Legal Considerations

There are several legal considerations you should be aware of when planning your event. If you are a student club, we recommend consulting with an advisor from your university or high school on the following legal topics before your event.

• Donations

  • Is our school a 501(c)(3) nonprofit? If so, can our team accept donations? How can we accept donations?

• Insurance

  • Will our event be covered by our school's event insurance? Do we need hackers to sign any agreements before participating in the event?

• Sponsor Agreements

  • Who at our school should we contact to sign legal agreements on our behalf? How long is the review process?

• Finance

  • Where will our funds be kept? How can we access them? Are there any fees we should be aware of? What is the realistic timeline for how long it takes for us to actually use the funds that come into our account?

  • Are there any tax requirements we should be aware of? Do we need to keep our receipts?

• Age Restrictions

  • Do we need waivers for high schoolers to stay at our venue overnight?

If your team is not a student organization, we recommend consulting the MLH team to help you evaluate legal alternatives.

One common financial alternative is working with a fiscal sponsor - an existing 501(c)(3) nonprofit - to be granted their tax-exemption status and any additional financial and legal benefits. The fiscal sponsors listed below are designed to support hackathon teams. It is possible to partner with MLH while also being sponsored by any of these organizations.

• Hack Club - A nonprofit network of high school coding clubs and makers around the world.

• Hack+ - An accessible nonprofit accelerator for student-led impacts. They are a full-spectrum platform that enables students to launch startups, nonprofits, and events.