Using the Events Feature to Recruit, Engage, and Track Attendance

• Events in Action Builder
• Getting Started with Events
• How the Events Tool Works with Tasks
• Sections, Fields, and Responses for Events
• Setting Up Info Fields for Events
• Info Field Examples

Events in Action Builder

The Events tool in Action Builder helps organizers recruit, confirm, and track attendance for events, making it easier to engage people and support turnout. A key part of this process is how Events integrates with the Tasks tool, automatically generating tasks for recruitment, confirmation, and attendance. These tasks are essential for managing outreach and ensuring successful event participation.

In this article, we’ll explain how Events work with Tasks in detail, so keep reading to learn how to streamline your workflows and make the most of these features. Additionally, Info Fields tied to RSVPs let you track important details like dietary needs, accessibility requirements, or agenda topics for specific people and events.

In Action Builder, users with the Organizer role or higher (Admin, Lead, and Organizer) can create events and be added as hosts. Once assigned, any host—regardless of user type—can edit the event.

Why Use Events?

Organizing is about building relationships and supporting participation. With Events, you can:

• Track outreach and follow-up.
• Confirm attendance (and reconfirm as needed).
• See individual engagement histories to better understand who’s showing up and why.

Key Features of Events

Here’s what the Events feature can do in its first release:

📅 Create Events
Set up in-person or virtual events with details like date, time, location, and description.

⏰ Shifty Events
Organize multi-shift events for greater flexibility in scheduling and recruitment.

📋 Recruit and Confirm
Assign tasks to recruit attendees, confirm participation (as often as needed), and track attendance.

❓ Custom Questions
Add questions during recruitment to gather event-specific information, like dietary needs, accessibility requirements, or topics for discussion.

🗓️ Event Views
View events in a list or calendar format and track RSVPs at a glance.

🧍‍♂️ Individual Profiles
See an individual’s event history, including their RSVPs, confirmations, and attendance.

📊 Filter on the Wall Chart
Use event criteria to filter and segment your data visually.

📁 Export Event Data
Download event information for analysis and reporting.

Important Limitations

While Events is a powerful new tool, there are a few functionalities that are not yet available:

• Uploading Events: Bulk uploading events is not currently supported.
• Uploading RSVPs: RSVPs cannot be added in bulk to events.
• Syncing Event Data: Event data does not sync between Action Network and Action Builder.
• API Access: Event data is not accessible via API at this time.

**Please keep these limitations in mind when planning your workflows to avoid issues.**

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Getting Started with Events

To begin using the Events feature in Action Builder, you’ll need to enable it at the campaign level.

Follow these steps to get started:

1. Enable Events for Your Campaign

• Go to your Campaign Customize Tab within the campaign you want to use Events.
• Look for the "Enable Events" option.
• Toggle Enable Events to turn on the feature for that specific campaign.

Note: Events must be enabled for each campaign individually. If you don’t see the option, ensure you have admin access and are working within the correct campaign.

Set Default Task Types for Event Tasks

When enabling Events, you’ll see a dropdown to set the default task type for auto-created event tasks.

Options include:

• Standard (default)
• Home Visit
• Text Bank
• Phone Bank

When event tasks are auto-created (for recruitment, confirmation, and attendance), they will automatically use the selected task type. For example, if you choose "Phone Bank," all event tasks will default to Phone Bank as the canvassing type.

Be sure to click “Save Changes”.

2. Create Events

Once Events is enabled:

• You’ll see Events as its own tab along the top of the campaign navigation.
• It will also appear as a menu option in the dropdown user menu.

From the Events tab, you can start creating your events. To create an event:

• Click ‘New Event’
• Add key event information:
  • Event name
  • Date and time
  • Location (for in-person events) or virtual meeting link (for online events)
  • Description
• Fill out the required details:
  • Host: Select a host from the campaign users. By default, the logged-in user creating the task will be selected.
  • Tasks Associated with the Event: Toggle on or off the following:
    • Confirm 5 days before the event.
    • Double-confirm 2 days before the event.
    • Attendance tracking on the day of the event.

Video How-to

3. Outreach for Event Turnout

Tasks for Recruitment and Attendance:

• Events automatically create tasks for recruitment, confirmation, and attendance. These tasks function like any other task in Action Builder. You can manage these tasks within the Task tool.

