2017 Global Sponsorship Program

This page has information for companies interested in sponsoring WordPress community events through the Global Community Sponsorship program. If you are an event organizer looking for more information about global sponsors or the global community program in general, please check out Global Community Sponsorship — For Event Organizers in the WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Organizing Handbook.

Sponsoring Community Events

Thanks for your interest in supporting the WordPress community via event sponsorship! We’re so grateful to our sponsors, because without them we couldn’t put on the events that help our community connect and grow.

When you sponsor an official WordPress event, you’re not giving money in exchange for marketing/advertising at the event or with the attendee audience. Sponsorships are donations, given to support the WordPress open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project.

There are two ways to sponsor: through the Global Community program, or through direct sponsorship of individual events.

WordPress Global Community Sponsorship in 2017

One out of every four websites is powered by WordPress, the free and open source software built and maintained by thousands of volunteers all over the world. The WordPress contributor community is made up of developers, designers, writers, photographers, freelancers, agency professionals, and hobbyists, many of whom gather regularly around the world at locally-organized monthly and annual events. Official WordPress community events are exclusively volunteer-organized, and each reflects the interests and expertise of the local community. In 2016, there were 2,698 meetings of official WordPress meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups and 115 local annual conferences, which we call WordCamps.

What’s a WordCamp?

WordCamp is the annual conference for local WordPress communities; it’s a casual, non-commercial, educational event about WordPress. Events range from intimate 50-person unconferences to multi-track conferences attended by over 1,000. Conference session topics include WordPress development, design, business, social media integration, blogging, and marketing. WordCamp tickets are sold at an extremely low price ($20 per person, per day) so that events are accessible to people of any financial background.
In 2016, there were 62 WordCamps in the Western region (up from 50 in 2015) and 51 WordCamps in the Eastern region (up from 34 in 2015).

2016 WordCamps (excluding WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event./WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event.) Number of events Attendees Average size
Western (The Americas) 62 16,000 258
Eastern (Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa) 51 13,000 255
Total 113 29,000

We anticipate another 20%+ increase in events in 2017, which should result in approximately 140 WordCamps worldwide in 2017.

Additional WordCamp data for 2016:

  • Total number of WordCamps: 115
  • Number of countries that held at least one WordCamp: 35
  • Average number of speakers per WordCamp (YTD 10/28): 24
  • Average number of sponsors per WordCamp (YTD 10/28, includes global sponsors): 19
  • Total number of WordCamp tickets sold (YTD 10/28, excluding WCUS/WCEU): 28,003
  • Average number of attendees per WordCamp (YTD 10/28): 259

WordCamps confirmed for 2017 can be found on the official schedule.

Please note that the Global Community Sponsorship program does not include WordCamp Europe or WordCamp US, even though they’re listed on the official schedule.

What’s a meetup?

WordPress meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. are locally-organized user groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis to discuss WordPress (commonly once a month). These events take many formats: presentations/lecture series, hackathons, social gatherings, workshops, coworking, running a WordPress help desk, contributor sprints/drives, and others. Groups hosted on meetup.com can join an official WordPress account and receive financial and organizational support from the WordPress Community team.

WordPress meetup data:

  • Total number of chapter account/official meetup groups: 380
  • Number of countries with a chapter account meetup group: 73
  • Average number of groups per country: 4.93
  • Number of groups in the US: 129
  • Total number of group members (as of 10/28, not unique): 133,566
  • Total number of meetup events (as of 10/28): 2,698 (1,530 in the US)

How does event sponsorship help WordPress?

Companies that sponsor WordPress community events support the WordPress open source project by helping our volunteer-organized, local events provide free or low-cost access for attendees. WordPress community events strengthen, inspire, and connect the community that builds and maintains WordPress.

Why sponsor via this program rather than sponsoring individual events?

As the WordPress community continues to grow, many companies find they don’t have time to coordinate with multiple teams of volunteer event organizers. The WordPress Global Community Sponsorship Program ensures that your support reaches WordCamps and meetups quickly and provides stability to locally-organized events. WordPress global community sponsors have a single, centralized point of contact and are billed quarterly, saving companies time and trouble. Global community sponsors are emailed as soon as each WordCamp is added to the official schedule with all the vital details for the event, including contact info for the organizing team, anticipated number of attendees, mailing address for swag, and more.  Global sponsor company information is pre-loaded on every WordCamp website by WordCamp CentralWordCamp Central Website for all WordCamp activities globally. https://central.wordcamp.org includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each., so the local organizing team can publish the sponsor’s logo and company description with one simple click.

How much does global community sponsorship cost, and what are the benefits?

The following prices reflect sponsorship for the 2017 calendar year.

Level Western (The Americas) Eastern (Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa)
Gold $180,000 $110,000
Silver $90,000 $70,000
Bronze $50,000 $40,000

Please note that this program excludes WordCamp US and WordCamp Europe.

