A chapter is a group inside your Bevy community, usually by city or by interest. It has a public page, its own members, and a chapter team. Events, discussions, and chapter news belong to that chapter.
A chapter is how a Bevy community shows up in a city, on a campus, or around a topic. A city chapter, a product chapter, and a university chapter can all live on the same community site. People join the chapters that match them, and those chapters publish their own events and news.
The chapter continues after any one gathering ends. The public page, the member list, and the chapter team stay in place. Each event the chapter hosts is its own page, with its own registration and attendance. That gathering is covered in Introduction to events.
Where a chapter fits
- Community site — the public home for every chapter. HQ admins manage it from the admin dashboard.
- Region — a grouping of chapters, often by geography or time zone. Regions can appear on the community home page and in analytics.
- Chapter — one group, with its own public page and its own dashboard.
- Events and discussions — created on a chapter. An event belongs to the chapter that hosts it, including events that HQ runs through a chapter.
For the rest of the platform, see Bevy introduction.
What people see
The chapter page is the public face of the group. It typically includes:
- The chapter title and a description
- A place and time zone, when the chapter is tied to a location
- A logo and banner, when the team adds them
- Upcoming events from that chapter
- Discussions, when the community turns them on for the chapter and its events
- Other chapters listed on the page, when this chapter is set up as a parent
Title, description, images, and location are in Edit chapter settings. Taking part in a conversation on the page is in Participate in chapter and event discussions.
What every chapter includes
| Building block | What it delivers |
|---|---|
| Public chapter page | The page members and visitors open: who the chapter is, what is coming up, and discussions when those are turned on. |
| Chapter dashboard | Where the chapter team manages the page, members, events, emails, and chapter reports. A check-in role can check people in without the rest of the dashboard. |
| Members | People who joined this chapter. They receive chapter news and can take part in that chapter's discussions. The list is in Chapter Members. |
| Chapter team | People invited to run the chapter. Roles are assigned after the chapter exists. A lead organizer manages the chapter. A check-in role is limited to check-in. |
| Region | An optional grouping, often by geography or time zone, used on the community home page and in analytics. When a region is set, the chapter is listed in that one region. |
| Events | Scheduled gatherings hosted by the chapter. Each one has its own page. See Introduction to events. |
| Discussions | Optional conversations on the chapter page and on that chapter's event pages. They appear when the community turns them on for the chapter. |
| Chapter news | Announcements and newsletters the chapter sends to its members, when the community uses chapter email. |
Note: HQ admins can open every chapter. Chapter team access is granted inside that chapter, after the chapter exists. Bevy Support grants HQ admin access.
How chapters are grouped
| Grouping | What it means |
|---|---|
| Place or interest | A chapter is usually a city or another location. It can also be a topic, a product, or a line of business. Several kinds can share one community site. |
| Region | Groups chapters for the home page and for analytics. Most communities use geography or time zone. When HQ assigns a region, the chapter is in that one region. |
| Sub-chapters | A parent chapter can list other chapters on its page. Each child is still its own chapter, with its own page, members, and team. How to turn that on is in Enable subchapters. |
Who uses a chapter
| Person | What they do here |
|---|---|
| Visitor | Opens a public chapter page and its public events without joining the chapter. |
| Chapter member | Has joined this chapter. Receives chapter news and can post in that chapter's discussions. |
| Chapter team | Runs the chapter from its dashboard, within the role they were given. Default roles include Lead Organizer and Check-in Staff. A community can add more. |
| HQ admin | Creates chapters and can open every chapter from the admin dashboard. |
The full description of each role is in Bevy introduction.
Who can join
Joining a chapter is separate from registering for one of its events. A person can attend a public event without becoming a chapter member.
| How people join | What they experience |
|---|---|
| Open | A signed-in person can join from the chapter page. |
| Invite only | A chapter team member adds them. They cannot join on their own. See Set invite-only membership for a chapter. |
| Application | They submit an application. The chapter team reviews it before they become a member. |
| Private | The chapter page can stay public. Only added members can take part in its discussions and events. People who are not members do not see those events. See About private chapters. |
Note: Private stays on after it is saved. The chapter team cannot turn it back off from the chapter dashboard. Contact Bevy Support if that chapter needs to be public again. If Private, invite-only, or applications are not offered, the community has not turned that option on.
Who can find the chapter
Active, Inactive, Hidden, and Test chapter do different jobs. A chapter can be Hidden and still Active. A test chapter can also be hidden or inactive. The controls are in Chapter Access and Status.
| Setting | What people experience |
|---|---|
| Active | The chapter is live. When it is not hidden and not a test chapter, it can appear on the community site and in search. |
| Inactive | The public URL is not found. Signed-in chapter team members who can view the chapter still see the page, with a banner that it is inactive. Discussions on the chapter are unavailable. It is left out of public search. Its data stays in analytics unless it is also a test chapter. An admin can set it back to Active. |
| Hidden | Only people with the link can open it. It stays off public search. Events in the chapter are hidden as well. Its data stays in analytics unless it is also a test chapter. |
| Test chapter | Left out of analytics and public search. When it is Active and not hidden, anyone with the link can still open the page. |
Tip: Inactive takes the public page down. Hidden keeps the page for people who have the link. Private can leave the page up and limit who takes part in discussions and events. Private is an access setting, not a status. It is covered in About private chapters.
What a chapter is not
- A chapter is one group inside the community, not the whole community site.
- A chapter is not an event. The chapter stays after the event ends.
- Registering for an event does not by itself make someone a chapter member.
- A sub-chapter is still a chapter. It is listed under a parent chapter when that option is turned on.
- Inactive, Hidden, and Private are three different settings. Turning one on does not turn the others on.
- The chapter dashboard has no delete control for a chapter. To take it out of public use, an admin sets the status to Inactive. Contact your Customer Success Manager if the chapter needs to be removed permanently.
When you are ready to create one
HQ creates chapters from the admin dashboard. A chapter needs a title, a country, and a time zone before it can be saved. Team roles are assigned after the chapter exists. Those fields, plus the logo, banner, and the discussions option, are in Create a chapter.
After the chapter exists, the public text and images are in Edit chapter settings. Who can open it, and whether it counts in analytics, is in Chapter Access and Status.