More than logo placement
Southwest MN Hacks connects your organization directly with motivated students from across the region. This is more than an advertising buy. Sponsors meet students in person, over a networking meal, at a booth, while mentoring teams, and while judging projects.
Run by the Southwest MN Hacks nonprofit in partnership with Aulden, hosted at SMSU.
Why sponsor
College and graduate students are exploring internships and early-career roles now. High school students are the regional STEM pipeline, the next wave of local talent in software, cybersecurity, data, and AI. Your sponsorship reaches both.
Student interaction
Face-to-face conversations with students over meals, at your booth, and through mentoring, rather than a name on a banner.
Workforce pipeline
Recruit college and graduate participants today, and build relationships with younger students entering the field.
Community and STEM impact
Invest in regional technical talent that too often leaves the area, and help keep it here.
A day as a sponsor
What your team actually does at the event, as hands-on or hands-off as you like.
Morning
Set up your booth
Your team sets up a booth or table and meets students as they arrive. Talk about your organization, what you build, and who you're looking for.
Midday
Lunch with students
A reserved table at the structured networking meal, where students are seated or rotated by interest so you can talk projects, internships, and local careers.
Afternoon
Mentor teams
Walk the floor and mentor teams as they build. Answer questions, share how you'd approach the problem, and see how students think under pressure.
Next day morning
Judge the projects
Serve on the judging panel, watch the final presentations, and award your sponsored prize category to the team that earns it.
Student safety. Information sharing and any follow-up involving participants under 18 requires explicit parent or guardian permission and follows our event safety guidelines.
A sponsor addressing students at our March 2026 event.
At our previous event, the winning team was offered a paid engagement to continue developing their project after the hackathon. Our goal is to create more of those real connections between students and regional organizations.
Schwan's posted about the first event
As featured in the Marshall Independent · March 2026
“Two SMSU alum host first-ever Hackathon”
The local press covered our first event: the students, the projects, and the organizations that made it happen.
Read the article
Organizations that have backed Southwest MN Hacks
Sponsorship levels
Choose a level that works for your organization
Bronze
Community Supporter
$500
- Logo on the event website
- Recognition during opening remarks
Silver
Event Presence Sponsor
$1,000
- Everything in Bronze
- Logo on the event t-shirt
- Sponsor booth or table
- 2 sponsor representatives
Gold
Student Engagement Sponsor
$2,000
- Everything in Silver
- Reserved table at the student networking meal
- Short speaking slot
- Mentor teams onsite
- Sponsor a challenge prompt or prize category
- 4 sponsor representatives
Platinum
Premier Innovation Partner
$5,000
- Everything in Gold
- Named sponsor recognition
- Priority booth and table placement
- Seat on the judging panel
- Priority access to the opt-in student interest list
- 8 sponsor representatives
In-Kind
Provide goods or services
Flexible
- Provide meals, prizes, t-shirts, snacks, cloud or software credits, or equipment
- Recognition matched to the value contributed
Ready to sponsor?
Tell us a little about your organization and how you’d like to proceed: pay now, request an invoice, or just talk first. Not sure which level fits? Start here or email us.
We invoice from the Southwest MN Hacks nonprofit. Pay by ACH, check, or card on standard net terms. Instant card payment is available for smaller and in-kind sponsorships.
Sponsor FAQ
Common questions from our partners