Organizer Roles

No person is an island, and the best hackathons have lots of organizers to divide and conquer among the areas of need. People who can make great co-organizers:

• hackathon vets

• civic organizer vets

• people new to tech

• people enthusiastic about an issue

• community organizers

• event planning experts

You should start your recruitment as far out from the event as possible, but 3+ months at least is recommended. The easiest way to recruit is to tell everyone you know, and new people you meet, you're planning your event, and asking if they know anyone who would be a strong fit.

Cold emails can go a long way in communities of folks who all care about the same issues. Don't be afraid to reach out to the people you look up to at organizations whose work you follow, subject matter experts you follow on Twitter, or tech folks in your hack circles whose open source work you find useful. You'd be surprised who has hackathon experience, and has considered putting on one of their own if they found the right co-conspirators.

It's critical to make sure that your organizing team doesn’t all look like you. The best way to build an inclusive hackathon is to have an inclusive leadership team. Racial, gender, sexuality and presentation, difference in abilities or technology preferences, people with different adaptive and functional needs, all should be helping to organize your hackathon.

Invite your fellow organizers to take complete areas of ownership including:

• volunteer recruitment

• participant recruitment

• tech company outreach for sponsorship

• vetting applications

• keeping nonprofits engaged and supported

• coordinating venue including security/catering needs (see sponsorship)

• marketing and press outreach

Check in once a week on a call or in person meeting. Make sure you let people decide how best to get their own work done, just express what you need, and the dates by which you need it. People accomplish some really cool things you could have never thought of when you give them sufficient autonomy.

As the lead organizer, your job is to help ensure your fellow organizers have the information and resources they need to do their best work. During your check-ins, ask if they have any blockers keeping them from accomplishing their next task, and then try to focus some time on helping to clear their path.