Try out https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmailinabox.email%2F, a project I began a few years ago to make hosting your own mail much easier.

It includes comprehensive diagnostics to ensure everything is configured correctly, including reverse DNS, which is the most common issue that leads to mail not being deliverable / going into spam. This doesn't solve every problem, but lots of people have had good results with this project.

There is a whole world of using tech skills to improve government transparency and civic engagement. See:

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/OGosh
http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/helptheman/
http://transparencyjobs.com/jobs/
http://sunlightfoundation.com/