Choose Events from the Actions tab in the Start Organizing menu to start creating your event.
Fill out the event's title.
You can next choose whether your event has an end time, which is optional, and whether this is an in-person (good for meeting or rally) or virtual (good for conference call or webinar) event.
Choose a date and time by using our easy date picker -- click on the input and then choose a date, then an hour, then the minutes for your event. You must choose a date and time in the future -- you cannot publish an event that has already happened. Your time should be local time. Optionally choose an end date if you've decided to give your event one.
Next, if your event is in a physical location, add a location name (ex: My House), address, city, state or province, and ZIP/postal code for your event (and country, if this is an international event -- click the "Not in the US?" link to access the country selector).
If you're creating a virtual event, you will be able to select a timezone. The time activists see when they RSVP will be based on the time zone they're currently located in. For example, if you have a virtual event starting at 2pm EST, an activist in central time will see it listed as 1pm CST. You also have the option to insert a link to the event. If you add a link here, this will appear in the auto-response email activist's receive after they RSVP.
Add optional public contact info so your attendees can call or email you if you'd like. Finally, add a description and call to action for your event to get activists to RSVP.
You can upload a banner image, which will appear below the title and above the description box. Your image should be 1500px wide by any height (600px is suggested). It will be scaled to a final size of 750px wide. You also have the option to add an image attribution, which will appear in small, dark grey text below your image, as well as alt text.
You can use the visual toolbar to customize the appearance of your description text. The following options are available:
- Write your email in HTML
- Format headings left, right, center or justified
- Add text formatting: bold, italicize, or strikethrough
- Create bulleted or numbered lists
- Insert images from links or your computer and add a title/alt text, add image attribution, link the image, change the position or change the width
- Insert a video from a YouTube or Vimeo link or embed code
- Insert and manage a table
- Add links or hyperlinks
- Add a horizontal line rule
Below this, you have the option to add legal disclaimer text. This will appear at the bottom of your action. Basic HTML is accepted.
If your event is accessible for certain groups, you can tick the check box to indicate this. You'll be able to add a description to note if there will be ramps, ASL interpreters, etc. for this event. You can learn more about how to make a rally or march accessible here. You can learn how to create an accessible meeting or party here.
Show or hide standard fields to remove, say, first name from the form if you do not want to collect it by clicking "Edit Form" and using the visual form builder. You can read more about the visual form builder here. You can also decide whether you want to make the field required or not. Email address and country must always be present and required, as every activist in our system must have an email address and country. You can also create questions with data linked to a specific action using action only fields. Click here to learn more.
You can add in custom form inputs using the visual form builder (explained here) or by writing your own HTML. And you can add an optional image if you choose.
You can also set a max size for the event, after which no more RSVPs will be taken, and choose whether you'd like to be notified every time someone RSVPs.
And, you can choose if your attendees can bring guests, using the checkbox in the sidebar. If you allow guests, attendees will be able to enter in a number of guests they're bringing, which will count as RSVPs and against the max event size if you have one.
Click Save and Go to Next Step and add in instructions that activists will see after they RSVP. (ex: Bring food to share!) You can also show or hide the sharing options on thank you pages and edit other thank you page text. You can also see the 'Add to Calendar' links available on the Thank You page. If you created a virtual event and included a link for it, this will appear in the calendar event when activists add it to their calendar.
When you're ready, publish your event to make it live and start collecting RSVPs.