Gold Community Sponsor benefits:

  1. Name, large logo, and company description/blurb on all WordCamp websites in the region
  2. Acknowledgment on sponsor page on WordCamp Central, including coupon code
  3. Acknowledgment in one program-wide email to all WordPress chapter account meetups/user groups
  4. Coupon code in your sponsor description, posted to all meetups and WordCamps in the region (subject to approval)
  5. A blog post written by the sponsoring company posted to the WordCamp site (subject to approval)
  6. Table at WordCamps for meeting attendees if space is available*
  7. Dedicated tweet announcing your sponsorship from the official Twitter account for each WordCamp you sponsor
  8. Inclusion in the Thank You To Our Sponsors blog post on each WordCamp you sponsor
  9. Three swag items added to each WordCamp’s “swag table,” if available (subject to approval)
  10. Four free tickets to each WordCamp you sponsor, reserved for your company representatives**

Silver Community Sponsor benefits:

  1. Name, medium logo, and company description/blurb on WordCamp websites in the region
  2. Acknowledgment on sponsor page on WordCamp Central
  3. Acknowledgment in one program-wide email to all WordPress chapter account meetups/user groups
  4. Dedicated tweet announcing your sponsorship from the official Twitter account for each WordCamp you sponsor
  5. Inclusion in the Thank You To Our Sponsors blog post on each WordCamp you sponsor
  6. A sticker and postcard added to each WordCamp’s “swag table,” if available (subject to approval)
  7. Two free tickets to each WordCamp you sponsor, reserved for your company representatives**
  8. Silver sponsors can “upgrade” to a higher local sponsorship level for 5 camps per year (per region) by requesting an invoice for the difference between the local top and second-from-the-top WordCamp sponsorship levels to be able to acknowledged as a Gold sponsor (if spaces are available), up to 6 weeks before the WordCamp is held.

Bronze Community Sponsor benefits:

  1. Name, small logo, and company description/blurb on WordCamp websites in the region
  2. Acknowledgment on sponsor page on WordCamp Central
  3. Acknowledgment in a program-wide email to all WordPress chapter account meetups/user groups
  4. Inclusion in the Thank You To Our Sponsors blog post on each WordCamp you sponsor
  5. A sticker or postcard added to each WordCamp’s “swag table,” if available (subject to approval)
  6. Bronze sponsors can “upgrade” to a higher local sponsorship level for 5 camps per year (per region) by requesting an invoice for the difference between the desired local level and the Bronze/third local WordCamp sponsorship levels to be able to acknowledged as a Gold or Silver sponsor (if spaces are available), up to 6 weeks before the WordCamp is held.

In the case of WordCamps, each global sponsorship level will be “merged” into the local WordCamp sponsorship levels, and global sponsors will receive the same benefits offered to local sponsors at the same level.

*Not all WordCamp venues will have space to provide tables to sponsors, but if the venue has enough space to accommodate sponsor tables, then community sponsors will be offered exhibition space. In your notification email, you’ll be informed whether or not the venue has exhibition space so you can request a table right away.

**Free, reserved tickets will return to the general ticket pool if they are not claimed one month before WordCamp. Tickets reserved for sponsors should not be used for ticket giveaways; these are only for your company representatives who wish to attend the event.

Rules for sponsor materials:

1. Sponsor may provide:
  • The sponsor’s name and logo
  • Slogans that are an established part of the sponsor’s image
  • The sponsor’s brands and trade names
  • Sponsor contact information (such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and URLs)
  • Factual (value-neutral) displays of actual products
  • Displays or handout materials (such as brochures) with factual, non-comparative descriptions or listings of products or services
  • Price information, or other indications of savings or value, if factual and provable
  • Inducements to purchase or use the Sponsor’s products or services, for example by providing coupons or discount purchase codes (subject to approval)
  • Calls to action, such as “visit this site for details”, “call now for a special offer”, “join our league of savings”, etc.
2. Sponsors may not provide:
  • Promotional or marketing material containing superlative messages or unprovable claims about the Sponsor, its products or services, such as “the first name in WordPress hosting”, “the easiest way to launch your site”, or “the best e-commerce pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party”
  • Claims that WordPress, WordPress FoundationWordPress Foundation The WordPress Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Matt Mullenweg to further the mission of the WordPress open source project: to democratize publishing through Open Source, GPL software. Find more on wordpressfoundation.org. and subsidiaries or related entities, meetup organizers, WordCamps, or WordCamp organizers endorse or favor a Sponsor or its products or services (such as “certified WordPress training” or “WordCamp’s favorite plugin”)
3. Sponsors agree that the WordPress Foundation, any subsidiary or related entity of the Foundation, and WordCamp organizers have the right to request and review sponsor materials in advance of an event, to require changes to any materials in advance, and to require that any materials that do not meet the  expectations above be taken down or that any practices that do not meet the expectations above be discontinued during a WordCamp or event. The restrictions above also apply to material placed on any self-serve swag tables reserved for sponsor use.
4. All sponsors are expected to support the WordPress project and its principles, including:
  • No discrimination on the basis of economic or social status, race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or disability.
  • No incitement to violence or promotion of hate
  • No spammers
  • No jerks
  • Respect the WordPress trademark.
  • Embrace the WordPress license; If distributing WordPress-derivative works (themes, plugins, WP distros), any person or business officially associated with WordCamp should give their users the same freedoms that WordPress itself provides: 100% GPLGPL GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. or compatible, the same guidelines we follow on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/.
  • Don’t promote companies or people that violate the trademark or distribute WordPress derivative works which aren’t 100% GPL compatible.
5. Sponsorship is in no way connected to the opportunity to speak at an official WordPress event and does not alter the WordPress or WordCamp trademark usage policy found at http://wordpressfoundation.org/. The WordPress Foundation and any subsidiary or related entity of the Foundation reserve the right to modify the requirements and expectations above at any time by providing written notice to the sponsor.

How will sponsors be billed?

We’ll bill global sponsors on the first day of every quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1), and all invoices will be due net 30. Sponsors may not be added to the event program until payment has been received.

Gold-level global sponsors that confirm their commitment (by signing the contract; billing will go out on Jan 1) by November 30, 2016 will be guaranteed table space for Q1 2017 WordCamps. Global sponsors (Gold level) that confirm after November 30, 2016 might not have table space reserved for them at Q1 2017 WordCamps.

How do I sign up?

For more information on supporting WordPress events through the WordPress Global Community Sponsorship Program, email support@wordcamp.org. We look forward to another amazing year of WordPress community events, and we hope you’ll join us!