As we gear up for WordCamp Europe 2024, we are thrilled to share insights into our sponsorship process. Whether you’re a seasoned sponsor or considering supporting us for the first time, this post is designed to guide you through the transparent steps of becoming a sponsor.
Non-Profit Nature of WordCamp Europe
WordCamp Europe, like all events organised by the official WordPress Community, operates as a non-profit event. This means that sponsorships play a crucial role in covering the event costs, ensuring that we can continue providing an enriching experience for all.
WordCamps are a great opportunity for companies that benefit from a free and open source software like WordPress to give back to the project that’s given them so much. Many companies are built around WordPress. A company that chooses to sponsor might have a lot of customers who love WordPress; other companies might just use WordPress, love it, and want to give back!
Sponsor Team Composition
Our sponsorship team comprises dedicated WordPress contributors hailing from various European Union countries. These passionate individuals bring a wealth of experience and a shared commitment to making WordCamp Europe a success. Their diverse backgrounds ensure a comprehensive understanding of the needs and expectations of both sponsors and attendees.
Application Process
1. Call for Sponsors
The sponsorship journey begins with the opening of our Call for Sponsors. This is the official invitation for organisations to express their interest in supporting WordCamp Europe 2024.
2. Application Vetting
We receive applications from sponsors eager to contribute to the event. Our team will conduct two rounds of meticulous vetting to ensure that potential sponsors align with our community values and meet the necessary requirements.
We require all companies who distribute or promote any WordPress derivatives (theme, plugins) to offer licenses 100% GPL.
Additionally, all sponsors are expected to support the WordPress project and its principles, listed below in the WordCamp Sponsorship Rules paragraph.
3. Notification and Agreement
Successful sponsors will be promptly informed of their acceptance. Alongside this notification, sponsors will receive a sponsorship agreement, detailing the terms and conditions of our partnership. If for any reason an application is not accepted, we will inform the applicant why and if appropriate, we will suggest alternatives.
4. Next Steps Follow-Up
Post-acceptance, we engage in proactive communication with sponsors. This includes guiding them through any additional information needed, finalising booth positions at the venue, and addressing any queries they may have.
WordCamp Sponsorship Rules
1. Sponsor may provide:
- The sponsor’s name and logo
- Slogans that are an established part of the sponsor’s image
- The sponsor’s brands and trade names
- Only one brand on their Sponsor Profile page on our website will be listed
- It is allowed to mention multiple brands in the sponsor’s bio if they are affiliated, but only one brand link will be included
- During the WordCamp, at the sponsor’s booth, the sponsor can mention and provide multiple sponsor materials
- Sponsor contact information (such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and URLs)
- Factual (value-neutral) displays of actual products
- Displays or handout materials (such as brochures) with factual, non-comparative descriptions or listings of products or services
- Price information, or other indications of savings or value, if factual and provable
- Incentives to purchase or use the Sponsor’s products or services, for example by providing coupons or discount purchase codes (subject to approval)
- Calls to action, such as “visit this site for details”, “call now for a special offer”, “join our league of savings”, etc.
2. Sponsors may not provide:
- Promotional or marketing material containing superlative messages or unprovable claims about the Sponsor, its products or services, such as “the first name in WordPress hosting”, “the easiest way to launch your site”, or “the best e-commerce plugin”
- Claims that WordPress, WordPress Foundation, meetup organisers, WordCamps, or WordCamp organisers endorse or favour a Sponsor or its products or services (such as “certified WordPress training” or “WordCamp’s favourite plugin”)
3. Sponsors agree that the WordPress Foundation, any subsidiary or related entity of the Foundation, and WordCamp organisers have the right to request and review sponsor materials in advance of an event, to require changes to any materials in advance, and to require that any materials that do not meet the above expectations be taken down or that any practices that do not meet the above expectations be discontinued during a WordCamp or event. The above restrictions also apply to material placed on any self-serve swag tables reserved for sponsor use.
4. All sponsors are expected to support the WordPress project and its principles, including:
- No discrimination on the basis of economic or social status, race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, caste, social class, or disability.
- No incitement to violence or promotion of hate
- No spammers
- No unkind behaviors
- Respect the WordPress trademark.
- Embrace the WordPress license; If distributing WordPress-derivative works (themes, plugins, WP distros), any person or business officially associated with WordCamp should give their users the same freedoms that WordPress itself provides: 100% GPL or compatible, the same guidelines we follow on WordPress.org.
***Note: this is one step above simple compliance, which requires PHP code to be GPL / compatible but allows proprietary licenses for JavaScript, CSS, and images. 100% GPL or compatible is required for promotion at WordCamps when WordPress-derivative works are involved, the same guidelines we follow on WordPress.org.*** - Don’t promote companies or people that violate the trademark or distribute WordPress derivative works which aren’t 100% GPL compatible.
5. Sponsorship is in no way connected to the opportunity to speak at an official WordPress event and does not alter the WordPress or WordCamp trademark usage policy found at http://wordpressfoundation.org/. The WordPress Foundation and any subsidiary or related entity of the Foundation reserve the right to modify the above requirements and expectations at any time by providing written notice to the sponsor.
6. Due to the variety of regulations surrounding the act of selling physical goods and the potential for liability to fall on the WPCS, selling physical goods at a WordCamp is not allowed.
*****
At WordCamp Europe 2024, we believe in fostering meaningful collaborations between sponsors and the WordPress community. Transparency is at the core of our values, and we aim to make the sponsorship process as clear, complete, and concise as possible for both experienced and new sponsors.
We look forward to welcoming you as a valued sponsor and contributing to the continued success of WordCamp Europe!