Roger Williams leads community and partner engagement for North America at Kinsta. In early 2025 he helped design and launch Kinsta’s sponsored contributions program, directing time and budget toward WordPress and related open source projects. He frames sponsorship as both a way to support the ecosystem and a smart business investment. The following summarizes his thinking and practical advice for companies and individual contributors.
Why sponsor contributions?
– Open source still runs on volunteer passion, but WordPress is increasingly infrastructure. Companies that depend on it have a stake in its stability, security, and performance.
– Framing sponsorship only as charity limits buy-in. If you speak the language of business—strategy, operations, and measurable benefits—you can bring more organizations into the fold.
– Strategic: For hosting and platform vendors, a healthier WordPress reduces support load, improves product reliability, and aligns with customer-facing goals.
– Operational: Upstream fixes and features reduce long-term technical debt, let companies influence priorities, and lower maintenance costs.
– Second-order: Networking, recruiting, community goodwill, and knowledge-sharing are harder to quantify but create lasting value. Sponsored contributors can mentor newcomers, raise visibility for projects, and amplify impact.
A spectrum, not a binary
Roger emphasizes this is a continuum. Purely philanthropic contributions remain important, but opening the conversation to strategic and operational benefits invites more partners without turning open source into a purely commercial enterprise. Sponsorship should always prioritize the project’s needs and respect volunteer-driven cultures.
Who and what to sponsor
Kinsta’s program is intentionally broad. While core code contributors are essential, many other roles deserve support:
– Documentation writers
– Localization teams and polyglots
– Event organizers (WordCamps, contributor days)
– Content creators (podcasts, tutorials) who aid onboarding and adoption
Sponsoring mentors and onboarding facilitators multiplies impact. Kinsta also supports non-core projects that influence its product or customers.
Practical advice for companies
– Start small and iterate: Don’t wait for a perfect policy. Agree a modest budget executives can approve and learn by doing.
– Align with priorities: Identify sponsorship focus areas that map to product or customer needs—performance, security, localization, or docs.
– Keep processes simple: An intake form, a tracking spreadsheet, and a handful of clear expectations (e.g., a short blog post or interview) make impact visible.
– Be careful with marketing: Expect indirect benefits—brand visibility, trust, recruiting—but avoid heavy-handed promotional requirements. Reasonable visibility asks (a write-up or podcast appearance) are fine if the work serves the project first.
– Be ready and patient: Internal approvals take time. Have candidate contributors and simple processes ready so you can act quickly when funds are available.
– Anticipate objections: Leaders often resist paying for software they perceive as “free.” Use tailored arguments—cost reduction for a CTO, customer impact for a product lead, brand value for marketing.
Practical advice for contributors
– Pitch impact, not just hours: Explain what you do, how it benefits the sponsor, and the outcomes you expect.
– Ask targeted questions: “Do you run a sponsorship program?” or “Would you like help setting one up?” can open productive conversations.
– Target likely partners: Reach out first to companies whose products or user base align with your work (hosting providers, plugin/theme vendors) instead of wide cold asks.
– Expect modest asks: Sponsors may request a short write-up, interview, or podcast chat. These small commitments are often mutually beneficial.
Models and coordination
There are centralized mechanisms—like the WP Community Collective—that coordinate funds and distribute support. Roger sees value in consortiums but warns they can add complexity and slow action. He recommends individual companies begin directly to build momentum, while staying open to later coordination.
Measuring and surfacing impact
Track what sponsored contributors accomplish: security fixes, performance improvements, translations, documentation updates, and visibility activities. Use lightweight content (posts, interviews) to surface work so the community and internal stakeholders can see results without aggressive marketing.
Internal buy-in checklist
– Show alignment with company strategy (what improves for customers or the product)
– Propose a simple budget and timeline
– Create intake, tracking, and reporting processes
– Clarify legal or contractual terms (scope, deliverables)
– Prepare responses to common objections
– Be ready to share early wins to sustain funding
A final note on culture
Roger recognizes tension between longstanding volunteer contributors and newer business-driven sponsors. His position: expanding the conversation to include strategic and operational benefits brings in additional resources while preserving the volunteer spirit. The aim is to grow and sustain the ecosystem respectfully.
Where to follow up
Roger recommends connecting via LinkedIn to continue the discussion. He and colleagues across regions (Europe and APAC) are engaging with contributors and organizations to refine sponsorship processes and broaden participation.