Category: WordCamp

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!

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.

Update: Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2020

The WordCamp US organizing team has recently made the difficult decision to move WCUS 2020 online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship is intended to provide travel assistance to a woman-identifying contributor with financial need who has never attended WordCamp US before, we will not be issuing the scholarship this year. When it is safe to meet in person, we will resume the scholarship once again for future, in person, WordCamp US events. 

Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2020

MAY 8, 2020 UPDATE: Because WordCamp US 2020 will be online, we will not be issuing the scholarship this year.

The WordPress Foundation will once again offer the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship. Kim was a valued and committed contributor to the WordPress open source project, and this is the WordPress Foundation’s way of honoring her memory. This scholarship will be awarded to one woman-identifying WordPress contributor who has never attended WordCamp US before, and requires financial assistance to attend.

The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship provides travel 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.  

To be considered, please apply no later than Friday, May 29, 2020 at 12 am Pacific.

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

Click here to apply for the scholarship.

Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2019

The WordPress Foundation is once again offering the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship, a travel assistance program. Kim was a valued and committed contributor to the WordPress open source project, and this is the WordPress Foundation’s way of honoring her. This scholarship will be awarded to a woman-identifying WordPress contributor who has never attended WordCamp US before, and requires financial assistance to attend.

The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship is awarded to one recipient every year, and covers travel to WordCamp US from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.  

To be considered, please apply no later than Friday, May 31, 2019 at 12 am Pacific.

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


Click here to apply for the scholarship.

WordPress Foundation: An End-of-Year Snapshot

Howdy! The WordPress Foundation filed taxes for 2012 recently, and we’d like to talk about how we pursued the Foundation’s charter to educate the public about WordPress and supported opportunities for people to get involved in web publishing and open source projects across the globe.

In 2012, the WordPress Foundation provided support and guidance for a total of 67 WordCamps, organized by volunteers in communities all over the world. There were 22 WordCamps in cities or countries that had never had a WordCamp before — exciting! The WordPress Foundation supported 43 WordCamps by acting as their legal and financial entity in 2012. Not only does this provide legal protection in case an organizer is sued, but it also makes it possible for anyone, no matter what their financial situation, to organize a WordCamp, and protects organizers from getting into tax trouble with their respective governments.

Of the Foundation’s total revenue, the majority related to WordCamps that used the WordPress Foundation as their financial entity (43 in all):

  • $345,020 — Corporate sponsorship donations to WordCamps (59% total revenue).
  • $228,132 — WordCamp ticket sales (39% total revenue).
  • $9,343 — Individual sponsorship donations to WordCamps (1.6% total revenue).
  • $3,298 — Donations unrelated to WordCamps (0.6% total revenue).
  • $528 — Royalty income (0.09% total revenue).

Total Foundation’s expenditures equalled $580,161, as detailed below:

  • $525,361 (91%) related to WordCamps that used the WordPress Foundation as their financial entity.
  • $32,741 (6%) related to WordPress.tv content production.
  • $22,059 (3%) related to operational expenses.

Unsurprisingly, major WordCamp expenses were concentrated in venue and food & beverage.

Expense

Percentage of total expense

Average
Food & beverage, including after-parties and speaker events $216,003 41% $4,214
Venue rental $150,347 29% $3,348
Event tees and other swag* $93,208 18% $2,163
Travel scholarships** $26,952 5% N/A
Printing & signage $19,276 4% $448
International WordCamp grants*** $7,054.47 1% $164
Furnishing rentals $6,390.79 1% $149
Insurance $5,280.98 1% $123

*  Classified as advertising and promotion on tax documents.

** The WordPress Foundation occasionally provides travel scholarships to commit-level contributors who require assistance to travel to WordCamps and speak. Also, in 2012, the WordPress community organized its first Contributor Summit, which included approximately $20,000 of travel scholarships for attendees who could not afford to attend the summit otherwise.

*** The WordPress Foundation helped some 2012 WordCamps that didn’t use the Foundation as their financial entity by forwarding corporate sponsorship payments from companies unable to send them money directly.

The WordPress Foundation also supported the publishing of 431 videos from WordCamps held in 2012 to WordPress.tv by providing video camera kits to WordCamps. These kits include an HD camcorder, tripod, external microphone, SD cards, and a hard case for shipping. We covered the cost of shipping the video camera kits from WordCamp to WordCamp and added seven video camera kits to our collection: two new kits in the US (for a total of eight kits in the US), three in Canada, and two in the EU. 445 WordCamp videos were posted to WordPress.tv in 2012, almost double the number from 2011.

The total expenditure of this program was $32,741:

  • Video Kit Shipping: $6,526
  • Video Kits & A/V Equipment: $9,605
  • Video Processing or Videography: $16,610

Major Foundation operational expenses included:

  • Legal and accounting fees: $7,115
  • Paypal fees: $6,648
  • Meetup.com dues for WordPress meetups: $4,500
  • Banking fees (which allow us to execute international wire transfers): $2,341

We hope to publish 2013 data sometime in the first half of 2014. We’re so happy with the way the WordPress community is growing!

