Community – WordPress Foundation

Announcing the 2024 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipient: Cynthia Norman

In 2015, the WordPress Foundation established an annual memorial scholarship to honor the memory of Kim Parsell, a beloved and influential contributor to the WordPress community. This scholarship ensures that Kim’s core values continue to inspire and enrich the WordPress community.

This scholarship is awarded each year to a female WordPress contributor who has never attended WordCamp US and would require financial assistance to do so. More information on the scholarship, including past recipients, is available here.

We’re happy to announce that this year’s scholarship recipient is Cynthia Norman! Cynthia’s commitment to WordPress training and education embodies the values that Kim cherished.

A photo of Cynthia Norman standing in a garden, smiling at the camera.

Cynthia joined the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program in its inaugural year as a mentee, and she credits that program with giving her the boost she needed to dig into WordPress and grow professionally. Cynthia began contributing to the WordPress Training team shortly after and hasn’t let up since!

When asked about her proudest contribution to WordPress, Cynthia points to a Learning Pathway course she developed for Learn WordPress:

I am an avid content creator with the Training Team and, so far, my proudest contribution to the WordPress open source project has been creating my first lesson for the Learning Pathway: Beginner Developer
course. Working collaboratively with WordPress educators has been so rewarding, and exactly what I needed to complement my freelance work as a WordPress developer.

If Cynthia’s name sounds familiar to you, it might be because she was recently featured in a WordPress Contributor Spotlight.

It’s also possible you’ve crossed paths with her in a WordPress Training team meeting.

You may have even stumbled across her YouTube channel full of WordPress tutorials!

To say that Cynthia keeps busy is an understatement.

When she’s not contributing to WordPress or playing with her six grandchildren, Cynthia enjoys spending her time outdoors in beautiful Ontario, Canada where she lives with her husband and her dog, Mya.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2024

The WordPress Foundation is proud to announce the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for 2024. Kim was a valued contributor to the WordPress open source project, and this scholarship honors her legacy. The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to one WordPress contributor who is a woman, has not previously attended WordCamp US, and requires financial assistance to attend WordCamp US 2024.

The scholarship provides travel assistance for the recipient to attend WordCamp US, including travel from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.

WordCamp US is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with web professionals, build your skills in the WordPress ecosystem, and meet WordPress contributors from around the world. This scholarship offers the chance to be part of a vibrant community and make lasting connections.

Eligibility Criteria

There will be one scholarship recipient in 2024. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

An active contributor to the WordPress project
A woman
Not previously attended WordCamp US
Requires financial assistance to attend WordCamp US 2024

How to Apply

If you meet the above criteria, we warmly invite you to apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship. The application is open through May 30, 2024. All applicants will receive notification by June 21, 2024.

For more information, please visit the WordPress Foundation’s page About the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Scholarship Today!

2023 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipient: Yumi Nishioka (mimi)

This year’s Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship recipient is Yumi Nishioka (mimi). mimi is a passionate WordPress contributor who embodies the values that Kim would have appreciated.

mimi is a Web/UI Designer and Developer based in Tokyo, and has been a WordPress contributor since 2018. She was lead organizer of WordCamp Tokyo 2019. That year she also began hosting a personal study group on the Gutenberg Project, which meets twice a month. Then in 2021, she started co-organizing monthly small study sessions about Design and WordPress.

While there have been numerous contributions I’m proud of, one that stands out is my commitment to the core code. Although it was a small code change, the experience of being actively involved in the open-source software that I use daily was incredibly rewarding.
– mimi

The WordPress Foundation created this memorial scholarship in 2015, to honor the memory of longtime WordPress contributor Kim Parsell and ensure that Kim’s values would continue to be infused into the WordPress community.

This scholarship provides travel to WordCamp US for a woman who contributes to the WordPress open source project, and who would not otherwise be able to attend WordCamp US. More information on the scholarship, including past recipients, is available here.

Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2023

The WordPress Foundation will once again offer the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for travel to WordCamp US 2023.

At each in-person WordCamp US, the WordPress Foundation honors Kim’s commitment and valuable contributions to the WordPress open source project. The Foundation’s goal is to further the efforts of contributors who demonstrate Kim’s spirit, by helping to ease the financial burden of travel to WordCamp US.

This scholarship is awarded to someone who:

Identifies as a woman
Is a WordPress contributor
Has never attended WordCamp US before
Requires financial assistance to attend

This scholarship provides financial assistance so that the recipient can attend WordCamp US, including travel from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.

