Hi:
I have some thoughts on this. We used to track event participation in Raiser's Edge 7 at a former organization I was at. It seemed the old event module was much more robust and helpful.
In the old event module a person could attend and just be a participant. Not everybody has to be added as a constituent record - especially when people bring guests to events that don't wish to receive communication. With Blackbaud charging per constituent record, I think it's especially important for organizations that have to focus on their budget to discern between guests that will eventually be part of their organization and need follow-up stewardship and guests that are living within the event to track event metrics. Sometimes there are metrics that need to tracked for event knowledge. How many participants did need to convert? How many responded to emails, how many RSVPed, came, didn't come, etc.
This reminds me of a recent NXT event situation - where invited folks dropped into the event module (on web view) may respond via the registration form, but they will come in as new and duplicate the record already in the event.
I am not an event manager - but from my perspective, the current event module seems to be "one and done" and not set up to review, analyze, and improve.

Hi Samantha! Thanks for following up.

I think the system could record the entry as a "not a constituent" record, just as the system currently does for "named guest" participants. This way, the database manager can determine if the entry should be converted to a true constituent record, or if they should remain as a "not a constituent" participant entry.

The workflow would mimic how guests of hosts are treated.

Hi! Thanks for submitting your Idea!

I just have some followup questions. If we weren't creating a constituent record for the registrant, what do you think we should create instead?

What would your workflow look like if a registrant didn't have a constituent record? Would you do anything more to this registrant to make them a constituent or would you leave them in this state (of being a registrant but not a constituent record) for the duration of the event planning for the event?

Thanks for any additional info you can give. I'm reading between the lines of your submission but want to make sure I'm fully understanding what you're trying to avoid here!

Samantha McGuin
Principal Product Manager
Blackbaud