Your Rally Point Episode 21: iOS 26 and Text Deliverability: How Nonprofits Stay Out of the “Unknown Sender” Folder

Apple’s iOS 26 is about to change the game for text messaging—and a lot of nonprofits (and brands) are not prepared.

In Episode 21 of Your Rally Point Podcast, James Martin and Jack Bobin explain what’s happening, why Apple is pushing more filtering to the device level, and what that means in practical terms: more legitimate messages getting routed into the Unknown Sender folder (what Jack calls the “penalty box”).

They break down why this shift is inevitable (email went through the same lifecycle), how spam and fraud are forcing Apple’s hand, and what organizations must do now to protect their deliverability and click rates—especially heading into the year-end giving season.

James walks through the “dominoes” that determine whether a message gets seen and trusted: carrier registration (10DLC/A2P), compliance toolkit, sender verification, branded short links, and VCards/contact cards that help supporters save your organization as a known sender. Miss one step and your best campaign may never reach the inbox.

This episode is not doom-and-gloom—it’s a practical playbook. Text messaging is still the fastest way to reach supporters in the moment. The goal is simply to do it the right way: permission-based, human-centered, and trusted.

What you’ll learn:

• What iOS 26 changes about text filtering and inbox placement
• Why “Unknown Sender” routing can quietly crush campaign results
• How carrier registration and compliance affect deliverability
• Why branded links build trust (and reduce suspicious-link friction)
• How VCards/contact cards can protect sender recognition on iPhones
• What to ask your current texting vendor—before iOS 26 rolls out

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