Plan required: shifts need Vome Pro or above.

Overview

An event is something that happens on a specific date: a gala, a park cleanup, a fundraiser, an open house. Vome has no separate event object. You build an event from the same pieces as everything else, a category, an opportunity and shifts, and the choices below decide how it behaves.

The one decision to make before you click anything is what a shift will mean for this event. Everything else follows from it. This article is for administrators.

1. Is this really an event?

Ask whether people sign up for a date, or for a role they will keep doing.

• A date. People come for that day, or for a few specific days. Keep reading.
• A role they keep doing. A weekly program, a standing role, a monthly task. That is ongoing work, not an event. Create one opportunity per role and use a shift series for the repeating pattern. See How do Opportunities work on Vome?

2. Which shape fits my event?

Two shapes work for events. Pick by asking one question: does the day break into different jobs that different people should sign up for?

Yes. Give the event its own opportunity. "Spring Gala" is the opportunity, and each shift is a job named with a shift title: Registration desk, Kitchen prep, Setup crew. Each job has its own times, spots and restrictions, and people choose the job they want.

No. Use one "Events" opportunity for all of them. Each shift is a whole event named with the event title: Spring Gala, Summer Fair. It is the quickest to set up, and people see your whole event calendar as one list.

A shift has one title. In an "Events" opportunity the title is spent on the event name, so you cannot split that event into jobs later without moving it into its own opportunity and re-booking everyone already signed up. If you can picture an event needing separate jobs, give it its own opportunity from the start.

More detail, including a third shape for ongoing work, is in The three shapes an opportunity can take.

3. How do I create the event opportunity?

1. Go to the Opportunities module and click New opportunity.
2. On the Details step, enter the Title (the event name, or "Events" for the shared shape) and a Description of the day.
3. Pick a Category. An "Events" category works for most organizations, or create one per event series, such as "Annual Fundraiser".
4. Set Commitment to One-Time, so the opportunity page tells people there is no ongoing commitment.
5. Choose the Location. Pick on-site for an in-person event so you can track attendance on the day.
6. Under Assigned admins, choose the coordinator who will be the contact for the event, plus any watchers.
7. Continue to the Customize step.

Running the same event every year? Choose Duplicate an existing opportunity on the Details step instead. The copy keeps every detail and setting except the published shifts, so you only update the description and add this year's shifts.

4. How do I add the shifts?

From the Customize step, or later from the opportunity's schedule, click Create shifts. For each shift, set:

• The date, with a start and end time.
• The number of spots.
• A shift title when the shift stands for a job (Registration desk) or, in an "Events" opportunity, for the event (Spring Gala).

Need the same job at several times on the day, such as an early and a late setup crew? Create one shift per time slot with the same shift title. If the event spans several days, pick each date when you create the shifts.

5. How do I keep a job for qualified people only?

Use an advanced reservation restriction on that shift.

1. Tag the qualified profiles with a profile tag, for example "First aid certified".
2. In the shift editor, open Manage advanced reservation restrictions and pick that profile tag.

Only people assigned to the opportunity and carrying that tag will see and reserve the shift. The restriction is per shift, so the general jobs stay open to everyone.

The restriction uses a profile tag, which sits on the person. A tag on the shift itself only changes its colour on your calendar and restricts nothing.

6. How will people sign up?

There are two routes, and you can use both.

Through the opportunity. People assigned to the opportunity see its shifts and reserve them. On the Customize step, set Visibility so the right people can find the event (Public for an open event), and use Recruitment to decide what happens when a newcomer wants to join.

Through one form. Add a Shift calendar section to a form and point it at the event opportunity. People answer your questions and reserve a shift in the same submission, whether or not they were assigned before, and you share a single link. For an open community event this is usually the fastest route. See How do I build one form that recruits and schedules at the same time?

7. Which settings matter most for an event?

These Schedule settings on the Customize step are the ones event organizers reach for most:

• Instant Book. On, a reservation is confirmed straight away. Off, it arrives as a request for you to approve. See Instant Book, or request to book?
• Reservation cutoff. Stops new reservations at a point you choose, so your final roster is settled before the day.
• Hide fully-reserved shifts from users. Keeps full jobs out of the list, so people only see what is still open.
• Attendance tracking settings. Decide how people check in on the day, for example with the attendance kiosk or a QR code.

Summary

• An event is built from a category, an opportunity and shifts, like everything else in Vome.
• If the day breaks into different jobs, give the event its own opportunity and name each job with a shift title.
• If people just come and help, one "Events" opportunity with one shift per event is simplest.
• A shift has one title, so moving from the shared shape to a dedicated opportunity later is a rebuild.
• Restrict a qualified job with an advanced reservation restriction and a profile tag, shift by shift.
• People sign up through the opportunity, or through one form with a Shift calendar.
• Duplicate last year's event to reuse every setting, then add the new shifts.

Where to go next

• The three shapes an opportunity can take
• How do Opportunities work on Vome?
• How do I build one form that recruits and schedules at the same time?
• How do I add a new opportunity?