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Creating Calendar Events, Event Tickets, and Event Activities
Assigning People to Activities
Introduction
The Calendar widget allows you to create Events within the program. The calendar view provides features for creating and managing events and work shifts, allowing you to efficiently plan, organize, and track your organization's activities. The Calendar widget functions similarly to other popular calendar applications such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar. What makes the PDI calendar invaluable is its deep integration with your People Database and activity workflow.
In the calendar view, you can easily create events by specifying the event details, such as the title, date, time, location, and additional information. Within each event, you can set up work shifts to define specific time slots that volunteers can sign up for.
You can navigate through different months and years within the calendar view, allowing you to plan and track events in advance or review past activities.
The default view is set to show the current calendar week, but you can change the view by selecting the Shift options and choosing the desired month, day, and year.
Accessing the Calendar
The Calendar is displayed by default on your Dashboard. You can also access the Calendar by hovering over the People section in the navigation menu and clicking Events and Calendar.
Calendar Overview
The Calendar View is the default view of this page. This view allows you to create and view your upcoming events. Clicking on any upcoming Event will display a pop-up menu that gives you basic information about the event. This pop-up also allows you to invite people to the event and assign people to the activity.
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Calendar: The Calendar section shows a calendar-style view of your events. You can choose to view your calendar by day, week, or month. Use the triangles in the upper left corner of the calendar to navigate back or forward by a day, a week, or a month (depending on the type of view you've selected).
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Events List: The Events List tab provides a comprehensive list of all the events in your account, which you can filter by date range and calendar type.
- Select Calendar Type Here...: The Select Calendar Type drop-down menu allows you to choose which of your calendars you want to view.
To access Event Details, locate the desired event on the calendar view. Clicking on the event will open a pop-up window that displays comprehensive information about that specific event. This includes the event title, date, time, location, leader, canvassing assignments, and RSVPs. You can also click View/Edit Event Details to edit the event.
Creating a New Event
To create a new event, double-click on the Calendar. A pop-up will appear where you can input all the necessary details for your upcoming event.
- Event Name: Enter the name of the event in this field. The event name should be descriptive and relevant to the activity or occasion. This field is required, and you must provide a name for the event to proceed.
- Event Description: A more detailed description of the event.
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Event Frequency: Select the frequency at which the event will occur. If you choose "One time," you will need to select dates and start and end times. If you choose "Recurring," you will also need to select whether the event recurs daily, weekly, or monthly, as well as a date for the event to stop recurring.
- Event Start Date: Choose the start date when the event is scheduled to take place. Use the calendar picker to select the event start date, and make sure it aligns with your planning and scheduling.
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Event End Date: Choose the end date for the event. Use the calendar picker to select the event end date, ensuring it accurately reflects the duration of the activity or occasion. If the event is recurring, select the end date of the first occurrence.
- Event Start Time: Choose the start time for the event. Set the exact hour and minute using the time picker to ensure accurate scheduling.
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Event End Time: Choose the expected end time for the event. Set the hour and minute when you anticipate the activity or gathering to conclude. If the event is recurring, select the end time of the first occurrence.
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Event Location: Select the location of the event. Click the green plus button to the right of the drop-down menu to add a new location.
- If you are adding a new location, you will need to input a location name, input a location address, and click Save New Location.
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Event Calendar: Choose whether to add this event to the Office, Candidate, or Events calendar. Click the green plus button to the right of the drop-down menu to add a new calendar.
- If you are adding a new calendar, you will need to input a name, select a calendar color, and click Save New Calendar.
- Event Phone: The contact phone number for the event.
- Event Contact Email: The contact email address for the event.
- Event Website: The website for the event.
- (Optional) SMS Message: Input a text message invitation to the event.
- Event Page Header Image: If you want to add a header image to your event invitation, upload it here.
- Organization or Event Logo: If the event has a logo associated with it, upload it here.
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Event Activity: Select an activity to associate with the event.
- If the activity you would like to select does not exist, click the Create New Activity button on the right side of the pop-up.
- Use the Activity Description text box to name the activity.
- Click Save, or Save and Add New if you want to create another activity.
- Use the Event Activity drop-down menu to select the activity you want to associate with the event.
- Goal Count: Set the amount of people you will need to complete the activity.
- (Optional) Shift Lead/Manager: Select a shift leader for the activity.
- (Optional) SMS Message: Input a text message to invite volunteers to the activity.
- Start Time and End Time: Set start and end times for the activity.
- If you would like to associate additional activities with the event, click the green plus button next to the End Time of your first Event Activity. If an activity was added by mistake, click the red minus button next to it.
- Create Webform For This Event: If you activate this checkbox, once you have saved your event, go to Outreach > Webforms > Create/Edit Web Forms and click on the name of your event to build your webform.
- Save and Cancel: Once you have filled in all the necessary event details, click the "Save Event" button to store the event in the system. If you decide not to proceed or need to make changes, you can use the "Cancel" button to discard any modifications.
Events List View
The Events List View displays a list of all of the events that fall in the date range between the From and To dates that are in the text boxes above the table. This list of events can also be narrowed down by using the Select Calendar Type here... drop-down menu to select which calendar of events you would like to view.
Clicking on the name of the event will bring you to the event overview, where you can use the links at the top of the pop-up to invite people to your event, assign people to activities, manage your invitees and assignments, and edit your event details. For more information on how to use this pop-up, see the Event Details section of this article.
- The Event - Clicking on the name of the event will bring you to the Event Details page.
- Delete Event (Trash can icon) - Deletes the event and the associated activities and tickets.
- From - Filters the list view to display events that occur on or after the set date.
- To - Filters the list view to display events that occur on or before the set date.
