Events

Let members vote on a time

Publish an event before the date is set, share a poll with candidate times, and apply the winning time.

You'll end up with an event whose date was chosen by the people who want to come. They vote on a few options, you close the poll, and the winning time becomes the event's date.

When to use this

  • You know what you want to run but not when, and want to fit your community's schedules.
  • Your audience spans several timezones.
  • A small group (a cohort, a circle) needs to agree on a time.

If the date is already fixed, skip the poll and set it directly.

Steps

Create the event without a date

Go to Offerings → Events → Create Event. Under Event Details, turn on Flexible Date Event ("Date TBD: use a timing poll or set the date later"). The date fields disappear. Fill in the rest and save.

Already have an event with a date? Open its Timing Poll tab and click Clear Date & Enable Poll.

Create the poll

Open the event's Timing Poll tab. Enter the question (the default is "When works best for you?") and an optional description.

Add time options

Click dates in the calendar to add them, then set a time for each, or mark it All day. Add as many concrete options as you need. Click Create Poll.

Share the poll

Click Copy Link and send it to your members, in a blast, an announcement or a message.

Watch the results

The results grid shows how many people chose each option, with the event's timezone. Use the refresh button to update it. Click Edit Options to add or remove times while voting is open.

Close voting

When you're ready, click Close Voting and confirm.

Apply the winning time

Select the option you want and click Apply Selected Time, or Apply Winning Time. "This will set the event date and time to the winning option. This action cannot be undone." If two options tie, you'll be asked to pick one (Tie: Select a Time).

The event now has a normal date, and you'll see Time applied.

Applying a time can't be undone. If plans change afterwards, click Clear Date. You'll be asked whether to Delete poll & create new one or Clear date only, keep poll.

Tips

  • Offer real slots, not vague windows. "Tue 14 May, 7–8:30pm" gets clearer votes than "some evening that week".
  • Keep it to a handful of options. Three to six works well.
  • Set a voting deadline in your message. The poll stays open until you close it.
  • Tell voters the result. Once applied, send a blast or announcement with the date and the registration link.
  • Delete a poll with Delete Poll. An active poll is closed first (Close and Delete Poll?), and all votes are removed.
  • Reopening a closed poll isn't available yet.

What your members see

The poll page shows your question and each option. For each time they choose Yes or If need be, enter their name (email is optional) and click Continue. They see "Thanks for voting!". They don't need to register to vote. Once the poll is closed they see "This poll has been closed. Voting is no longer available."

After you apply the time, the event page shows the new date and they can register as usual.