In 2020, the WordPress Foundation and its subsidiary provided support and guidance for a total of 33 WordCamps and hundreds of Meetup groups, organized by volunteers in communities all over the world. There were 14 WordCamp events in the US and 19 WordCamp events outside the US. Due to the pandemic, 22 of the WordCamp events were held online.
In 2016, the WordPress Foundation created a subsidiary, organized as a public benefit corporation (a for-profit entity that voluntarily meets higher standards of transparency, accountability, and performance), to provide a fiscal entity to support organizers of WordPress community events. This B-corp is named WordPress Community Support. We’ll report on both entities’ 2020 financials on this page.
WordPress Foundation
WordPress Foundation’s total revenue was $10,787, with donations making up all of this amount.
Expenses for the WordPress Foundation totaled $3,438. Major 2020 expenses include:
- do_action charity hackathon grants $1,650
- Dues & Subscriptions $759
WordPress Community Support, PBC
The total revenue of the Foundation’s subsidiary B-corp, WordPress Community Support, was $742,227:
- Sponsorship Income: $667,160 (90% of total revenue)
- Ticket Sales $75,067 (10% of total revenue)
Expenses for WordPress Community Support, PBC totaled $900,562, as detailed below:
- WordCamp expenditures: $581,396 (64.5% of total expenses)
- Meetup expenditures: $251,880 (27.9% of total expenses)
- Total Meetup.com dues: $239,389.50
- Total Meetup Venue rental: $12,375.26
- Total Meetup accessibility expenses: $114.75
- Operations: $67,286 (7.5% of total expenses)
Given the fact that so many WordCamps moved to an online format, top expense categories in 2020 were accessibility, virtual production, food and beverage (for the in-person WordCamps held prior to March) , and venues for in-person WordCamps.
WordPress Community Support also supported the publishing of 1,032 videos in 2020 from WordCamps to WordPress.tv with the help of various production companies who assisted with the online format, as well as by providing video camera kits to the in-person WordCamps. These camera kits include an HD camcorder, tripod, external microphone, SD cards, lavalier microphone, and a hard case for shipping.
The total expenditure of this program was approximately $8,140
- Video Processing or Videography: $7,690
- Camera Kit Shipping: $450
Major operational expenses for WPCS included:
- Bank Charges & Merchant Fees: $15,256
- Dues & Subscriptions $8,918
- Insurance: $13,814
- Legal & Professional Fees: $20,570
- Taxes & Licenses: $2,463
- Virtual Platform subscriptions: $3,130
- Exchange rate adjustments: ($9,194) **in our favor