- Select Calendar Type Here... - Filters the list view to display events that are associated with the selected calendar type.
Event Details
The Event Details pop-up is accessed by clicking on an event in the Calendar View or List View. This pop-up displays details about the events, the number of invitees, the amount of tickets sold, and a list of the activities associated with the event. This page also features links to both the Invite People to This Event and Assign People to Activities pages.
- Invite People to This Event - Clicking this button will bring you to the Invite People to Event page, which will allow you to invite a mass group of people to an event.
- Assign People to Activities - Clicking this button will bring you to the Assign People to Activities page, which will allow you to assign a mass group of people to activities.
- View Invitees / Assignments - View and check in invitees and shift workers.
- View / Edit Event Details - View and edit event and shift details.
- Event Description - Displays information about the event.
- Invitees - Displays the number of individuals who have been invited to the event.
- Tickets Sold - Displays the number of tickets that have been purchased.
- Event Activities - Displays the list of activities associated with the event. Each sub section will display the name of the activity, the number of people that are needed to fulfill the activity, and the number of individuals who have been assigned to the event.
Creating Calendar Events, Event Tickets, and Event Activities
Creating Tickets for the Event
- Activate the Add Tickets For The Event checkbox.
- (Optional) Use the Ticket Name textbox to assign a name to your ticket.
- (Optional) Use the Ticket Description textbox to add a description to your ticket.
- (Optional) Use the Ticket Price textbox to set the price for the ticket.
- (Optional) Use the Total Available textbox to set number of tickets available for purchase.
- (Optional) Use the Max Per Order textbox to set the maximum amount of tickets an individual can purchase.
- (Optional) Use the Start Date textbox to set the date the tickets will go on sale.
- (Optional) Use the Start Time textbox to set the time the tickets will go on sale.
- (Optional) Use the End Date textbox to set the date the tickets will no longer be on sale.
- (Optional) Use the End Time textbox to set the time the tickets will no longer be on sale.
- Click the Add Ticket Level button to save the ticket.
- (Optional) Repeat steps 1 - 11 to create additional tickets.
- (Optional) Click the Pencil icon to edit your ticket.
- Use the instructions in steps 1 -10 featured above to edit the ticket.
- Click the Green Checkmark button to save your changes.
- (Optional) Click the Red Minus button to delete the ticket.
Inviting People to Events
Once an event has been created, you can send a mass text message to a list of invitees notifying them of the upcoming event. You can only use this feature to invite individuals within your People database. This page is accessed by clicking the Invite People to Event button in the Event Details pop-up.
Inviting People to Events
- Use the Select Source drop-down menu to select the source you would like to use to obtain the list of people.
- If Contact Universe was selected, use the Select Universe drop-down menu to select your universe.
- If Merge List was selected, use the Select List drop-down menu to select the list.
- If Individual Lookup was selected, use the First Name and Last Name textboxes to enter in the name of the individual.
- Click the Search button.
- In the Search Results box, activate the checkbox for each individual you would like to invite to the event.
- Click the Right Facing Arrow to add them to your invitee list.
- (Optional) If an individual was selected by mistake, activate the individual's check box in the Selected People section.
- Click the Left Facing Arrow to remove them from your list.
- Click the Invite and Notify button to mark the individuals as an invitee to the event and send them a text message, or click the Invite button to mark the individuals as an invitee to the event (without texting them).
Assigning People to Activities
Once an event has been created, and if you have added activities to the event, you can send a mass text message to a list of volunteers notifying them of their upcoming shift. You can only use this feature to invite individuals within your People database. This page is accessed by clicking the Assign People to Activities button in the Event Details pop-up.
Assigning People to Activities
- Use the Select Source drop-down menu to select the source you would like to use to obtain the list of people.
- If Contact Universe was selected, use the Select Universe drop-down menu to select your universe.
- If Merge List was selected, use the Select List drop-down menu to select the list.
- If Individual Lookup was selected, use the First Name and Last Name textboxes to enter in the name of the individual.
- Click the Search button.
- In the Search Results box, activate the checkbox for each individual you would like to invite to the event.
- Click the Right Facing Arrow to add them to your invitee list.
- (Optional) If an individual was selected by mistake, activate the individual's check box in the Selected People section.
- Click the Left Facing Arrow to remove them from your list.
- In the Select one or more activities section, activate the activities that you would like to assign to the selected people.
- Click the Invite and Notify button to assign the individuals as volunteers for the activity and send them a text message notifying them of the shift, or click the Invite button to assign the individuals as volunteers for the activity (without texting them).
Managing Invitees
The View Invitees/Assignments page allows you to review invitees, remove invitees, and change the RSVP status of the invitees of your event. Clicking on the Tickets tab will display a list of individuals who have purchased tickets for the event. The list of invitees and ticket purchasers can also be exported into a spreadsheet.
Managing Assignments
In this section, you can see which of your volunteers have been assigned to activities at your event. You can change their RSVP status and mark them as confirmed, as well as mark whether they fulfilled their assignment. On the far right side of each row, you can click on the trash can icon to remove a volunteer. The Export Assignments button allows you to export the list of assigned volunteers to a spreadsheet.
Managing Invitees
In this section, you can see which of your contacts have been invited to your event. You can change their RSVP status and mark them as confirmed, as well as mark whether they attended the event. On the far right side of each row, you can click on the trash can icon to remove an invitee. The Export Invitees button allows you to export the list of invitees to a spreadsheet.
Before exiting the View Invitees/Assignments page, be sure to click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
Ticket Report
The Ticket Report page features a basic overview of the type of tickets that have been created for the event. This page will display the name of the ticket, the price of the ticket, the purchase limit of the ticket, the amount that have been sold, and the amount that are available. Clicking the Export button will export this list as a spreadsheet.