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Five for the Future: Why We Commit to WordPress’s Long-Term Health

Five for the Future turns reliance on WordPress into sustained, project-focused support. Learn what counts, how organizations pledge, and what the five-percent target means.
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We actively commit to WordPress’s Five for the Future initiative because the platform’s long-term health depends on people and organizations contributing to the project—not only relying on it. The program gives that commitment a practical shape: sustained work that supports Make WordPress teams and current project priorities. Its five-percent figure is an aspiration, not a participation requirement.

What Five for the Future asks participants to do

Launched in 2014, Five for the Future invites individuals and organizations to contribute time or sponsor resources in support of WordPress. The initiative frames this as an investment in the project’s long-term health and sustainability. In a 2022 post defining pledges and contributions, the WordPress project described the purpose this way: “Five for the Future exists to collaboratively invest in the health of the WordPress project, ensuring its long-term sustainability and success.” (WordPress.org: Five for the Future; WordPress project post, 2022)

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The initiative’s five-percent figure is a target for contribution, not a strict threshold. As the official About page puts it, “The 5% in Five for the Future is an aspirational target, not a strict requirement.” A commitment is better understood through the consistency and relevance of the work than through treating five percent as an eligibility test.

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Why an organization would make a sustained commitment

For organizations whose work depends on WordPress, contributing offers a way to support the platform they use while participating in the community shaping its direction. This connects practical business dependence with stewardship: healthy shared software benefits the broader ecosystem, not just any one user or company.

WordPress’s program materials identify potential opportunities for participating organizations, including staying informed about platform direction, developing or recruiting talent, connecting employees with a contributor community, and representing customer or client needs in project discussions. These are stated opportunities, not guaranteed outcomes or independently measured returns for every participant. (WordPress.org: Five for the Future; WordPress project post, 2022)

What counts as a contribution

Contribution does not mean code alone. Official examples span technical, educational, community, and operational work that supports WordPress project teams and priorities.

  • Core development, design, testing, and documentation
  • Theme and plugin review
  • Training and support
  • Community events and other community work
  • Translation and localization

The About page also describes a limited exception for contributions to official or community-supported themes, plugins, and blocks. The guiding principle is to choose work that directly supports the WordPress project and its current priorities, rather than counting any WordPress-related activity as a program contribution. (WordPress.org: Five for the Future; WordPress project post, 2022)

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How to make a pledge that is useful and credible

  1. Find a relevant team or priority. Look at the work underway across Make WordPress and match it to your team’s skills and capacity.
  2. Choose work you can sustain. Set a commitment that can continue over time; a clear, realistic contribution is more useful than an inflated pledge.
  3. Describe the commitment accurately. Be specific about the work and contributors involved, and avoid presenting the aspirational five-percent target as a requirement.
  4. Make the participation visible. Individuals can log in to WordPress.org, add contribution details to their profile, and check the public profile. Organizations can sponsor individuals or teams and submit an organization profile with contributor usernames and an administrator contact.

The official FAQ says organizations from any industry can participate if they are willing to support WordPress’s growth and development. (WordPress.org: Five for the Future; WordPress project post, 2022; WordPress Contributor Working Group, May 2024 update)

Formal pledge or casual contribution?

A formal pledge can make ongoing work more visible and accountable, but it takes more sustained effort. The official About page contrasts pledges with casual contributions as follows:

Approach Consistency and accountability Time and commitment Potential trade-off
Formal pledge More consistent and accountable Greater ongoing time commitment Can support skill development and sustainability, but may contribute to burnout if the commitment is unrealistic
Casual contribution Less reliable over time Flexible and lower barrier Easier to start, but provides less assurance of sustained support

These are differences in the program’s model, not a reason to overcommit. Match the format to the capacity available and make the work transparent.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

How to read the published figures

Program figures can help describe participation, but their dates and scope matter. The May 2024 update from the WordPress Contributor Working Group reported 7,926 hours pledged toward the initiative and noted that organization status had been checked. That is a historical snapshot, not a current pledge total. (WordPress Contributor Working Group, May 2024 update)

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The current WordPress.org initiative page reports around $8.8 million USD per year in Salesforce support for the Make/WordPress Slack instance, but does not state the estimate’s reference year. It should not be presented as a figure for a particular calendar or fiscal year. (WordPress.org: Five for the Future)

What our commitment does—and does not—claim

Our commitment is a way to contribute to the health of the open-source platform we depend on. The initiative offers a framework for making that support sustained, project-focused, and visible. WordPress’s stated benefits help explain why organizations may choose to participate, but they do not establish any particular organization’s motives, schedule, results, or return. Those claims should be grounded in that organization’s own records or statements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does our company have to contribute exactly 5%?

No. WordPress describes five percent as an aspirational target, not a strict requirement.

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