WordPress.tv in 2013: Video Selections

There’s always something new on WordPress.tv, from keynote presentations to behind-the-scenes looks at recent WordCamps all over the world. Here, we’ve compiled some great videos uploaded this year, primarily of first-time presenters at WordCamps. You’ll find an assortment of topics, so dive in — there’s something for everyone.

Kronda Adair — WordCamp Portland 2013
WordPress DevOps Power Hour
Kronda introduces Capistrano, what you can do with it, and what it takes to get started using it. She also provides starter resources to help you get going with automated deployments.

Nicole Rose Dion — WordCamp Reno-Tahoe 2013
Integrating Social Media Into WordPress
Nicole discusses how to make it easy for visitors to engage with your site socially, and how to make sure you’re tracking everything with Google Analytics.

Mark Tilly — WordCamp Reno-Tahoe 2013
How Content Curation Makes You a Better Writer
Mark covers the essentials of content curation and explains how, with regular practice, this type of content can enhance your site and improve your own writing.

Steph Yiu — WordCamp Providence 2013
VIP Tools for Writers and Editors
Steph’s presentation shares plugins an editorial team at a small publication can use to get the VIP treatment.

Kyle Unzicker — WordCamp Grand Rapids 2013
My First 414 Days as a Freelancer: A Retrospective
Kyle’s talk is a straightforward and candid retrospective of the first 414 days as a freelancer.

Alison Barrett — WordCamp Phoenix 2013
Advanced Actions and Filters
In this session, Alison talks about actions and filters, and covers some lesser-known yet useful WordPress hooks. She discusses creating and using your own hooks when making theme frameworks, parent themes, and plugins.

Michelle Weber — WordCamp Phoenix 2013
Zero to Hero: Customization, Content, and Community
Michelle offers an overview on getting started on WordPress.com, covering site customization, creating content, and becoming part of the blogging community.

Andrea Tetrault — WordCamp Winnipeg 2013
Ride. Write. Repeat.
Andrea talks about blogging on WordPress within her niche and the relentless use of social media.

Lindsay Branscombe — WordCamp Providence 2013
Navigating the Forest of E-commerce: A Guided Tour
Here, Lindsay talks about developing an e-commerce site.

Interested in upcoming WordCamps? Browse the WordCamp schedule. Don’t see your city on the list? Check out what it takes to become an organizer.

WordCamps and Such

Howdy! This blog has been quiet but the Foundation has been busy and I want to catch you up on what’s been going on.

WordCamps: world-wide

Since spring 2012, WordCamps have been held everywhere from Seoul to Seattle, Bucharest to Boston, and Vegas to Vancouver. (Vancouver also hosted BuddyCamp, the first event to be focused entirely on BuddyPress). If you’re interested and passionate about WordPress — whether you’re a blogging newbie or a professional developer — you could certainly trek the globe from camp to camp.

Something we’ve been doing experimentally is to remove the financial burden for WordCamp organizers and provide logistical support so they could focus more on their content and the community. WordCamp organizers can opt for the Foundation to manage their funds which allows WordCamp to use the Foundation as their financial and legal backer and:

  • removes the financial barrier to entry for organizers,
  • protects organizers from being sued,
  • protects organizers from having to answer any awkward questions from the IRS about why, for example, they ran a $15,000 conference through their web design business, and
  • protects WordCamps from embezzlement and fraud.

To date, people around the world have attended 207 WordCamps in 116 cities, 38 countries, and 6 continents. In October 2012 alone, 15 WordCamps were scheduled.

As we approach 2013, the events keep on coming.

Sessions available on WordPress.tv

Back in 2010, we bought the first video kits for use at WordCamps. In 2012, we provide camera kits not only to WordCamps in the US, but to events in Europe and Canada as well. It’s a wonderful program that ensures all sessions, including non-English language content, are published to WordPress.tv.

We’ve seen a steady increase in the number of WordCamp videos posted to WordPress.tv since 2007:

  • 7 in 2007.
  • 75 in 2008.
  • 337 in 2009.
  • 180 in 2010.
  • 271 in 2011.
  • 325 (ytd) in 2012.

Meetups: the WordPress world where you live

I love when people in a community who are interested in WordPress — from bloggers and business users to developers and consultants — get together to educate each other about WordPress at lectures, presentations, hacking meetups, and social gatherings. It shouldn’t cost anything beyond time for someone to run a WordPress meetup.

To help out now we have an official Meetup.com account and the Foundation covers the costs of Meetup.com organizer dues for groups who are part of the WordPress account. We’re reaching out to organizers to figure out how else we can offer financial support to local meetup groups.

In addition, we’re working on other community initiatives to support and expand local WordPress meetups by incorporating feeds from meetups in WordPress.org, expanding the video equipment program, helping meetup groups offer WordPress classes in their community, mentoring WordPress clubs at schools, and developing guides and support forums for new organizers.

Simply put, we’re very excited about the projects we’re working on and look forward to what’s next.