Head to our Mobilize --> VAN Integration article for in depth information on our VAN sync.
Note: Future feature releases may impact the relationship between Mobilize and VAN events. This set of guidelines does not cover events created through our statewide GOTV sync.
The following edits should be made to the event in Mobilize:
Note that all events created by Mobilize must be edited in Mobilize, which will sync updates to VAN. We do not support editing Mobilize-created events directly in VAN; editing events in VAN may result in changes being overwritten.
Updating location
All updates to the location should be made in Mobilize. Only one location is allowed per VAN event.
Adding shift times
Adding any additional shift times to the Mobilize event will create a new event in VAN, removing the need to add shift times directly into VAN.
Deleting the event or event timeslots
If you wish to remove an event or timeslot entirely from VAN, first delete in Mobilize. Failing to delete the event in Mobilize first will result in errors.
The deleted event will be renamed to include [Canceled] at the beginning of the VAN name.
All VAN signups will move to the Declined status.
What can be edited in VAN?
Signups from other sources
If you are recruiting for your event over the phone or through another source, those shifts can be scheduled into VAN directly. However, those attendees added directly into VAN will not receive our automated confirmations.
Other roles are enabled when the event syncs to VAN
Mobilize events support only one role per event. It is possible to add additional roles in VAN to accommodate other types of volunteers (I.e. a data entry role can be added to a Mobilize-created phonebank).
When does information move from VAN back to Mobilize?
Reading VAN Signup statuses into Mobilize
Although in general our sync is one-way — we write data into VAN, but do not read data out — the one exception is VAN signups created by Mobilize.
Starting two days before an event, Mobilize will check the status of upcoming event signups in VAN around midnight every night. Then:
If the VAN signup is marked with the VAN status you have mapped to "Confirmed" in Mobilize, its status will be updated to "Confirmed" in Mobilize.
If the VAN signup is marked with the VAN status you have mapped to "Cancelled" in Mobilize, its status will be updated to "Cancelled" in Mobilize and no reminder emails will be sent.
If a signup has a status other than the VAN statuses mapped to "Registered", "Confirmed", or "Cancelled" in Mobilize (or Completed or No-Show), Mobilize will update the VAN status to the status mapped for the current Mobilize status.
Mobilize will also continue to check for "Completed" and "No-Show" statuses in VAN for three days after the event, and we will update the status in Mobilize (to "Completed" or "No-Show"), if either of those are set in VAN.
If a VAN signup has a status that is not mapped in Mobilize (other than "Completed" or "No-Show"), that status may be overwritten by the status that is mapped for the current Mobilize status the next time Mobilize writes data into VAN.
Feel free to reach out to [email protected] for any questions regarding our VAN sync.