If you meet these requirements and would like to be considered, please apply no later than Monday, June 12, 2023 at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. All applicants will be notified by June 29, 2023.

For more details, please visit the WordPress Foundation’s About the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship page.

Apply for the scholarship today.

do_action Karnataka 2021: A report

WordPress Community members in the state of Karnataka, India organized a do_action charity hackathon from 07 to 15 August 2021. The event, which was supported by 12 volunteers, helped create websites for 3 non-profits. do_action Karnataka was held completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it concluded symbolically on August 15th 2021 — the 75th Independence Day of India. This is the second do_action Hackathon in Karnataka — the first one being do_action Bengaluru, which was held in 2019.

Karnataka 2021

Efforts behind do_action Karnataka kicked off three months prior, in April 2021. N Suresha, Prem Tiwari, UC Riyaz, Sagar Vora, SR Venkatesh, and Yogesh Londhe (myself) from the WordPress Community of Karnataka, joined hands to support local non-profits by helping them build websites. The following non-profits signed up for our hackathon:

Luv Kush Foster Home: A foster home that aims to care for animals in need
Vridhi Foundation: which aims to support the education of underprivileged children
Peacespark Foundation: Welfare of women and children

12 volunteers immediately signed up to build websites for these non-profits. Not everyone could participate due to personal challenges related to COVID-19, but the teams worked hard to complete the work within the stipulated time. As a result of all that hard work, two non-profit sites were launched, and one is in the pipeline!

Peacespark Foundation: https://www.peacespark.org/

A screenshot of the Peacespark Foundation website created by the do_action Karnataka 2021 team.

The website of Peacespark Foundation was built by SR Venkatesh (project manager) and Hari Shanker (content writer). Venkatesh collected all the content and the photos from the non-profit, and he was also in constant communication with the team. He also single-handedly designed and developed the website for the team! Since the content manager volunteer could not join on time, Hari stepped in to prepare the content for the site. As a result, the site was ready well within the deadline, and the non-profit was happy and grateful!

Vridhi Foundation: https://vridhifoundation.org/:

A screenshot of the Vridhi Foundation website created by the do_action Karnataka 2021 team.

N Suresha (project manager), along with Hussna Hussain (content writer) and UC Riyaz (designer) built the website for Vridhi Foundation. Makarand Mane helped with the multilingual translation plugin, the theme, and the required templates. Prem Tiwari set up the site and provided technical support during the development, as well. Together, the team worked in synergy to burn the midnight oil and deliver the site for the non-profit, which formally launched the same in a function at their premises, on August 15th!

Representatives of the Vridhi Foundation at their website launch event on August 15, 2021

Since representatives of Luv Kush foster home were out of the country during the hackathon, they couldn’t collaborate to give the content and the photos for the website. Most of the technical groundwork for their website is done, and it will formally be launched once the non-profit provides content for the teams.

The hackathon would not be possible without the support of our kind sponsors who provided hosting, domain names, WordPress plugins/themes, and post hackathon support guarantees for all the non-profits. A big thanks to all of them! Our sponsors include:

Give WP – Who kindly sponsored a premium license for their flagship donation plugin
Yoast – Who kindly sponsored a premium license for their SEO plugin
Themeisle – Who provided premium licenses for their theme
WP Job Openings – Who provided a license for their job board plugin
WPGenius – Who provided a translation plugin, templates, and themes
Prem Tiwari – Who has offered post-hackathon tech support for non-profits
Bluehost India – Who provided hosting and domain names for all three non-profits

In addition to our sponsors, I wish to thank all stakeholders who helped make our event a grand success — especially our team of passionate volunteers and organizers who battled several personal challenges and a global pandemic to build an ever-lasting online presence for non-profits. Special thanks to the WordPress Foundation for supporting these do_action charity hackathons which empower non-profits across the globe, especially in these tough times.

As we were wrapping up the event on the final day of the hackathon, I asked our team of organizers and volunteers one question: “Despite all the challenges, would you do this again?” They all answered in one resounding voice: “YES!” 🙂

On behalf of the do_action Karnataka 2021 Organizing team,
Yogesh Londhe

Feeling inspired, already? You can use WordPress for social good, by organing a do_action charity hackathon in your own city! Check out our handbook for more information. It just takes five minutes to fill out the application form. So why wait? Apply now!

Answering FAQs on WordPress Trademarks and their usage

The WordPress Foundation owns and manages trademarks for the WordPress and WordCamp names and logos. Over the years, many people have approached us with questions on WordPress trademarks and how to use them. This blog post aims to address some of the most common questions and clarify the usage of WordPress trademarks.

