Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the City Clerk to enter into an advance payment grant agreement with Tech Corps Ohio, a non-profit corporation, in support of their 2026 TECHCORPShack Hackathon event for under-served Franklin County high school students.
The TECH CORPS Hackathon is an energetic, full-day event designed for high school students to team up and engage with the latest technology. Participants will unleash their creativity as they tackle real-world challenges and compete for cash prizes. Throughout the event, students will be immersed in a hands-on experience, learning new skills, collaborating with industry professionals, and building lasting connections with peers and mentors. This exciting opportunity fosters teamwork and innovation and provides valuable insights into potential career paths in technology.
What makes Hackathon different from other high school activities, is that it is a fast-paced, collaborative build environment with industry interaction and competition elements that raise stakes and motivation. It matters because it strengthens teamwork, creativity, and exposure to tech careers while building connections with peers and mentors. It is not just a competition, students are learning new skills and building professional networks while solving authentic problems.
The Hackathon will also include the provision of food and non-alcoholic beverages for participants, which Council deems to serve a public purpose. Furthermore, this ordinance also authorizes funding to be provided to Tech Corps Ohio in advance in order to accommodate event planning expenses on a pre-determined schedule as set forth in the grant agreement.
Fiscal Impact: Funding in the amount of $20,000.00 is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to ensure that Tech Corps Ohio has the resources necessary to execute the event without delay,
Title
To authorize the City Clerk to enter into an advance ...
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