Basics

• At the very least, an Event Approval Process is required in order to have Events appear on the Portal's Event Calendar page. In addition, an Event Approval Process can be handy in ensuring someone reviews the registration set up or the reservations associated with an Event.
• Your MinistryPlatform system came installed with an Event Approval Process to handle Event approval workflow each time a new Event is created. Specifically:
  • When an Event is created that has a Start Date in the future, the user who created the Event must submit the Event. (A "Submit" button appears at the top of the Event record upon saving.)
  • The designated approver of Events then reviews and, if appropriate, approves the Event.
  • Upon approval, the Event record is updated with Approved set to "Yes". 
• A SPoC can modify the built-in Event Approval Process, if needed. To do so, go to Administration > Processes, and edit the Event Approval record accordingly.
  

Setup Options

Event approval can be set up to have static or dynamic approvers:

• Static: A single person approves Events. (As indicated by the User account in the Process Steps.) OR
• Dynamic: Someone associated with the Event, such as the Primary Contact or the Congregation's Primary Contact.

The video below walks through a dynamic setup; specifically, how to set up an event approval so the Primary Contact for each Congregation provides approval for Events submitted by users.

Video Topics: Event Approval by Campus

Setting the Event Approval Requirement

If you want some or all Events automatically approved, a SPoC can remove the requirement for a user to manually approve Events.

Auto Approve All Events

You can disable the approval Processes for all events by removing the steps from the Event Approval record.

1. Go to Administration > Processes, and open the Event Approval record.
2. On the General tab:
   • Make sure On Submit is set to "_Approved=0,_Web_Approved=0".
   • Make sure On Complete is set to "_Approved=1,_Web_Approved=1".
     
3. On the Steps tab, select all the steps, then click Actions > Delete.
4. Click Delete to confirm.

Auto Approve in Certain Cases

You can remove the need for approval in certain situations. This should be completed by a SPoC or someone with SQL expertise.

1. Go to Administration > Processes, and open the Event Approval record.
2. On the General tab:
   • Make sure On Submit is set to "_Approved=0,_Web_Approved=0".
   • Make sure On Complete is set to "_Approved=1,_Web_Approved=1".
     
3. Edit the record, and add one of the following to the Dependent Condition field:
   • To auto approve all events for a specific Event Primary Contact, add "Events.Primary_Contact <> {id}".
   • To auto approve all events for a specific Event Type, add "Events.Event_Type_ID <> {id}".
   • To require approval for a specific Event Type and auto approve all other types, add "Events.Event_Type_ID = {id}".
4. Click Save.
   

Other Setup Options:

If there are support service or room reservation requirements, you may want to turn on those processes as well. See Event Room Approval for more information. 

In certain cases, it may be important enough to ensure that a support service or room requirement is approved before the Event appears online. In those cases, you can add a step to gain that approval in your Event Approval Process.