DC416 is Toronto's DEFCON group. Monthly meetups, workshops, CTFs, and hands-on events. If you want your team in front of practicing security professionals — or you want to help keep the community running — this is where to start.
Different sponsors want different things. We built the model around what actually helps the community — not around what looks best on a sales page.
The Founding Partner covers DC416's baseline operating costs — food, venue, regular meetups. Two commitments to choose from:
Every Founding Partner gets: banner at every event, logo on every event flyer and webpage, shoutout in every social media post, info brochures at the venue during meetups, and first right of renewal for the following year.
DC416 monthly meetups run on the Founding Partner's baseline. When we run something bigger — a headline talk, a hands-on workshop, a live CTF, a Jeopardy night — we reach out to a shortlist of tier sponsors. You sign up as a tier sponsor, and we contact you within a month of a qualifying event. You accept or pass, per event. Recognition tracks actual contribution.
Some of the most useful sponsorship we've had was never money. If any of these fit, tell us and we'll figure out the exchange.
One inbox. Reply within 48 hours. We'll set up a 20-minute call.
We don't sell main-stage talks. Our CFP stays independent. Sponsor talk slots exist, but they're always labeled — never disguised as CFP content. We don't sell email lists, ever. We don't inflate reach numbers, and we don't take money from vendors whose products actively harm the security community.
You sign up at a tier. We add you to our shortlist. When we run a special event that exceeds our monthly baseline, we reach out to the shortlist about a month in advance. You say yes or pass — no annual lock-in. We publish sponsor recognition per event, so being a Gold sponsor means you actually sponsored something.
DC416 is an unincorporated community group. For sponsor funds we work through a fiscal arrangement that lets your accounting team invoice a real legal entity and get proper receipts. Details finalized 1:1 when you sign on — email us to walk through it.
Yes — that's what the event-driven tiers are for. You can sign up at any tier without committing to more than one event. If you want a specific event (say, our annual CTF), mention it in your first email.
See the "Other ways to contribute" section above. Venue, swag, workshop facilitation, lab environments, mentorship — all real. Email us with what you can offer and we'll figure out the exchange.