If you found your way to this page, that means you’re interested in starting a new chapter or wanting to get more involved. Great! Here you can find a list of resources as well as some crowdsourced tips for organizers.

If you’re rebooting a chapter or starting a new one…

• Read the Rules (and suggestions) for New Chapters
• Ask questions on the Google Group for organizers
• Consider holding a Connect event
• Start with events every other month, rather than every month (“Do less better”)
• Hold a meeting or retreat just for organizers, to plan a meeting for all members.
• Email us at meetup@hackshackers.com. We’ll set up a Meetup page for you, like meetupnyc.hackshackers.com, though some groups have used Eventbrite and Facebook too.
• If you need some startup money, let us know. We might have some money (not much) we can funnel to startup chapters, but $50 can go a long way in a bar toward appetizers.

If you want to get more involved…

• The first Tuesday of every month, we hold an open call
• Subscribe to the weekly newsletter
• Check out the calendar of all Hacks/Hackers meetups worldwide
• Join the Slack channel, if you’re on Slack (get an invite here)

If you’re planning an event…

• Hacks/Hackers Africa has a list of potential meetups
• Erika Owens in Philadelphia published a list of suggestions for organizers
• London shared their template for organizer roles and responsibilities, and task assignment worksheet
• Try finding sponsors by making a verbal announcement at your meetup or reaching out to potential sponsors by email
• Make a venue database for your city, so that you (and future organizers) have a place to find/record potential venues