Creating an event
Dates, venue, capacity and who can see it — plus the publish step people forget.
Quick answers
6 questions · click to openDoes the event go live as soon as I save it?
No. An event starts as a draft and stays invisible until you publish it, so you can build it over a few days without anyone seeing a half-finished page.
Are event times in my timezone or the event's?
The event's own. Every event carries a timezone, so an event in Perth reads correctly to someone looking at it from Brisbane — which matters more than you'd think once you have local groups in different states.
What happens when we hit capacity?
You can turn on a waitlist, so people can still register their interest instead of hitting a dead end.
Can an event be limited to one local group?
Yes. Events are scoped to a division like everything else, so a local group can run its own without it appearing on everyone else's list.
Do RSVPs come into Cobber?
Yes, straight onto the person's record. That's the point — someone who comes to an event becomes someone you can email, call and invite again.
Can I cancel an event?
Yes. Cancelling is a status of its own, distinct from deleting, so the record and its RSVPs stay intact.
An event is the thing that turns a list into a room full of people. It’s also the easiest way to find out who your genuinely committed supporters are.
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Fill in the event details
Name, description and images under Event Details. The description is what a supporter reads before deciding to come, so write it for them rather than for your committee.
Creating an event. -
Set the date, time and timezone
Date & Time takes a start and an optional end. Every event carries its own timezone, so set it to where the event actually is — not where you are.
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Add the location
Location is what people will put into their maps app on the day. Be specific: a building name without a street address is the most common reason people arrive late.
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Set capacity and the waitlist
Under Capacity & Settings, cap the numbers if the room has a limit, and turn on Enable waitlist when full. A waitlist keeps interested people in the conversation instead of turning them away.
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Publish it
This is the step people forget. Until you publish, the event exists only for you — nothing is visible and nobody can RSVP. Once it's live, this is what a supporter sees.
The published event on your public site, with the RSVP form.
Who can see it
Events are scoped to a division, like everything else in Cobber. A local event belongs to that local group, so it appears for the people it’s relevant to rather than on every supporter’s list.
After you publish
RSVPs flow straight onto the person’s record, which is what makes the event worth running as more than an evening. Afterwards you can email everyone who came, ring the ones who seemed keen, and invite the same group to the next one.
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Nobody can see the event | It's still a draft. Publishing is a separate step from saving. |
| Times look wrong to some people | Check the event's timezone. It should be the event's location, not the organiser's. |
| Confirmation emails aren't arriving | Event emails depend on a verified sending domain, like everything else. See authenticating your sending domain. |
| The event needs to be called off | Cancel it rather than deleting it — that keeps the RSVPs so you can tell people. |