Recent events in the WordPress community have sparked discussions about the platform’s sustainability and the role of contributors in its development. Amidst these conversations, Dave Grey and Andrew Palmer have emerged with a project that aims to address these concerns: FundWP.
FundWP is not just another fundraising initiative; it’s a call for a more balanced and transparent funding model for WordPress. The project’s core mission is to ensure that individual contributors, who are the backbone of WordPress, are adequately compensated and incentivized for their work.
“We just need to be logical about where the money flows to get the most benefit for everyone involved, not just the big players.”
FundWP is a project that supports sustainable and independent funding for the WordPress project. In their post, ‘Proposal for Establishing The WordPress Growth Foundation‘, Andrew writes, “By establishing The WordPress Growth Foundation, we can ensure that funding for individual contributors is distinctly managed, providing a clear pathway for compensating and incentivizing developers who drive the platform forward. This separation from the existing foundation and leadership addresses current limitations in financially supporting individual contributors”.
No matter which side of the WP Engine vs. Automattic fight you are on, any movement that can give more balance into the hands of voluntary contributors is a good thing.
The heart of FundWP lies in its commitment to community involvement. It seeks to create a platform where contributors, regardless of their size or influence, can actively participate and contribute to the growth of WordPress. The project also aims to foster a sense of transparency and accountability by clearly outlining how financial contributions will be utilized.
FundWP’s vision extends beyond financial compensation. It also seeks to recognize and reward contributors through various means, such as acknowledging their work on the FundWP website and potentially featuring them in podcasts or other media.
I sat down with Dave & Andrew to get more insights about the direction of the project:
Background & Vision
Q. Can you both share your journey in the WordPress ecosystem? What inspired you to create FundWP, and how has your personal experience in WordPress influenced the mission behind it?
Dave: Journey – My commercial interests in WordPress started back in Jan 2022 when I started as a reseller, taking on several clients for a creative agency I’d been supporting for a number of years. In 2023 I progressed into site refreshes after being referred a potential client from a well known female co-founder in the plugin space. Then this year I got into the plugin business. Inspired – Andrew covered a lot of common sense ideas in his WPLDN presentation and I decided why not get the ball rolling with a nice simple name. Fund WordPress! I’ve been using various open source tools / platforms for years and like many never thought about the money trail (or people) behind it, and kind of took it for granted, until now.
Andrew: It was Dave’s idea but he knew my position on wanting to pay contributors so we had to start somewhere
Q. How did the two of you come together for this project, and what made you decide that now is the right time to launch FundWP?
Dave: I spotted Andrew talking about a favourite coffee shop on X and asked if he lived nearby, it turned out (by UK standards) he was, so we met up for a chat and chewed the fat on some product ideas. The best time to launch something was months ago, the second best is today. FundWP has been live for a whole month, so Andrew pipped it to the post on the issues behind the control of WordPress. Must be hiding a crystal ball somewhere (or been in the industry long enough to see which ways the winds are blowing).
Andrew: I sold all my Divi plugins to Dave so we got to know each other over Tea and Cakes because we live near each other and Dave is a cake freak! I’m a full english breakfast kinda guy.
Q. What specific events or challenges led you to realize that independent funding for WordPress was necessary?
Dave: Hearing the background of Andrews WPLDN talk. I’d always been confused on the .ORG and .COM side, and hearing the other details made it sound even more confusing. That many smoke and mirrors isn’t good for any system that millions of people rely on. Is it too big to fail? Hopefully. Would it pass due diligence from a large business? Probably not as it is currently.
Andrew: Just the whole set up of dot org, automattic and the foundation, it’s just so confusing. I have ALWAYS known MM owned dot org independently of anything else. I was surprised that other people in our space were, well, surprised.
Core Mission & Challenges
Q. WordPress has grown massively over the past 21 years. What are the key funding challenges that you believe threaten the sustainability of the platform?
Dave: Getting the right amount of money to the people on the ground doing the leg work, and clearly seeing where any money is being spent. People will burn out and give up if they are taken for granted, given a lot of them build on WordPress as well so it helps them out but everyone has limited, which has been clearly seen recently.
