We're not hackers, unless we're HackingKindness
What is HackingKindness?
At Acumium, we believe in taking care of people and giving back. It’s part of our culture, and it's part of our lives. We love doing great work for companies and organizations who are making a difference. We've also discovered we get a lot of satisfaction, in general, from doing nice things. So, back in 2019, we decided to mash those up into an annual HackingKindness social good hackathon.
What this means is, our tight-knit team of kindhearted rockstars rolls up our sleeves each year to do some free work for an organization trying to do good. That's a pretty broad category, we know, but good work takes many forms.
If you are, or if you know of, a local business or non-profit that needs help with website design and development, SEO, brand messaging, logo/creative asset design, or general strategy and consulting, send them our way. That's exactly who we're hoping to help.
You're welcome to submit a nomination at any time and tell us why the business you're nominating deserves a digital boost. We'll review them all and select the most compelling story as our next HackingKindness recipient. And then we'll see what good we can do with a weekend, a smart and dedicated team, and a genuine desire to make things better for an organization with their heart in the right place.
Know someone who could use a digital boost this year?
How does it work?
01
Introductions
If you're our selected business or non-profit, we'll have a meeting or two and get acquainted. We'll talk about who you are, who you serve, and what you'd like us to help you accomplish.
02
Make a plan
Based on your goals, we'll figure out the plan for your hackathon, including who we'll ask to be there, what our timeline might look like, and how many snacks we need to buy (that's important).
03
Hackathon
You'll work with your custom-built dream team of designers, developers, and marketers over a weekend, we'll all roll up our sleeves, and we'll see what we can get done.
04
Launch and celebrate
This isn't just smoke and mirrors. As we close out your hackathon, our goal will be to launch our work to the wild. And then we're all going to party, because, by that point, we'll have earned it.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible?
Any businesses, organizations, or non-profits in the local Madison, Wisconsin, area who are doing good and trying to make a difference in the world. We know that’s broad criteria, but good takes many forms.
What do you need to do to be nominated?
Well, you mostly just need to fill out the nomination form on this website. You’ll tell us about what you (or the company you’re nominating) are trying to do to make the world a better, kinder, smarter place. We’ll ask you to specify what type of work we could do for you that would help you the most. And yes, you can absolutely nominate your own organization or business.
How will we pick a winner?
We’ll review all the nominations that come in and will pick the one that our team feels we have the most opportunity to help. Right now, our plan is to select a single organization, but we could get ambitious and decide to add more.
What kind of work are we offering?
It’ll depend on what you need, but we’re offering expertise in five general areas: web design and development, search engine optimization (SEO), brand messaging, logo and creative asset design, and strategy and consulting. Because we try to knock out most of the work within a weekend, we’ll need to be realistic about what we take on, but we’ll do our best to get you something that will make a real difference.
When are nominations due? When will the hackathon happen?
We'll officially fire up nominations again in January 2023, but feel free to submit an early nomination if you're feeling inspired. Our next hackathon will likely happen sometime in the summer of 2023.
Previous recipients
2022 : Empty Stocking Club
2021 : Friends of San Damiano
2019 : Mikayla's Grace
Submit a nomination
You are welcome to nominate a deserving organization at any time. If we have already selected the recipient for our current year, we will consider your nomination for the following year.