Transparency Report Process

We are currently updating the names of our contributor roles throughout our resources. The new role names are Community Team Event SupporterEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is 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. (formerly MentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is 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.), Community Team Program SupporterProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. (formerly DeputyProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook.), and Program ManagerProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule. (formerly Super DeputyProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule.).

When to use Transparency Reports

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., PBC, (“WPCSWPCS The collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules (sniffs) used to format and validate PHP code developed for WordPress according to the WordPress Coding Standards. May also be an acronym referring to the Accessibility, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. coding standards as published in the WordPress Coding Standards Handbook.”) was created to handle funds for WordCamps and to relieve organizers of legal and financial liability. When 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. chooses to run funds locally, it is likely because there are local laws in place that make international transfers difficult, whether due to tax reasons or general banking regulations. Vendors may not be able to accept international wires, and sponsors may find it difficult to send funds internationally. 

Making the decision to handle WordCamp funds locally should be a last resort, as it does place liability on the party handling the funds of the WordCamp. 

In most situations, to support these WordCamps, a global sponsorship amount is sent to the organising team who then pay vendors locally with the funds received, along with sponsorship and ticket income received locally. In some cases, organisers may choose to run some items through WPCS and some locally. Both situations require the teams to provide a budget transparency report within a month after the event is wrapped up. The report consists of a collection of documents that outline the receipt and use of funds (details).

It’s extremely important for WPCS to have reports that show how WordCamp funds were used. It is important that community and sponsor funds are appropriately spent, and in service of the WordPress community! 

Process Timeline:

Step 1:

During the budget review, please discuss plans for handling income and expenses. If there is a need to receive any funds locally, be it ticket income or sponsorship income (even if some is being paid directly to WPCS), please discuss the Transparency Report process, and encourage the organisers to begin filling out and uploading receipts/invoices to the folder as they go versus waiting until after the close of the event.

Step 2:

During or just after the budget review, create a new folder for the specific WordCamp or WP Event in the Google Drive under: info@wordpressfoundation.org > WordCamps or NextGen events as appropriate. If you are not able to access this Drive with your permissions, please reach out to Central and request their assistance with this step.

Be sure to assign the organisers to the folder by adding the personal emails of the organisers to the folder, as well as the main email address for the event, so there are no issues with permissions. 

Step 3:

After the initial budget review, update and send HelpScout saved message: WORDCAMP: After Budget Review Follow Up (NOT Running money through WPCS) 

Step 4:

Event supporter or Community Program supporter should reach out to the organisers via SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. or email about 1 month prior to the event to check in and see if the team has any questions about the Transparency report process and to make sure the team is utilising the folder to hold copies of receipts and invoices. Encourage them to go ahead and upload what documents are currently on hand while the information is fresh in their minds.

Step 5:

Within 2 weeks after the close of the WordCamp, send a reminder to submit the report. There is a saved message in HelpScout: WORDCAMP: After event – request the Transparency Report

Step 6:

At the one month mark after the close of the event, a Community Program or Event Supporter should reach out via slack to see if the team needs additional support. Please also send the following saved message in HelpScout containing potential next steps if the report is not received in 2 weeks: WORDCAMP: After Event – 2nd request for Transparency Request

Step 7:

If a WordCamp/WP Event organising team still does not provide a satisfactory transparency report within the specified deadline (approximately 6 weeks after the close of an Event), this final reminder message should be sent from HelpScout: WORDCAMP: After event – Final Reminder for Submission of Transparency Report

Step 8:

At 2 months past the WordCamp/Event, if no communication has been received about the report, discussions should be held to determine next steps and implementation of some or all of the below consequences:

  • Account suspension: The 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/ and Slack accounts may be suspended for violating the Community Code of Conduct.
  • Report to local authorities: WPCS may report the case to the local authorities for misappropriation of funds.
  • Suspending future events: The local community may be suspended from organising or participating in any future WordCamp or WordPress events until they rebuild trust with the community.

Incident Report: Misappropriation of WordCamp Funds describes one example of a transparency issue in the past.

Community Team Program and Event Supporters are here to support organizers throughout this process. We understand that budgets are hard! Even if the transparency report takes longer, organizers who work with the Community Team in good faith will not be subjected to these consequences.

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