Ongoing activities

For work that runs all year rather than on a date: the uniform shop, sponsorship, the tuck shop, general PTA admin. It has a team, tasks, a chat, files and a rota, like an event, but no dates.

Why use one

Use one for anything that isn't on a date. Unlike an event, an ongoing activity:

stays off your calendar's days and out of Coming up;
doesn't count towards the free plan's event limits;
never asks how it went or what it raised, because it runs until you archive it.

Good candidates: the uniform shop, sponsorship, the tuck shop, school photos, a fundraising lottery, or one called General PTA admin for the jobs that don't belong to any event, like the AGM agenda or DBS checks.

1. Start one

Click + New event, then choose Ongoing activity at the top of the page. Give it a name and, if you like, an icon and a description for the team. There are no dates to set.

Choose Ongoing activity when you create something (enlarge) — Choose Ongoing activity when you create something

Choose Ongoing activity when you create something, highlighted on the whole screen — Choose Ongoing activity when you create something

Click Start activity. You're its first admin, and you bring in a team and share out the jobs exactly as you would for an event: see Planning an event.

2. Already running it as a long event?

Open the event. If it runs for more than eight weeks, you'll see Running this all year? at the top. Click Make it ongoing. Its tasks, chat, files and team stay exactly as they were; only the dates stop showing.

On a long event, click Make it ongoing (enlarge) — On a long event, click Make it ongoing

On a long event, click Make it ongoing, highlighted on the whole screen — On a long event, click Make it ongoing

If it really is a long event on dates (a grotto open every weekend in December, say), click No, it's on these dates and you won't be asked again. You can also switch any event from its Settings tab, and switch an ongoing activity back into an event there too.

3. Day to day

Your ongoing activities are listed under Ongoing at the top of your dashboard and your Events page, with how many tasks are open.

Your ongoing activities, at the top of your dashboard (enlarge) — Your ongoing activities, at the top of your dashboard

Your ongoing activities, at the top of your dashboard, highlighted on the whole screen — Your ongoing activities, at the top of your dashboard

Their tasks work like any other: they appear in My Tasks for whoever's doing them, in the committee's All tasks, and on the calendar on the day they're due.

4. Ask parents to help

Set up a rota on the activity's Rota tab, for a second-hand uniform sale or the tuck shop's lunchtime shifts. Then, in its Settings tab, tick Show the volunteer sign-up under "Help the PTA".

Parents then see it on your PTA's public page under Help the PTA, and can pick a slot without an account. The activity itself isn't listed as an event there.

Help the PTA, on your public page (enlarge) — Help the PTA, on your public page

Help the PTA, on your public page, highlighted on the whole screen — Help the PTA, on your public page

Selling things

An ongoing activity can sell merchandise, like the uniform shop's jumpers, and it stays on your public page, shown as ongoing rather than with dates. It can't sell tickets, because there's no day to admit anyone on: an event that sells tickets stays an event.

On the free plan

Ongoing activities don't count towards the free plan's event limits. The free plan includes one ongoing activity at a time; the full plan has as many as you need. Archive one to start another. See Plans and billing.