Can I use “WordPress” in my name?

Strictly speaking, you cannot use “WordPress” in your website name or your product name. As mentioned in the WordPress Foundation trademarks page:

Permission from the WordPress Foundation is required to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo as part of any project, product, service, domain name, or company name.

The purpose of trademark law is to keep others from using or misusing a trademarked name or logo. But it cannot stop them from picking it up. Sometimes, people use “WordPress” in their name, title, URL, or username when “WordPress” really does not belong there. However, such uses of the trademark violate the WordPress trademark nevertheless, and cannot be allowed.

What is the actual trademark Policy?

You can find the entire written Trademark policy on the Trademarks policy page of this website. In short, the purpose of this policy is to make it easy for anyone to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo for community efforts that spread and improve WordPress. It also aims to make it difficult for anyone to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo to trick or confuse people looking for official WordPress or WordCamp resources. When you are in doubt, ask yourself this question: “Is this an “official” WordPress event or resource?” If the answer is “no,” then you should leave the trademarked name “WordPress” or “WordCamp” out of it.

Does this mean I cannot build something for WordPress?

NO. The trademark policy does not restrict people from building anything for WordPress. WordPress, both the software and the community surrounding it, is open source. It takes all kinds of contributors to create, build, support, maintain, educate, and energize WordPress. But it does mean if you are creating something within the WordPress space that is not officially part of the WordPress project, you should not use the name “WordPress” to name it. However, you can use an alternative name like “WP” instead of “WordPress” for your products.

I was unaware of the Trademark policy and already created something using “WordPress” in the name or the URL. What do I do now?

If you happen to be in that position and you want to figure out how to fix things, please feel free to reach out to trademarks@wordpressfoundation.org (or send us a message through the contact form on this site), and someone will help you bring your site, event, or product into compliance with the WP Trademark.

Does the trademark policy apply to WordPress swag?

Yes. Using the WordPress logo in products or any sort of swag is not permitted. Without express permission from WordPress Foundation, you cannot sell WordPress goods or co-brand your goods to make them seem affiliated with WordPress.

However, WordPress swag (shirts, stickers, bags, hand sanitizer, stuffed animals, sweatshirts, mugs, cups, pencils… to name a few) – given out at a WordCamp is okay. Branded WordPress swag from sponsors at a WordCamp is also allowed. This is because the swag is being given out for free (not for profit) at an official WordPress event, and has been approved. You can also find approved WordPress swag in the official WordPress swag store.

Reading all this, I realize someone I know is not in compliance with the Trademark. What should I do?

The first thing is to remember that this person could be unaware they are not complying with the trademark. We want to assume good intent whenever possible. You can talk to them about it if you feel comfortable or even just share the trademark policy with them. Alternatively, you can submit information to the Trademarks contact form on the site or send an email to trademarks@wordpressfoundation.org and let someone there do the work of assuming good intent and reaching out to them.

I have already reported this site/thing/person, and nothing has been done!

The process of resolving trademark issues takes a while, so we have assigned more bandwidth to speed up the process. If you have reported something in the past, know that it is being worked on in the coming months. If you are worried that it got lost, you are welcome to send it in again.

Is there anything I can do to help?

The biggest help anyone in WordPress can give is to respect the Trademark themselves. I know that it seems like passive work for many, and you may be looking to do something actively. Being an active and respectful part of a community is a big help, though.

This post is based on Part 1 and Part 2 of the “Can I use “WordPress” in my product name?” Tuesday Training from @camikaos in the Make WordPress Communities blog.

18 years of WordPress

On this very day 18 years ago (May 27th), the first version of the WordPress open source software came out. WordPress has come a long way in the past 18 years. At the time of writing this blog post, WordPress has surpassed 40 releases and powers more than 40% of the web!

Check out these 40 key milestones in the WordPress journey towards 40% of the web!

WordPress and the Journey to 40% of the Web

One of the critical milestones in this journey is the establishment of the WordPress Foundation in January 2010. The foundation aims to ensure free access, in perpetuity, to WordPress and the software projects we support. People and businesses may come and go, so it is essential that the source code for these projects will survive beyond the current contributor base. This will ensure that we have a stable platform for web publishing for generations to come. As part of this mission, the Foundation will protect WordPress, WordCamp, and related trademarks.

A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the WordPress Foundation pursues a charter to educate the public about WordPress and related open source software. We regularly host educational programs like charity hackathons and open source educational events. These programs are made possible through the help of generous donations from our donors.

