❓ New to Cohort Events? Check out this article to learn how they work.
In Google Calendar, only an event’s organizer can change its date or time. So if the person who set up your Cohort Events is out, no one else on the team can move them.
Google’s “guests can modify event” setting would give edit access to every attendee, new hires included. A shared onboarding calendar solves this by letting your whole team make changes without opening edits to everyone else. Here’s how to set it up:
Step 1: Create a shared email address
Start by creating a general Google Workspace email address for your onboarding team, such as onboarding@yourcompany.com. This account will own the calendar your Cohort Events live on, so they’re never tied to one person.
💡 Tip: Your IT or Google Workspace admin can usually set this up for you if you don't have permission to create new accounts.
Step 2: Create your Cohort Events from the shared account
We recommend creating a Slack account with your new onboarding email so it can log into Donut on its own. Here's how:
Create a Slack account in your workspace using onboarding@yourcompany.com.
Log into your Donut dashboard with that Slack account.
Go to Donut Journeys > All Journeys and set up your Cohort Events as usual. For a full walkthrough, see Message Type: Schedule Cohort Events.
When you link your calendar, connect the shared onboarding Google Calendar.
Why a separate Slack account? Technically, you can link the shared calendar while logged into Donut as yourself. But the calendar then becomes the one assigned to your Donut account. If you also take part in Intros or other Donut programs, those meetings would be scheduled on the onboarding calendar instead of your own. A dedicated account keeps everything tidy.
Already created Cohort Events under your personal account? No problem. Reach out to our support team and we can transfer them over to your shared onboarding email for you.
Step 3: Share the onboarding calendar with your team
Next, give your teammates permission to edit the onboarding calendar. Log into Google Calendar as onboarding@yourcompany.com, then:
Under My calendars on the left-hand side, hover over the calendar and click the three dots next to its name.
Click Settings and sharing.
Scroll down to the Shared with section and click Add people and groups.
Add the teammates who facilitate your events or might need to update Cohort Events. You can add people one by one or share with a Google group. There's no need to share the calendar with people who are only attending, since they'll get their event invites automatically.
Under Permissions, select Make changes and see all event details. This lets your teammates edit the date, time, and other event details.
Click Send.
💡 Tip: Don't see the option to share? Some sharing settings can be turned off by your Google Workspace admin. Check with them to make sure calendar sharing is enabled for your organization.
Step 4: Teammates join the shared calendar
Each person you shared with will get an email invitation. They'll open it and click Join shared calendar.
Once they're back in Google Calendar, the onboarding calendar will appear under Other calendars on the left-hand side. Checking the box next to it shows all of your Cohort Events right alongside their own schedule, and they can change the date or time whenever plans shift.
That's it! Now when someone is out of office, anyone on the team can keep your Cohort Events on track.
❓ If you have any questions or feedback, or need help transferring existing Cohort Events to a shared email, click the purple Donut button on the bottom right of your screen to open up a chat with our support team!