Andrew: I don’t think funding per se is an issue as there is Matt and Automattic. As Matt has stated many times this past week, it’s a people issue, WordPress needs hands on deck. My opinion is – OK, well pay them then!
Q. What gaps do you see in how WordPress is currently funded, especially when compared to proprietary platforms like Shopify or Wix?
Dave: As per Andrews comment. It needs a clear governance board that’s looking out for the platform, not one persons ideas of what everyone wants.
Andrew: It’s all on the shoulders of one man – in the main – that is never a good thing.
Q. How does FundWP aim to balance the funding needs of WordPress while preserving the open-source nature of the project?
Dave: While the Foundation is the primary focal point currently, there are other initiatives like the WP Community Collective that is doing more hands on direct funding that could also be championed. Let people putting money forward know about their options and vote with their credit cards.
Andrew: Spread the WordPress word – offer people that have other suggestions and or funding operations a way in and to broadcast that too.
FundWP’s Strategy & Approach
Q. Can you walk us through how the funding mechanism of FundWP will work in practice? How will contributions flow into WordPress through agencies, freelancers, hosts, and premium developers?
Dave: When I first suggested setting up FundWP, neither of us wanted to handle any money. Instead, we want to provide awareness of the different ways people / businesses could direct it to where it can make a difference. Initially this was directly to the Foundation, but since then we’ve also learnt about The WP Community Collective that directly funds individual contributions and community based initiatives. I hope that over time there may be similar funding groups, which would be transparently run, providing funded support for developers time. Perhaps on a project by project basis, allowing support for Core but excluding Gutenberg. Any money generated would be paid directly by the various businesses to the particular fund, however it would be nice for FundWP to know how successful efforts have been.
Andrew: FundWP is not a funding mechanism, rather its a voice for funding mechanisms. We have to make sure people who contribute are paid and paid well. Matt has all sorts of reasons (excuses) for not paying people to do the essential work for contributing. It has to start somewhere.
Q. What kind of response have you received from the WordPress community, especially freelancers and smaller agencies, regarding FundWP’s mission?
Dave: After speaking to a couple of independent plugin developers they have been supportive and understand the purpose. Suggestions of how to spread the word via “badges of honor” on supporting plugins in the repo were also suggested to highlight that they are doing their part to give back.
Andrew: Very Positive, in fact some people are saying this should have been done long ago.
Q. You mention that large enterprises are well-supported while smaller agencies struggle. How does FundWP aim to level the playing field?
Dave: In an ideal world if you are making a huge chunk of cash you should channel some of that back to help further growth that benefits the whole ecosystem. If you are only making a little bit then by all means do what you can even as any positive contribution is good.
Andrew: Obviously the large agencies are hopefully doing well. If they make money from WordPress then they should damn well contribute – it’s that simple.
Q. How do you plan to handle potential concerns about transparency and accountability when it comes to financial contributions?
Dave: We are keeping clear of any money going to support the various funds. If in the future FundWP itself requires some support to cover additional costs beyond domain renewal / hosting account, like newsletter mailing lists etc and offers sponsorship then these would be clearly documented. For now I can self fund it via my own pocket as my little part of helping to give back.
Andrew: As we are not collecting anything, that is up to the actual mechanisms.
Community Involvement & Compensation
Q. What are some ways FundWP plans to recognize and reward contributors in the WordPress community beyond financial compensation?
Dave: This part still needs to be fully planned in, but to start with a manually verified list of contributing supporters, be it hosting providers or independent plugin developers, could be listed on the FundWP site.
Andrew: Giving massive shouts out, maybe even a podcast or two – who knows, it was literally a midnight decision to go for it. It is most definitely a work in progress.
Q. Can you share more about the affiliate programs and other mechanisms that premium plugin and theme developers can use to contribute to FundWP?
Dave: Andrew said it best, developers can treat 5% as a cost of business to advertise their freemium plugin(s). Then once a quarter or so make a manual payment to the desired fund.
