receiving server checks Gmail's DMARC policy, sees that the message did not come from Gmail's servers, and rejects it or files it as spam. The same problem applies to any free webmail or shared domain you do not own, including Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, AOL, and iCloud.
Raise More specifically blocks Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail addresses at the point where you add a sending identity, with the message shown above. Other free webmail addresses may not produce that exact message, but the underlying authentication problem is the same: you cannot authenticate mail sent as a domain you do not own.
There is no way around this by adding settings on your end. Email authentication works by publishing DNS records (DKIM, SPF, and DMARC) on the sending domain. To publish those records, you need control of the domain. You do not control gmail.com, so you cannot authenticate mail sent from a gmail.com address. The free providers built it this way on purpose, to stop spammers from sending mail that looks like it came from their users.
Briefly, the three authentication records are:
SPF lists which servers are allowed to send mail for the domain.
DKIM adds a cryptographic signature so the receiver can confirm the mail was not altered and really came from an authorized sender.
DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together and tells receivers what to do when a message fails both checks.
What to use instead: your own verified domain
Campaigns send from an address on a domain you control. For example, if your campaign owns yourcampaignforcongress.com, you can send from info@yourcampaignforcongress.com, donate@yourcampaignforcongress.com, or any address on that domain.
This is also better for your campaign regardless of the technical requirement. Mail from your own campaign domain looks more professional, is more recognizable to recipients, and lets you build a sending reputation tied to your campaign rather than to a shared free provider.
How to set this up
Get a campaign domain if you don't already have one. Most campaigns already own one for their website, for example yourcampaignforcongress.com. If you don't, you can register one through any domain registrar.
In Raise More, go to add a sending identity and enter an email address on that domain (for example info@yourcampaignforcongress.com).
Verify the domain. Raise More uses a guided setup that adds the required DNS records (DKIM, SPF, and DMARC) for you. The setup walks you through connecting to your domain provider so the records can be added automatically. Once the records are in place and confirmed, the domain is authenticated.
Once the address is verified, you can select it as the "from" address on your email campaigns.
Verification can take a little time after the DNS records are added, because DNS changes need to propagate. If the address is not immediately usable, wait and check back.
FAQ
What about the reply-to address? Can that be a Gmail address?
The sending restriction is about the "from" address, which is what gets authenticated against DMARC. The reply-to address is handled separately, and practices for it can vary. If you want replies to land in a personal or free inbox, reach out to support to confirm how reply-to is handled for your account.
Can I send a one-off personal email from my Gmail?
Raise More is built for sending campaigns and bulk outreach through a verified sending domain, not for relaying individual personal emails from your Gmail account. For one-off personal messages, send them directly from your own Gmail or Yahoo account in the normal way. For anything you send through Raise More to your contacts, use your verified campaign domain.
My whole team uses Gmail. Does everyone need a campaign-domain address?
You need at least one verified address on a domain you control to send campaigns. Many campaigns set up addresses on their campaign domain for the people who send mail. Your team can still use their personal Gmail accounts for everything else.
I already own a domain but I'm not sure I can edit its DNS. What do I do?
You need access to the domain's DNS settings (usually through the registrar or host where the domain is managed) so the authentication records can be added. If you are not sure who manages your domain or how to get access, contact support and we can help you work out the next step.