Importing a list of families

Got a sign-up sheet, a spreadsheet from an event, or last season's list? Import it, and Movo reaches out to every family on it. You see exactly what will happen before anyone is texted.

Start with an audience

An audience is a group of families Movo reaches out to in the same way. Make a new one for each list you bring in, so you can choose what Movo says first.

Go to Audiences and click New audience.

Give it a name, and choose the first behavior: how Movo opens the conversation with these families. Add a line about who they are, like "signed up at our spring sign-up night". Movo mentions it in its first text.

Then decide on Outreach without a location. Movo talks to each family about their own location: its meeting times, its leaders, its schedule. Some families sign up without saying which location they want.

• Off: families with no location wait until someone on your team assigns one. Movo doesn't text them until then.
• On: Movo texts them straight away and helps them pick a location.

Click Create audience. Movo then asks how you want to bring families in. Choose Import from file.

Adding to an audience you already have? Open it and click Import from file under Add families.

Upload your file

Drop in a CSV, Excel or PDF file, up to 10 MB. Each row needs a parent's first name and a phone number or email. One child per row is fine: Movo joins rows with the same parent into one family. If you're not sure how to lay it out, click Download example CSV.

Check the columns

Movo works out what each column is and shows it on the colored label above it. If one is wrong, click the label and pick the right field. The bin removes a column or a row you don't want.

If your list covers more than one location, include a column that says which. Movo matches each row to one of your locations. Then click Review.

If your file has no location column, or some rows are blank, Movo asks whether to put the whole file under one location. Pick one, or choose Import without a location.

Review before anyone is texted

The review shows how many families your file makes, who gets the first text, and any rows that need a look, like a parent with no phone or email. Nothing is sent yet. Click Download the list to fix those rows in your own file.

If some families still have no location, the review says how many, and shows Outreach without a location again for this import. Leave it off and they wait under Needs attention until someone assigns one. Turn it on and Movo texts them now and helps them pick.

When it looks right, click the button at the bottom. It says exactly how many families Movo will reach out to.

Confirm before Movo reaches out

One last screen shows how many families will hear from Movo, which audience they're joining and how Movo will open. Before you can go ahead, tick both boxes:

• Everyone here is an adult. Every phone number and email on your list belongs to someone 18 or older. None belong to a child.
• They've agreed to hear from you. These people gave your organization permission to contact them, including by automated texts and calls from an AI assistant on your behalf.

Only tick them if they're true. If your list has children's own numbers or emails, or people who never agreed to be contacted, remove those rows first. Then click the button to start.

After the import

• Movo starts texting each new family.
• Families already in this audience aren't texted again.
• Families without a location wait under Needs attention on the audience page. Assign one and Movo starts with them.