Andrew: Simple idea, easy to implement. If you’re using dot org for your freemium plugin or theme add an affiliate link and pay out 5% of your revenue earned if someone purchases via the dot org download.
Q. In what ways can the larger WordPress community, including beginners and smaller contributors, actively engage with and support FundWP?
Dave: Actions speak louder than words, and spreading awareness can help spur others to take action.
Andrew: Spread the word – that’s all we need. I was surprised to learn that seasoned devs didn’t even know about the foundation until they read one of our blog posts.
The Future of FundWP & WordPress
Q. What does success look like for FundWP in the next 5-10 years? How do you envision it impacting the future of WordPress development and community engagement?
Dave: Looking into my crystal ball, for a mixture of practical and wishful thinking ideas, I’d say we’d have a healthy email list letting interested people know about the most recently funded projects / developments so they can see where their money has gone. A nice independently run free + premium plugin directory (not code repo) for those plugin / theme devs who are giving back (with affiliate links in place). There are a lot of smaller plugins out there that don’t get visibility and this could help them as well. For agencies / resellers they could use the FundWP plugin to showcase what they have contributed back, and allow their end clients to chip in as well. Time will tell what ideas stick and which are impractical.
Q. Looking ahead, what are some potential hurdles FundWP might face, and how are you preparing to overcome them?
Dave: Before WCUS we only knew about the Foundation as a destination for donations, and hoped that over time the remit of what projects / people could be paid would open up to include additional areas. However given recent events and what / who can be funded we are revisiting this, which is why the WP CC is now linked from FundWP as they are more willing to support individuals directly for distinct items of work / contribution.
Andrew: Criticism of ONLY supporting the Foundation which is essentially MM But, we have opened it up now. We are a mere baby in this space and we are going to make mistakes that can easily be rectified.
Q. How do you see the relationship between FundWP and major WordPress stakeholders like Automattic and other large hosting providers? Do you anticipate collaboration or challenges with these players?
Dave: They are all invested in, or depend on WordPress in one way or another, so I’d hope for friendly collaboration. We aren’t going to ask anyone to contribute millions of dollars, but to take a look at what they currently do, or financially could do (or increase) over time.
Andrew: Friendly – why not, we are promoting WordPress and the funding thereof.
Personal & Broader Goals
Q. How do you personally hope that FundWP will change the perception of WordPress for freelancers and smaller agencies?
Dave: That we are all in this together, and a lot of small contributions can make a big financial difference. We just need to be logical about where the money flows to get the most benefit for everyone involved, not just the big players.
Andrew: I Hope we manage to educate people. It is still a community – no matter if MM wields his axe on people or companies that he doesn’t think contribute enough.
Q. For WordPress users and developers who may not be fully aware of the funding issues, what message would you want to convey about why FundWP matters to them?
Dave: I’d hope that it helps raise awareness that there shouldn’t be a single magic money tree behind it funding everything. People spend time working on the project and people have bills to pay. Money coming in at the top should trickle down to support all of the layers, not just the most visible.
Andrew: Support WordPress in any way you can. It’s helped millions of people and we should be aware of that.
Q. If you could ask every WordPress user to take one action today to support FundWP, what would it be?
Dave: Read Andrew’s posts and get behind them. There is a lot of money flowing around and contributors’ time should be paid for.
Andrew: Share that you want Contributors to be paid, that you want folks to realize the benefit of contributing and that you, as a freelancer or agency can see the benefits of either contributing or donating cash to whoever you feel will help make contributors valued in cash terms.
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FundWP is clearly a project born out of passion for the WordPress community and a genuine desire to see it thrive. While the challenges are significant, Dave and Andrew’s vision for a more balanced and sustainable funding model offers a glimmer of hope. It’s an important reminder that the heart of WordPress lies in its community, and by supporting initiatives like FundWP, we can all play a part in securing its future. It will be interesting to see how FundWP evolves in the coming years, and I, for one, am rooting for its success.
Dave can be reached at his website: OurWPPlugins.com or on Twitter: @friendlywebguy
Andrew can be reached at his website: Somebody’s Hero or on Twitter: @arniepalmer
