By jessie.golombiecki on

Jessie Golombiecki is the Marketing Manager at Mediacurrent and a member of the Promote Drupal committee.

While at DrupalCon Portland this past April, several agency leaders gathered together to talk about the future of Drupal. One topic discussed, and something Dries highlights annually in his blog, is how organizations support Drupal. Organizations of all sizes are making use of Open Source software at increasing rates (enjoying the benefits of higher quality, greater reliability, more flexibility, and lower costs) but sustaining Open Source continues to be challenging. 

Why Give Back to Drupal and Open Source 

Open Source software is built on the foundation of a community working together to scale and sustain it. The Drupal community, in particular, deeply relies on collaboration. The community is made up of thousands of contributors who are constantly innovating to build a superior Open Source Content Management System (CMS). 

In the Drupal community, there’s an amazing camaraderie that comes from contributing, but there are so many more benefits for organizations who give back to Open Source. During the discussion at DrupalCon, a few of the benefits we discussed included:

  • Higher quality software - Awareness leads to greater stability. When you’re an organization who uses specific Open Source software, it’s important to make sure it continues to run flawlessly in the future.
  • Recruiting - Top Open Source & Drupal talent want to work in a contrib-centric culture. Companies that create a culture of giving back will attract this talent. 
  • Free training for employees - People tend to learn best by hands-on experience. By contributing, staff are exposed to new concepts, new approaches, new techniques for completing tasks, and so much more.
  • Innovation - As a contributor to Open Source, you have the opportunity to steer the ship and influence the direction the software takes. You also have the ability to prototype and do faster release cycles.
  • Brand equity/marketing - Companies want to do business with other companies who give back. By taking a contrib-first approach, you’ll attract and win more opportunities. 
  • Corporate social responsibility - Using Open Source instead of proprietary alternatives often saves a business a significant amount of money. Many consider it a social responsibility to give back and support Open Source when they benefit from it.

How Organizations Can Give Back

Now onto the important part — how you can help. Whether you are an organization that uses Open Source platforms as part of your service or use Open Source solutions in your technology stack, there are several ways you can contribute. Here are a few ways you can start making contributing a priority for your organization:

  • Get leadership buy-in - Find an internal champion or small group of people who can champion giving back.
  • Align on the mission - Pair profit with purpose. Organizations that see the benefits and believe in the sharing and collaboration aspect of Open Source succeed best.
  • Provide staff dedicated time (during business hours) - Often, the reason for not giving back is lack of time. It can be helpful if an organization dedicates time (ideally on a weekly basis) for team members to contribute. 
  • Recognize contributions - Recognize employees, especially first-time contributors.
  • Create a contribution-first culture - While working on projects, think about what portions are custom and what could possibly be reused. For anything that can be reused, train your team on how to contribute these improvements. 
  • Work with organizations who are active contributors - By working with other companies who contribute, you are supporting the growth of Open Source. Pfizer and The State of Georgia are great examples of organizations who have prioritized working with companies who contribute to Drupal.
  • Encourage all team members to contribute - There is a place for both technical and non-technical team members to give back. Marketers can assist with event planning and overall strategy, designers can create mockups for Open Source site improvement or logos for specific features, and technical writers and trainers can improve documentation. 

Being a “Maker Versus a Taker”

Some of you may have heard Dries talk about makers versus takers in his writing or talks on Open Source. Simply put, makers invest in giving back to Open Source software while takers use Open Source without contributing back. 

Let’s say your organization is saving $100,000 by using Open Source over a proprietary solution. A maker might contribute back $50,000 through hiring staff members to contribute or giving financially to the Open Source organization. A taker might only give $5,000, putting themselves at a competitive advantage by benefiting from Open Source without investing. The Open Source community needs organizations with a maker mindset to continue innovating and improving Open Source solutions.

Diversifying the Open Source Community 

If you’re a part of the Drupal community, you can likely rattle off a handful of agencies and individuals who have been strong contributors for many years. Mediacurrent has always been a strong believer in giving back to Open Source and we take an Open Source approach in everything we do. Although it’s great to see the continued support of these organizations and individuals, we still need to diversify and grow this list of contributors to assure the future of Drupal.

The Drupal Association is making great strides in improving the contribution process, which will help, but as a community we need to continue to encourage participation from all Open Source users. The future of Drupal depends on it. 

Now is the Time to Give Back

You’ll always run into roadblocks when considering making the leap to creating a contrib-first culture, but the benefits far outweigh these challenges. Start asking yourself what your company can do to contribute. Maybe you start small and work towards dedicating more time and resources in the coming months. It takes a community to step up to make Drupal and other Open Source software scalable and sustainable.