Roger Williams, Kinsta’s partnership and community manager for North America, joined the Jukebox Podcast to talk about a practical approach to corporate sponsorship of WordPress and other open source contributions. He helped Kinsta launch a sponsored contributions program in early 2025 and presented a talk called Figuring Out Sponsored Contribution at WordCamp US. The conversation focuses on why companies should sponsor contributors, how to get internal buy-in, and straightforward steps to link organisations with people doing important community work.
Who Roger is and what he does
Roger’s work at Kinsta centers on connecting the company to the broader WordPress ecosystem: community members, agency partners, and technical collaborators. In 2025 he helped design Kinsta’s sponsored contributions program, deciding who to sponsor, which projects to prioritize, and how to flow resources back into open source in a respectful, measurable way.
Why sponsor contributors
Open source long relied on volunteer energy, but WordPress now powers a large share of the web and many contributors and maintainers lack funding. Sponsorship sits on a spectrum from pure philanthropy to clear business necessity. To expand participation beyond the converted, Roger recommends talking business: explain return on investment and practical benefits instead of relying only on appeals to altruism.
Three audiences and different messaging
Roger frames the conversation for three groups that require different signals:
– Project insiders: contributors and maintainers already understand the need and value of contributions.
– Organisations close to the project (for example hosting companies): they need clear ROI and a nudge to act.
– General public and less engaged businesses: often unaware of how maintenance works or why funding matters.
Tailor messaging to each: technical and community arguments for insiders, strategic and operational benefits for organisations, and education for the broader public.
Framing sponsorship as business value
To persuade executives, Roger suggests grouping benefits into three practical buckets:
– Strategic benefits: Link sponsorship to business priorities. For hosting firms, a healthier WordPress means fewer support tickets, better performance, and happier customers.
– Operational benefits: Sponsoring helps reduce technical debt. Contributing upstream fixes problems in components the company depends on, spreading maintenance effort across the ecosystem.
– Second-order benefits: Talent development, stronger partnerships, brand goodwill, documentation improvements, event relationships, and mentorship opportunities. Harder to quantify but meaningful over time.
Who to sponsor and what counts
Core code work is obvious, but Roger urges a broader view. Valuable contributions include:
– Core development and ticket work
– Polyglots and localisation efforts
– Documentation teams
– Event organisers and contributor day volunteers
– Content creators: podcasters, tutorial authors, and educators who increase adoption
For many organisations, funding external contributors is simpler than allocating internal engineering time. Giving budget to established community members can be an easier first step than asking managers to free employees for outside work.
Practical steps for companies starting now
Roger’s main advice: start small and iterate. Concrete steps:
– Set a modest, executive-approved budget.
– Build a simple internal process: intake forms, basic eligibility criteria, and a tracking spreadsheet.
– Identify organisational goals (performance, security, localisation, docs) and align sponsorships to those objectives.
– Ask sponsored contributors for low-effort visibility—one blog post, a podcast interview, or a case study—but avoid heavy-handed marketing. The priority is supporting the project.
– Be ready when funds are available: have candidates and pitch materials prepared so you can show quick wins.
Advice for contributors seeking sponsorship
Contributors should pitch companies in business terms:
– Explain your work, your goals, and how it benefits the organisation’s priorities.
– Ask whether the company has a sponsorship program. If not, offer to help design a simple pathway.
– Provide concrete examples, milestones, and a clear ask. Speak business language and be ready for a dialogue.
Balancing community concerns
A common worry is that corporate funding will alienate volunteers or commercialise the project. Roger accepts this risk but argues that expanding the conversation beyond philanthropy brings more organisations into the ecosystem who otherwise wouldn’t participate. Companies can be introduced using strategic and operational arguments, then encouraged to respect community norms. The key is humility, transparency, and a community-sensitive approach.
Coordination and larger mechanisms
Groups like the WP Community Collective can act as intermediaries for sponsorships. Centralised funds or consortiums are appealing but can add complexity and slow decisions. Roger’s pragmatic recommendation is to start within companies, build processes that work, and stay open to collaborating with broader initiatives as those mature.
Internal buy-in and sustaining programs
To get approval and sustain sponsorships:
– Frame sponsorship in terms of strategic goals.
– Anticipate objections and respond with operational and strategic arguments.
– Be patient; decisions take time, but be prepared to demonstrate results quickly when budgets open.
– Track outcomes: who’s sponsored, what work was delivered, and public engagements to report back on impact.
– Keep agreements lightweight but clear about payment, expectations, and any necessary basic terms.
Marketing and ROI expectations
Treat sponsorship as long-term brand investment and goodwill rather than direct performance marketing. Indirect returns include visibility, network influence, and improved relationships in contributor networks. Use gentle promotion—invite sponsored contributors to speak on company channels or appear on podcasts—and let community word-of-mouth amplify the work.
Final thoughts
Roger’s core message is practical: broaden the discussion beyond idealised philanthropy, make the business case for sponsoring contributors, start small, create simple processes, and always respect community culture. Sponsoring contributors is a way for companies that benefit from WordPress to invest in its health while gaining strategic and operational advantages.
Where to follow Roger
Roger is active on LinkedIn and welcomes questions about sponsored contributions and community engagement. For more episode resources and links, see the podcast show notes referenced in the original episode.