So you want to start a Hacks/Hackers chapter of your own? Welcome! To start a group under the Hacks/Hackers banner, we just have a few rules:

1. Your primary goal must be to foster connections journalists (the “hacks”) and technologists (the “hackers”) to rethink the future of news and information. You can read more about Hacks/Hackers’ goals here.
2. You must abide by the Hacks/Hackers Charter on respect, responsibility and collaboration.
3. There can only be one group per city. You can check the current chapters here.
4. The group must have a place to organize, whether that be Meetup.com, a Facebook group, an Eventbrite series, or whatever works best for you. Get in touch to see how we can help with funding, hosting or organizing landing pages.
5. At least one of the group leaders needs to join the Organizers email list so we can contact you. If you’re interested, we can hook you up with a mentor – another organizer – to help you get started.

If you’ve got those fundamentals down, there are a few more that aren’t strictly necessary, but we would like to see:

1. Have at least two chapter organizers, ideally at least one from the journalism industry and one from tech. (It’s going to be more work than you think!)
2. Get together at least a few times a year.
3. Commit to working at least a few hours per month to arrange events and keep the community alive. You can find suggestions for events here.
4. Subscribe to the newsletter to see what your co-hacks and hackers are up to. The newsletter also includes events, funding announcements, job openings, and news for news nerds.

Got all that? Good! Send us a note on the organizers email list and tell us about your first event!