Congratulations! You were chosen for a new nonprofit website. Now the real work begins. Here’s how you can prepare for a nonprofit hackathon.
While not all hackathons are the same, the steps to prepare are very similar. Here, you will find tips to prepare for a nonprofit hackathon of any kind.
What Kind of Help Can You Expect from a Hackathon?
A nonprofit hackathon comes in many shapes and sizes. Usually it is a weekend-long sprint to accomplish a website goal: like a redesign, optimization of key pages, etc.
Some hackathons provide nonprofits with entirely new websites or convert them to different donation software to help their cause raise more money.
The format of the hackathon depends on the goal. So before you start to prepare, find our what your hackathon includes.
Are you getting content updates? Media refresh? A website rebuild with new tools? A new design?
How Do You Prepare for a Nonprofit Hackathon?
No matter which kind of hackathon you are part of, the preparation is essentially the same. You need a goal, assets, login credentials, human resources, and contingency plans for unexpected issues.
Goals
First, establish the goal for your website during your hackathon. This is probably dictated by the hackathon you are in. For example, the Give-back-a-thon focuses on website re-builds with better tools and optimization of the donation landing page.
What is the end result you want to see when the hackathon is over?
Assets
Next, you need to make all assets available to the people working on your website. This means your logos, videos, imagery, and any updated copy you might want to include.
Always ensure that you are giving your web developers the right file types as well. Usually this is .svg or .png, but it depends. Either ask the web team or provide multiple file types.
Logins
The web team will also need administrator access to your website. We recommend creating a new user with admin access that can be deleted later when the work is over. This gives the developer control over their own password and cuts down on security risks.
The web team may also need access to your DNS and/or hosting server, depending on the type of nonprofit hackathon. If this is the case, find out in advance and make sure that you give proper access to these tools.
Human Resources
Website projects almost always require help from the organization, so make sure you have people on hand to help. This may mean your in-house website administrator, graphic designer, or copywriter.
However, while you may need help from all of these people, make sure there is only one primary point of contact with your agency. We’ll talk more about that below.
Prepare for the Unexpected
Nonprofit hackathons are a sprint to get a large amount of work done in a relatively short amount of time. This means things can go wrong, or in a way that wasn’t predicted. That is okay! Just be ready for anything during your hackathon.
Simplify Communications with One Primary Point of Contact
As mentioned above, it is extremely important to use one primary point of contact on both ends. Your organization and the web team working on your site both need one person to discuss needs and updates. This prevents miscommunications that may waste time or cause an issue on your site.
Make Your Agency Part of Your Story
Finally, the best piece of advice we can give you for any nonprofit hackathon:
Bring the web team into your story. Show them how much the work they are doing will impact the work you do.
By that, I mean, make sure that you talk with the point of contact. Give them your story in a way that includes them and makes them feel needed for your success. If you do this, you will have much better outcomes at any nonprofit hackathon.
Use the Hackathon to Showcase Your Nonprofit
Take pictures of in-person hackathons, or screenshots of virtual events, then share through your social media accounts in real time. Use the events to really show how a community comes together to further your cause. Then write about it on your blog, being sure to give thanks to the volunteers that did the work.
Find a Nonprofit Hackathon to Update Your Website
Nonprofit hackathons are everywhere! There may even be a local one near you. If you are struggling with your nonprofit’s website, a hackathon is for you.
Right now, you can enter to win a website rebuild from GiveWP and our sponsors! Learn more and sign up on the Give-Back-a-Thon page.
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