Prizes for a hackathon or a challenge: what to offer.

Set the goal first, as the guide to organizing a hackathon explains. Then pick the prize that serves it.

How to read the table:

• Internal hackathons. Low-cost prizes work too: gift cards, a one-to-one with an executive, an extra day off, swag. You can tie prizes to company values, for example an award for the boldest idea.
• Something for everyone rather than the top three. A small prize for every participant, such as a kit or some swag, can draw more people than large bonuses for the top three. Large bonuses can make teams tenser and more cautious. A prize for everyone works best when the goal is getting many people to take part.
• Public hackathons. Several prize categories work better than a single winner: top three, best responsible use of AI, best student-built project, people's choice.

It depends on the audience. In a public developer hackathon, non-cash prizes usually come on top of cash rather than replacing it: without cash, expect fewer sign-ups.

In a hiring challenge, participants want a job or an internship: an interview with the decision-maker is worth more than a voucher. In an internal hackathon, people are already paid: time and budget to take the idea further show that the company means it. In these cases the non-cash prize can be the whole prize.

Pick prizes that lead to a concrete next step: an interview with the decision-maker, an internship, a day with the team and, if you have a suitable partner, a period in an incubator. Awarded by category, they give a useful prize to people who don't take first place too. A non-cash prize is still a prize: for Italy's DPR 430/2001 and the tax treatment, read the section on the law further down and check with an adviser.

A non-cash prize works when it is written precisely. For each one, state:

• who offers it, by name and role;
• what it consists of: a [length] interview, a [months] internship in [department], a day with the team on [date];
• by when it takes place;
• who pays for travel and accommodation, if needed;
• what happens if the winner can't make it.

An internship offered as a prize is still an internship: internship rules apply, so check with HR or an adviser.

A category prize rewards one specific aspect of the work and gives every partner a reason to take part. For example, best use of the partner's data, or of a tool the partner provides. It needs three conditions:

• it is tied to a partner, who offers it and hands it over;
• it is judged on a criterion written before publishing, in the challenge rules: on MARA, once published, criteria and rules stay the same for everyone and participants see them from the start;
• the jury judges it, with at least one person from the partner.

CATEGORY PRIZE
Name: [best use of (data / tool) from (partner)]
Offered and handed over by: [partner; contact's name and role]
Criterion: [what the jury looks at, in one sentence]
Judged by: [the jury, with (name) from the partner]
Can be combined with the main prizes: [yes / no]
Prize: [interview / internship / day with the team / period in an incubator]

For category prizes, cash or not, the section on DPR 430/2001 below applies: check with an adviser.

Into several prizes. Participants want a reasonable chance of winning: more prizes give more teams a reason to submit. With many participants, you can spread sponsor prizes across more places, not only the top three.

The other cost lines are in the hackathon cost guide, which uses the same shares. Here is an example split.

Example, not a recommendation: university hackathon, 25 teams, €3,000 pool.

The prize goes to the team: before sign-ups open, state how members share it, so nobody has to settle it after the prize is awarded. A prize that can't be split, such as a laptop, needs one per member or a voucher each.

That the prize never arrives, or is not what was promised: credits instead of cash, reduced amounts, payments months late. Winners who don't get their prize say so in public, and the story stays online.

The answer is to write in the rules when and how prizes are handed over. Plan for the work that delivery involves: verifying winners, signed declarations, tax paperwork. Copy the clause and fill it in:

PRIZES
Prizes: [1st prize: description and value], [2nd prize], [category prizes].
Delivered by: [organizer's legal name].
When: within [number] days of the announcement, by [date].
How: [bank transfer / voucher / interview or internship scheduled by (date)].
Documents required from winners: [payment details, declarations].
Team prizes: [split equally among members / one prize per member].
If a winner does not reply within [days] or declines: [the prize goes
to the next team / it is not awarded].
Cash alternative for non-cash prizes: [allowed / not allowed].
For everyone who submits: [certificate / attendance record].

The rest of the rules are in the rules template.

Rules on prize competitions differ by country. In Italy the framework is DPR 26 October 2001, no. 430. Its article 6 excludes, among others, contests for projects or studies in a commercial or industrial field where the prize pays for the work or recognizes personal merit. Whether your hackathon falls under the rules or under the exclusion is for an adviser to assess, not this guide.

Ask the adviser about the tax treatment of prizes too, cash and non-cash. Do it before you publish: after that, the prize is already a promise.

Recognition and professional growth matter to people who don't take part for the money. Have an answer ready for the question every participant asks: what do I keep if I don't win?

On MARA everyone who submits receives a verifiable certificate, issued by MARA with the name of the challenge and the organizer, ready for LinkedIn. The certificate has a verification link that anyone can open. Their MARA portfolio keeps the challenge brief, their role in the team, the work they submitted and the certificate. No crypto wallet is needed and participants pay nothing. You can also send individual notes to people who submitted. Details on the certificates page.

You set the prize before publishing and it is part of the challenge: participants see it from the start. It can be, for example, an interview, an internship or a day with the team. You hand it over: MARA is the software behind the challenge, not an agency.

Two things to know before you choose:

• Ownership of the work. It is set in the challenge rules, which participants see before they join. Write down what applies to winners and to everyone else. Everyone who submits keeps their certificate and portfolio. Keep deliverables in proportion to the prize and the time you ask for.
• Costs. MARA has no publishing fee and no per-participant fee, so the number of sign-ups does not change the platform cost. The other cost lines are in how much a hackathon costs.

To get the prize in front of the people you want to sign up, read how to promote a hackathon. For challenges designed to hire, see the hiring challenge page. Back to the home page.

• DPR 26 October 2001, no. 430, article 6 (Italy). normattiva.it