Running events

This guide is for leaders who run events: RSVPs, check-in, and the plans families see.

Where events come from

You don't create events in ScoutKeep. They come from your pack's calendar feed, such as Scoutbook or another ICS calendar, which ScoutKeep checks every 15 minutes. To add or change an event, edit it in your calendar. To pull changes in right away, a leader who manages pack settings can choose Refresh now under Calendar in the settings. See Unit settings.

Open an event

1. Open Events in the leader menu.
2. Find the event in the list. Choose Show past events to find one that already happened.
3. Choose Open.

Leaders with the Manage events and attendance permission see every event. If you're the person in charge of an event, you see Events you're running with just your events.

The event's page is for running it: Attendance with the roster, and beside it Tasks, Itinerary & meals, and Packing list. Settings you usually change once, such as how families join, guests, the Slack channel, and the feedback survey, are under Event settings at the top of the page. Choose Back to the event to return.

Set how families join

On the event, choose Event settings. Under Participation and deadlines, in How families join this event, pick one:

• RSVP: families answer going, maybe, or not going. You can set an optional RSVP deadline.
• No RSVP: families aren't asked to answer. Use it for calendar notes nobody attends, such as a school holiday.
• Registration required: families register the people attending. You can set a Registration deadline.
• Registration and payment required: adds a Payment deadline. This needs the pack's Finance feature turned on.

Leave a deadline blank for none. Deadlines use your pack's time zone. After the RSVP deadline, families can still say they can't make it, but can't add or change anything else. You can still update a family's RSVP from Attendance. Switching from RSVP to registration clears existing RSVPs, but not charges, payments, or attendance.

Calendar entries that look like notes, such as school holidays, start as No RSVP. Choose RSVP to ask families anyway.

You can also turn on Offer an optional overnight stay (families say who is staying) and This event includes food (families review dietary restrictions). Choose Save when you're done. Event participation updated. appears under the button once it's saved.

Limit who can attend

Under Who can attend, set a Minimum age (optional) or Maximum age (optional). Age limits apply to Scouts, siblings, and child guests, not adults. To limit the event to certain dens, open Restrict to selected dens and check them; this applies only to enrolled Scouts. Leave everything blank for no limits.

Existing signups that no longer fit appear under Signups needing review. Their RSVPs and payments aren't changed, so follow up with those families.

Put someone in charge

Under Person in charge, search for an adult and choose Put in charge. Families see that adult as the event's Point of contact. They can manage the event's settings, RSVPs, and check-in, and hear about new RSVPs and registrations. Only leaders who manage events for the whole pack can change who is in charge.

Manage RSVPs and guests

• Add family RSVP (or Register family), next to Search all families under Attendance, lets you answer for a family that hasn't responded.
• Edit RSVP (or View registration) on a family changes their answer.
• In Event settings, under Guests, Allow guests lets families bring guests. Choose Disable guests to stop. The change takes effect right away.

When an event requires registration, opening a family's registration also shows Leader exceptions. Check Allow registration after the deadline (or, for paid events, Allow attendance before payment is complete), add a Reason, and choose Save exception. Once the family has registered, leaders who manage finances can link the family's existing charges under Required event charges and choose Save linked charges. See Finance and PayPal.

Check people in

1. Under Attendance, use Search all families to find someone.
2. Choose By family or By den to group the roster. By family lists each family with its people. By den lists each den's Scouts together, then No den for Scouts without one, Adults, and Guests.
3. Check Present for each person who arrived.
4. For an overnight event, check Stayed for each person who stayed the night. People families said are staying show Staying overnight.
5. Choose Save attendance.

Check-ins carry over when you switch between By family and By den, so you can change views before saving.

Review dietary needs

When the event includes food, Dietary needs lists totals, severe allergies, and anyone who hasn't shared their restrictions yet.

Share the itinerary and meal plan

1. Under Itinerary & meals beside the roster, choose Plan itinerary & meals.
2. Under Itinerary, choose Add entry for each activity. Under Meal plan, choose Add meal and fill in the Menu and Who's cooking.
3. Choose Save draft. Only the event's leaders see a draft.
4. Choose Publish when it's ready. Families see it on the event's page.

Use Return to draft to hide it again.

Add a packing list

Under Packing list beside the roster, choose Add a packing list (or Edit packing list). Use Add from a list to start from Recommended by ScoutKeep or a saved list, or Add item, then choose Save packing list. Families see changes right away. Pack-wide event managers can choose Save for other events to reuse it.

Set the event's Slack channel

If your pack has connected Slack, open Event settings. Under Event channel, choose Choose a channel (or Change channel), pick one, and choose Save channel. Or open Create a new channel and choose Create channel. ScoutKeep adds the parents of families going, and published plans are posted there too. See Slack.

Send an announcement about the event

If your pack uses announcements and you can send them, the event has an Announcements panel. It lists the announcements about this event and whether each is a draft, scheduled, or sent. Choose Send announcement to write one. It starts out going to the families going and posting in the event's Slack channel. See Sending announcements.

Reminders

Each adult in a family that's going gets reminders before the event, unless they turned event reminders off in their notification settings. They go by email unless the adult turned that off, and by Slack direct message too if your pack uses Slack and they turned it on. Your pack chooses up to three reminder times, such as 1 week and 1 day before, under Event reminders in the Calendar settings. Den and pack Slack channels get a post at each of those times. Each adult can choose their own times instead in their notification settings.

If an RSVP comes in after a reminder time has passed, that reminder is skipped and the later ones still go out. If your pack moves its reminder times earlier after a reminder was already waiting, the waiting one goes out right away, once.

When an event moves or is canceled

Change the event in your pack's calendar, and ScoutKeep picks up the change the next time it reads the calendar, about every 15 minutes. RSVPs, registrations, and everything else about the event stay with it.

Each adult in a family that's going, might go, or registered is told when an upcoming event gets a new date or time, or is canceled or deleted from the calendar. The notice says the old and new times and links to the event. It arrives in their notifications list, and by email or Slack direct message the way they get event reminders. It's sent even to adults who turned event reminders off.

The notice waits one more calendar check before it goes out. If you undo a change in that time, nothing is sent. If you change the time again, families get one notice with the latest time. Changes to only an event's title or place don't send a notice. Neither do changes after you switch your pack to a different calendar.

Feedback survey

If your pack uses surveys, Event settings shows Feedback survey to leaders who manage surveys and to the person in charge. Leaders of the dens the event is limited to find it on their den's attendance page for the event. Check Send a feedback survey after this event, and choose View responses afterward. See Surveys and feedback.