Info Fields on RSVPs:

• Use info fields to collect RSVP-specific details, like dietary needs or accessibility preferences, tied to a specific event.

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How the Events Tool Works with Tasks

The Events tool in Action Builder integrates seamlessly with the Tasks feature to help manage event-related outreach and tracking. However, the setup for event-related tasks differs slightly and requires some steps to ensure everything works effectively.

When you create an event, certain tasks are automatically generated to support outreach and turnout. To use these tasks:

1. Enable Tasks in the Events Tab:

   • Locate the task you want to activate (e.g., Turnout Task) and click the circle with a plus sign icon.

   • This will launch the task in the Tasks tab for further customization.

2. Types of Event-Related Tasks:

   • Turnout Task: Automatically created for initial outreach.

   • Confirm Task: For confirming attendance.

   • Double-Confirm Task: To follow up closer to the event.

   • Attendance Task: Tracks attendance on the day of the event.

Each task will have a default To-Do pre-selected, tailored to the event.

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Sections, Fields, and Responses for Events

To effectively track and manage your events in Action Builder, it’s important to use the Events Entity in the Info section, which is already set up and ready to use. The dedicated Events section is where you should add fields tailored specifically to the information you need for each event. Using event-specific fields allows you to capture relevant details while sections help you organize those fields for clarity and consistency.

Why Use the Events Entity to Create Fields?

The Events Entity ensures that all event-related information is stored and managed in one place. By adding fields to the Events section, you can easily track outreach, RSVPs, follow-ups, and any other event-specific data. This keeps your workflow efficient and ensures that all event-related tasks and details are accessible and well-organized.

Examples of Event-Specific Fields and Responses:

• Dietary Preferences: Responses: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, None
• Accessibility Needs: Responses: Wheelchair Access, ASL Interpreter, Large Print Materials, None
• Shift Availability: Responses: Morning, Afternoon, Evening
• Discussion Topics: Free text or pre-set options like "Housing Policy," "Healthcare Access," etc.

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Setting Up Info Fields for Events

For additional customization, you’ll need to set up Info Fields specific to the Events entity. These fields allow you to track details unique to your events, such as dietary needs, accessibility requirements, or session preferences.

1. Go to Admin Menu > Info.

2. In the dropdown menu for entity types, scroll to the bottom and select Events.

3. Create the fields you need for your events.

If you already have fields under the People entity that are relevant to events:

1. Review these fields to identify those needed for events.

2. Recreate the necessary fields under the Events entity as described above.

3. Archive any outdated or unnecessary fields under the People entity to keep your setup organized.

Once you’ve set up Event-specific Info Fields, you can add additional To-Dos to your tasks:

1. Open the task in the Tasks tab.

2. Under the To-Do section, add any additional items you need, such as collecting specific data points tied to your Event Info Fields.

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Info Field Examples

Standard

• Track multiple-choice (or multi-select checkboxes) for items related to the event.
• Example: T-shirt sizes for people who RSVP "yes," so you can bring enough shirts of each size to the rally.
• Example: If people need materials in different languages or live translation at the event, specify which language(s) are needed.

Number

• Track categories with numeric values, allowing you to search by range or see specific details later.
• Example: Whether people are bringing guest(s) and, if so, how many.

• Example: Donation ranges for ticketed events, with a dollar amount for total contributions.

Date

• Useful for tracking deadlines or dates relevant to attendees.
• Example: Accommodation needs for conferences or multi-day events.

Address

• Track planned location assignments for distributed events.
• Example: Polling places for Election Day poll-watching shifts.

• Example: Picket locations for strikes.

Note

• Ideal for adding free-text details related to event attendance that may not fit regular organizing notes.
• Example: Assistance categories such as transportation (notes = where they need to be picked up), childcare (notes = how many kids and their ages), or translation needs (notes = language).

• Example: Dietary restrictions for events that serve food. Use standard fields for categories like "Gluten-Free," with notes for details like "severe celiac."

• Example: Space for free-text details about why someone can’t attend the event or has a tentative RSVP. Use this information to improve event planning or follow up.

Shift

• Useful for shifts within a single large event or as a replacement for recurring "shifty" events.
• Example: Categories for volunteer assignments, with shifts indicating coverage for specific roles or responsibilities.