Welcome! This is the home of the Make Community Team for 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!

This team helps the community with official events like:

As well as,

Deputy and Mentor development
Diversity initiatives
Growing the WordPress community

If you love WordPress and want to help us do these things, join in!

Get Involved

Join: Find your local Meetup

Discuss: Here we have policy debates, project announcements and status reports. Everyone is welcome to comment on posts and join the discussion.

Plan: Want to organize a 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. in your community? Excited to host a 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.? Check out one of our handbooks to get started.

Assist: Participate in the Meetup Reactivation project, apply to be a Community DeputyDeputy Community Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook., or help out as a WordCamp MentorMentor Someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues..

Discover: Any skill level can find a way to be involved in our Team Projects.

Let’s Talk

Office HoursOffice Hours Defined times when the Global Community Team are in the #community-events Slack channel. If there is anything you would like to discuss – you do not need to inform them in advance.You are very welcome to drop into any of the Community Team Slack channels at any time. are held on Slack in #community-events

Mondays & Wednesdays 22:00 UTC,
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 UTC.

Team Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 12:00 UTC and 21:00 UTC on Slack in #community-team (same agenda).

Check out our current COVID-19 guidelines for in-person events!

Community Deputy Handbook

Home / Community Deputy Handbook / Meetup Program / Reviewing Meetup Venue Requests

Reviewing Meetup Venue Requests

Topics

First: Check the Reasons and the Research
Second: Check the Venue
Finally: Approve & Request a Payment!

Check out our latest guidelines for in-person events!

From time to time, WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a subsidiary of WordPress Foundation. It is created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. will receive a request from a 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. group to assist in paying for their venue. To review venue requests, you’ll need the following things:

Help Scout access
The Internet
Some stellar searching skills

First: Check the Reasons and the Research

When a request is received, check the following:

Why the Meetup has left the previous venue (if there was one)
- If they say they’ve outgrown the previous venue, then check attendance on Meetup.com. Make sure they are doing the things we would expect to make outgrowing a venue reasonable (regular events, engaging with members, etc).
- If this is their first venue (or first event at all), then email back to suggest trying out a low-key and free venue while they pick up speed. Exceptions include areas where we would like to see more community involvement and the lack of a formal venue is a cultural hindrance.
Whether or not the organizer has asked the group as a whole for alternatives
- If they have not emailed the group about venue options, then have them do that first.
- If they have emailed the group and there are no other options, then continue to the second round of checking!

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Second: Check the Venue

If the reasoning behind needing funds for a venue checks out, and the organizer did the necessary background work, then it’s time to review the venue. Meetup venues have the same guidelines as 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. venues:

It’s easy to access both from a transportation and human mobility standpoint.
It’s in a relatively safe area of town (this is based on local sentiment, not US-specific sentiment).
It has whatever tech requirements the group deemed necessary (internet access, power outlets, projectors/beamers are common requirements)
Food/refreshments are not a factor for Meetup event spaces. That’s a nice-to-have, not a must-have.

Note: You can ask the organizing team questions about it, do your own online research, or reach out directly to the venue. It’s your call!

If it all checks out, it’s time to check the pricing! When at all possible, we want to group venue payments into as few payments as possible, in order to keep bank fees to a minimum. Below are a few guidelines and some best practices:

Aim for 3-5 USD per person. This is an average and doesn’t have to be exactly right for every single event.
Ask the meetup organizer/requestor to work with the venue for the following:
- Try to work with the venue to get billed with events as units rather than months as units (charging per event gives organizers flexibility and doesn’t force anyone to lose money if a month has to be skipped)
- Ask for an invoice that includes multiple events/months rather than an invoice for each event.
- Ask for a 5-10% discount when paying in bulk (since it’s a guarantee of funds, most venues will be happy to work with you on this). If no discount is available, that’s okay. It never hurts to ask.

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Finally: Approve & Request a Payment!

Once the venue is approved for an acceptable rate, tag the email in HelpScout as `needs-payment` and include all pertinent notes. Reply to the organizer with one of the “Meetup venue approval” saved replies, depending on their location.

When we receive payment details, a deputyDeputy Community Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook. that handles finances will then pick up and process the request.

That’s it! You’ve made a community’s life happier and healthier. Good work!

Last updated: September 27, 2022