If WordPress has helped you in any way during the past 18 years, kindly consider donating to the WordPress Foundation. Money raised by the WordPress Foundation will be used to ensure free access to supported software projects, protect the WordPress trademark, and fund various programs. In short – your donations will go a long way in helping the WordPress project. You can either make a one-time donation or choose to donate annually. If you sign up for any one of the four annual subscription plans, you will be featured on our Donors page – as a token of our gratitude for supporting education programs about WordPress and open source.

Donate

WordPress would not exist without its team of global contributors that help build the software. The best way to give back to WordPress is to help us build it! You need not be a developer to give back to WordPress – some other ways to contribute to the project include translations, support, community, documentation, and marketing, to name a few. In other words – anyone and everyone can contribute to WordPress, and we strongly encourage you to do so!

Thank you for your support of WordPress over the past 18 years. Your continued patronage will ensure that WordPress will keep going for the next 18 years and beyond!

Announcement: Upcoming live discussion on do_action charity hackathons

This live discussion has concluded. You can find a video recording of the live discussion on this post or watch it directly on YouTube and on WordPress.tv. Captions and a full transcript of the video will be made available shortly.

Over the past few months, many community organizers have expressed interest in organizing do_action charity hackathons and asked many questions about the event to Community deputies. In order to address these questions – some members of the WordPress Community are organizing a live Tuesday Training discussion on How to organize do_action charity hackathons!

Hari Shanker, Hugh Lashbrooke, Naoko Takano, and Yogesh Londhe – who are all experienced do_action hackathon organizers, will participate in this Live discussion on do_action charity hackathons. The event, which will be streamed LIVE on the WordCamp Central YouTube channel on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 02:00 UTC, is open to all! Community members can also participate in the discussion by asking questions in the live chat, which will be answered by the panelists live, during the session!

What are do_action charity hackathons?

do_action hackathons are community-organized events that are focused on using WordPress to give deserving charitable organizations their own online presence. Each do_action event includes participants from the local WordPress community coming together to plan and build brand new websites for a number of local organizations in one day. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, do_action hackathons have moved online.

In this session, we talk about do_action events, and their importance in this post-pandemic world, and on how to effectively organize an online do_action hackathon.

Watch the discussion!

The live discussion has concluded, but you can catch a recording of the session below.

Date and time: Tuesday April 13, 2021, 02:00 UTC (Click to view in your local time)
You can sign up for notifications on the YouTube live link below!

~~In case the timing is off, and if you will not be able to join the live event, fret not! The event recording will be available on YouTube, and will soon be uploaded to WordPress.tv as well!~~
As mentioned above, while the live discussion has concluded, don’t forget to check out the recording of the live discussion above. We are working on adding captions for the video and will share a transcript of the same, shortly.

We hope that this session was useful. We strongly encourage you to organize a do_action charity hackathon to support your local non-profits by giving them a WordPress-powered online presence. Thank you for all that you do to support the global WordPress Community!

5 tips for organizing a successful online do_action charity hackathon

In 2020, unfazed by the COVID-19 pandemic, community organizers rallied together and worked hard to give a WordPress-powered web presence for charities through online charity hackathons. Our passionate and resilient community members are pulling out all stops this year to continue the good work. We already have two applications for do_action events in the queue, with more in the pipeline! This post aims to encourage all our zealous organizers with tips on how best to organize successful online do_action charity hackathons.

