--- title: Send an Email description: Samaritan VMS eCoordinator Send an Email --- [Skip to content](https://help.samaritan.com/send-an-email#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [Submit a support request](https://help.samaritan.com/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Customer portal](https://help.samaritan.com/tickets-view?hsLang=en) ![eCLogo.png\]](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eCLogo.png?height=40&name=eCLogo.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - [Submit a support request](https://help.samaritan.com/kb-tickets/new) - [Customer portal](https://help.samaritan.com/tickets-view) - Go to samaritan.com Go to samaritan.com Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Samaritan Help Center](https://help.samaritan.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Email & Text Messaging](https://help.samaritan.com/email-text-messaging?hsLang=en) # Send an Email ## Select your audience, compose a message, insert merge fields, and add attachments ### **How to Compose a Message** ### Step 1: Select Your Audience Navigate to any profile tab (Volunteers, Opps, Orgs, etc.), select the records you want to reach, and click the **Message** (or Email) button. - **Pro Tip:** You must select at least one record to enable the messaging component. Once the messaging window opens, you may need to select Email as the type of message from the tabs at the top. Then, define exactly who receives the communication using the **"To" field**. This is where you can get precise, ensuring the right message reaches the right ears without extra noise.![](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-04-08-4123-PM.png?width=523&height=245&name=image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-04-08-4123-PM.png) #### **Understanding Your "To" Options** Depending on where you started (which profile tab you’re in), your options will vary to keep things relevant: - **All Records in Grid:** This shortcut grabs everyone currently visible in your filtered list, saving you from clicking dozens of individual checkboxes. - **Selected Records:** This sends to recipients tied to the specific record(s) you checked in your grid before clicking the Message button. - **Selected Record Dropdown:** If you are messaging from a specific tab, you’ll see a dropdown allowing you to choose *which* email address to use. For volunteers, you can email the volunteer, or the opp contact for all opps the vol is placed or affiliated with. For Opportunities, it's the other way around. You can email the opp contact, or any vols placed/affiliated with the opp. - **Override:** Sometimes you just need to send a one-off. Use this to manually type a static email address or use a merge field to direct the message to a specific contact.   **"Consolidate Duplicate Emails Into One" Checkbox** - Only available when messaging from the opp profile. - For use when sending *identical* emails to multiple **Selected Records. **If the same email address is associated with multiple records, the email will only send once. For example, if you wish to send a happy holidays email to all of your opp contacts, coordinators who serve as contact for multiple opps will only receive one email. - Because this feature requires the emails to be identical in order to consolidate them, features that create variations in emails, such as merge fields or filtering an attached report by the recipient, are disabled. ### Step 2: Draft & Personalize ![](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-57-10-8801-PM.png?width=307&height=118&name=image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-57-10-8801-PM.png) Use the **Merge Box** (top right) to insert fields like First Name, Opportunity Title, or Shift Date.       **![](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-59-08-6712-PM.png?width=306&height=253&name=image-png-Mar-11-2026-10-59-08-6712-PM.png)**   **Attachments:** You can add files or even attach a report or saved grid.   When enabled, the **Filter report to recipient only** option automatically filters the attached report so each attachment only contains data associated with the selected record. For example, the same schedule report can be sent to multiple volunteers at once, but each individual email's attachment will include only the recipient's schedule.     At Samaritan, we take the privacy of your volunteers as seriously as you do.  We understand that in a fast-paced environment, it is all too easy to accidentally include sensitive **UDFs** or contact details in an email meant for a general audience. Because of this, the option to **Attach a Grid** (sending a spreadsheet-style snapshot of your current view) is **disabled by default**. If your organization requires this feature, please contact support. Step 3: Choose the Email Type Before hitting send, categorize your message. The system will automatically cross-reference this with the volunteer's opt-out preferences to keep you in compliance and keep them happy.![](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-12-2026-09-52-54-0607-PM.png?width=213&height=187&name=image-png-Mar-12-2026-09-52-54-0607-PM.png) --- **Need a hand?** If the logic of a merge field is giving you trouble or you're not sure which channel to use for a specific campaign, please reach out. 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