In 2021, the WordPress Foundation and its subsidiary provided support and guidance for a total of 19 WordCamps and hundreds of meetup groups, organized by volunteers in communities all over the world. There were 2 WordCamp events in the US and 17 WordCamp events outside the US. Due to the pandemic, 18 of the total WordCamp events were online events.
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’ 2021 financials on this page.
WordPress Foundation
WordPress Foundation’s total revenue was $19,203, with donations making up all of this amount.
Expenses for the WordPress Foundation totaled $2,084. The greatest expense of 2021 was Dues & Subscriptions totaling $1,120.
WordPress Community Support, PBC
The total revenue of the Foundation’s subsidiary B-corp, WordPress Community Support, was $463,976:
- Sponsorship Income: $457,133 (98% of total revenue)
- Ticket Sales $6,843 (2% of total revenue)
Expenses for WordPress Community Support, PBC totaled $548,101, as detailed below:
- WordCamp expenditures: $262,469 (47.89% of total expenses)
- Meetup expenditures: $220,744 (40.27% of total expenses)
- Total Meetup.com dues: $220,133
- Total Meetup Venue rental: $611
- Operations: $64,888 (11.84% of total expenses)
In 2021, 18 of the WordCamps were organized as online events, so consequently, the top expense categories in 2021 were accessibility and virtual production. $36,267 and $69,990, respectively.
WordPress Community Support also supported the publishing of 445 videos in 2021 from WordCamps to WordPress.tv with the help of various production companies who assisted with the online format.
- Video Processing or Videography: $5,755
Major operational expenses for WPCS included:
- Bank Charges & Merchant Fees: $9,695
- Dues & Subscriptions $13,521
- Insurance: $12,164
- Legal & Professional Fees: $19,750
- Taxes & Licenses: $2,470
- Virtual Platform subscriptions: $1,182
- Exchange rate adjustments: ($10,894) **in our favor
One other item of note is that WPCS, being a corporate entity, does pay tax when there is a net profit at year end. Due to the fact that 2020 resulted in a net loss, WPCS was able to apply the loss to earlier years of income and receive a Federal tax refund of $50,708. These funds were received during 2022.