Recruit a core team and prepare an event plan
Enlist a team of 5-10 members to wrangle the event. Much like a WordCamp, organizers need to plan do_action events down to the last detail. Make sure you have a plan for the entire event lifecycle – including selecting nonprofits, finding volunteers, finding sponsors, task management, and execution. For inspiration, check out how the do_action Japan team came up with a plan for the event beforehand! Having a solid communication strategy and setting deadlines is equally important. Finding answers to questions like: “When do volunteer teams meet?”, “How often should there be check-ins?”, “How do we track tasks?”, “How do we measure progress?” and “ What deadlines do we need to meet?” for instance, will help in devising a strategy.
Finding non-profits and volunteers
Finding eligible non-profits for your event could be a challenge. When your event publishes the call for non-profits, share it widely on social media. Since this is a charitable event, we have noticed that getting PR from local news media outlets is a lot easier. You might also want to reach out to Non-profit organizations and offer assistance proactively. You can follow the same approach for volunteer recruitment too.
Fix your collaboration tools and communication strategy
Since this will be an online event, you will need the right collaboration tools to make the event successful. Please note: A doaction.org G Suite/Google Workspace account will be provided to all do_action event organizers in 2021 and beyond! Feel free to use that account for all your needs. Check out the handbook page for more information. Here are some tools that you can use for your event:
- doaction.org website (call for nonprofits & hackathon participants)
- Slack (overall event prep, communication on the event days) – A free plan will be sufficient.
- Zoom (event organizer & inter-team meetings, opening/closing remarks) – WordPress Community zoom accounts can be used.
- Google Workspace tools (provided to all 2021 organizers in the location@doaction.org format) – Gmail (inquiries & sponsor communication), Google Forms (call for organizers & sponsors, post-event survey), Google Sheets (task & data management), Google Docs (collaborative editing of documents, Google Drive (for storage needs), and Google Slides (opening/closing remarks presentation)
- WordPress.com P2 – for task management
- Trello – for task management.
- Figma (design)
Finding sponsors
For online do_action events, organizers need not worry about venue or catering expenses. Hence, sponsorship benefits for these events can be passed along directly to non-profits. Most WordPress companies are passionate about supporting non-profits, and providing product/service licenses is a cost-effective way for them to support the community. Consider reaching out to specific companies as per your needs. Sponsorship benefits that do_action events in 2020 had availed include:
- Free domain and web hosting for non-profits
- Sponsored premium plugins and themes (Only 100% GPL Compliant themes and plugins are allowed)
- Sponsored website services (backups, caching, security, optimization, etc.)
Find a way to offer post-event support for non-profit websites
Make sure that once the event is over, each non-profit is trained on how to use and update the site. Perhaps a few volunteers could provide post-event support for a short while (while ensuring that the right expectations are set on both sides). Offering post-event support as a sponsorship benefit could also be a solution to that problem.

Does all of this sound exciting? Would you like to support your local community by organizing a do_action event? Send in your application right away! You can read more about do_action in the event handbook. Thank you for all that you do to support the global community through WordPress.

The Basic principles of Open-source Software

The WordPress Foundation aims to educate the public about WordPress and related open-source software (OSS). Towards that end, the WordPress Foundation created the Introduction to Open-source workshops, which shed more light on the potential of open-source software, particularly in countries where there is less participation in OSS projects. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these workshops have moved online. The WordPress Foundation hopes to see more open-source workshops held online this year to help spread awareness about the importance of open-source software.

What are open-source software and Free Software?

Open-source software is software whose source code is available for anyone to view, modify and enhance. Free software refers to software that complies with “four essential freedoms” – to use, study, modify and distribute software for any purpose without legal restraint. Open-source software is characterized by the public accessibility of its code, while free software focuses on the capabilities for using and sharing the software.

Advantages of Free and Open-source Software over Proprietary software

Proprietary software is distributed in executable files where the source code is encrypted and not available. Free and Open-source software enables users to read and modify the code, thus allowing a host of advantages such as little (or no) cost, faster distribution, greater customization, and easy availability of bugs and security patches, to name a few.

The Introduction to Open-source workshops cover the difference between different software types, the history of open-source software, its advantages over proprietary software, and how this applies to WordPress. The workshop also explains the differences between free and Open-source software and highlights the different types of software licenses.

Want to learn more about Free and Open-source software? Participate in an Introduction to Open-source workshop!

There are four ways you can participate in an Introduction to Open-source workshop!

You can attend the Introduction to WordPress workshop from the comfort of your home! Learn WordPress now features an Introduction to Open-source video workshop that you can watch at your convenience.
Community members can also now host or participate in Introduction to Open-source workshop discussion groups in the Learn WordPress meetup group for a global audience. Sign-ups are now open for the following two discussion groups:

If you would like to host an Introduction to Open-source discussion group for a global audience, please apply to become a discussion group facilitator.

WordPress Meetup groups worldwide are also encouraged to organize an Introduction to WordPress watch party + discussion group (based on the Learn WordPress workshop on Introduction to Open-source) as part of their meetup (it does not need any prior approval).
Lesson plans for the Introduction to Open-source workshops are available! Meetup group organizers can plan their live open-source workshop based on the lesson plans.

The WordPress Foundation invites community members across the world to join these open-source workshops and to organize workshops and discussion groups in their communities to help spread our mission of serving the public good with the help of Open-source software.

Meetup groups organizing Introduction to Open-source workshops will be featured on this website. All you need to do is to reach out to us with a brief write-up about your workshop along with pictures, and we’ll publish them here!