Eventcube
World-class online registration software, tailored for Liberal Democrats, at an affordable price.
What you told us
When we have consulted on online tools over the last year, you gave us very clear what you wanted from an events tool.
You wanted a tool that was:
- Simple and easy to use
- Integrated with our data and other systems
- Affordable
- Makes it easier to publicise your events
We initially looked at building something in collaboration with Prater Raines - but it then became clear that whilst we could do this, it would likely take too much time to emulate features already present in other off-the-shelf tools - so we decided to use one of those instead.
The tool we picked
We looked at a broad range of commercially available events tools during the selection process - 18 in total - to try and get to a final tool selection that we felt was right for the Liberal Democrats and met the criteria outlined above.
In the end, we selected Eventcube. Eventcube is an online events management tool.
Eventcube was, we felt, the best out-of-the-box match for the requirements that volunteers gave us in an events tool.
- It’s easy to use. At least in our evaluations of it!
- We can integrate it with our other systems - and are already in the process of doing so.
- It’s affordable (see below!)
- And there’s a central hub for all events, making it a doddle to publicise your events.
When an organisation (Local Party or Affiliated organisation) signs up to use Eventcube they will get a dedicated section of Eventcube as a Promoter. Promoters only have access to manage their events and can only see data relating to their events.
Promoters can set up events within the platform with fully customisable ticket prices, including free tickets for free events, and tickets to be paid for in cash.
They can then easily share details of these events on social media and with links in emails.
Storefront
One of the big features we hope will be useful on Eventcube is the Storefront. Events created on Eventcube are automatically uploaded to the central Liberal Democrats page: https://events.libdems.org.uk
This page uses common branding and includes tools to allow people to find events near them, as well as search by how events have been categorised, giving much greater visibility to events.
This has created a one-stop-shop for upcoming events across the entire party and allows members, supporters and those interested in the party to get involved even more easily than ever before.
We are aiming here to replace previous functionality such as Flock Together and the LibDem Nationbuilder events pages - and learn from what didn’t work well about those tools.
What it costs you
Of the commercial tools we looked at Eventcube was one of the cheapest. They charge a very low monthly rate (which will be covered by HQ), plus a percentage of ticket sales.
The cost of selling tickets via Eventcube will be slightly higher than it was on Nationbuilder - as there are platform fees that weren’t present on Nationbuilder, but the fees will are very competitive when compared to other event platforms. For example, the market leader in the Events tool market, Eventbrite, charges 6.5% + 20p.
We’re intending to charge 5% + 25p per paid registration. By default, this will come out of the ticket price - though you can set a custom booking fee to help cover the costs if you want to pass that on to registrants.
Most of these costs go to the platform and the payment processor. There is a small additional amount on top of that to cover the license costs, HQ support and integration work.
All money collected on the platform goes through to HQ in the first instance. Ticket sales revenue is then sent throught to local parties/affiliated organisations monthly, the same way the automated membership rebate process works.