Configuration Overview

Create an Event Campaign
Setup Advanced VAN Settings for your event campaign form, which will map all events submitted through the form as a new location and all signups to the events as a role
Create the first event in your new Event Campaign that will create the basis of varying locations in your statewide VAN event
Duplicate the event for all of your locations and roles

Configure GOTV locations

Step 1. Create an Event Campaign

The event campaign will sync your VAN committee as a new statewide event. Once you’ve completed steps 1 & 2, you’ll submit events into the new Event Campaign, and they will sync as new locations in the statewide VAN event.

Event Campaign Configuration by field

Form title
Form description
The form description will appear at the top of the Event Campaign form. Use this section for any instructions you want to include for staff submitting GOTV events through your Event Campaign.
Who can find this event campaign and submit events?
Select 'Anyone with the link'

Who can approve events?
Select 'No approval needed'

Instructions and support
Include any email address in the required contact field and leave the Instructions field blank

Event defaults
- Event types you wish to have in this statewide GOTV event. You’ll map these event types so that signups to these events sync to the statewide event with a distinct role in VAN
- A default event name & event description
- Up to 6 default event images

Date and time settings
Select a date range and check the box below Multiple times

Step 2. Configure Advanced VAN Settings

Open the Advanced VAN Settings drop-down
Add the VAN event name
Select all of the VAN event types you want this event to map to
Select the Timezone
This should match the timezone for your VAN Committee
Select the VAN Statuses that Registered, Cancelled, and Confirmed shifts will map to in VAN (these statuses must be statuses available on the VAN event type you use for GOTV)
Set the VAN Roles for hosts and attendees for your event types
IMPORTANT: For the Host VAN role, select Don’t sync to prevent event creators from syncing to the statewide event.
Click Save

Step 3. Start adding new locations to your statewide VAN event through your new Event Campaign

Select your Event Campaign in the Event Campaign tab
Click on the Form URL at the top of the page
Create an event via the form and add the event details for your first location:
- Update the Event title
- Select the event type you want to create
- Add a Description
- Add location information:
  - Under Location, check ✔️ Is virtual and add the location name and details for your event.
  - Mobilize will search VAN for a location match and merge with an exact match. If the Mobilize location does not match any VAN locations exactly, Mobilize will create a new location in VAN.
  - Recommended: Add the VAN Location ID to ensure location merging. Adding the VAN Location ID will eliminate any duplicates due to slight differences (St vs. Street, etc.)
- Add timeslots:
  - Be sure to include all of the days and times associated with the location.
  - Each timeslot will create a new shift in the statewide VAN event. If you add shifts across multiple days, VAN will create a new event for each day.
- Add Event Logistics and Accessibility, including a contact phone number and attendee instructions (you can edit these later on as well)
- Add the Zoom ID to your new event by going to the Events tab of your dashboard, selecting the event, and selecting Edit in the top right corner.
- That’s it! You should now see a statewide event in VAN with your Mobilize event’s location and shift times.

Note: Events created by Admins or Organizers will go live immediately, but you can set them to Private visibility if you don’t want the event to appear on the feed immediately.

Step 4. Duplicate!

To speed up the event creation process, utilize the Duplicate event functionality to copy event information, and update the details for new locations.

Duplicate your event by going to the Events tab and selecting Duplicate event in the Actions dropdown
Update the event, including the title, event type, photo, contact information, location, Zoom links, and any other fields you want to change
Add the Zoom ID you’ll use for this location.
Repeat for all location/role combinations in your state/turf

VAN Mapping

Here is a visual representation of how Mobilize Events, Locations, and Shift Times map to the VAN multi-location (statewide) events:

Note: Mobilize events have one location per event, while VAN events have one day per event, meaning multiple Mobilize events can feed into the same VAN event. This is a departure from the typical Mobilize <> VAN sync.

Mobilize event types will not sync over to VAN, as the events are syncing as locations within the statewide event. Mobilize signups will sync to VAN with the corresponding role mapped to the event type set in the Advanced VAN Settings.

Editing event locations and attendee information

Updating locations

Do not add any new location to the VAN event. Only update existing locations in VAN first, then in Mobilize. Never delete locations or location IDs in VAN! Deleting locations in VAN could prevent further signups from syncing.

Once the location is updated in VAN, update the address information in Mobilize

Updating attendee information

Make changes to a volunteer's role, location, or timeslot in VAN, not Mobilize.

Subsequent confirmation emails will include the updated role and shift time
In SMS confirmations, role modifications will say "taking action" in place of the event type
Messages sent out the same day as changes are made in VAN may not sync back to Mobilize in time before confirmation emails go out