Build a Home for Your Local Drupal Community

Local Drupal associations play a vital role in strengthening the Drupal ecosystem by supporting regional communities, organizing events, and promoting the use of Drupal. If your country or region doesn't yet have an association, starting one is a rewarding way to connect local users, developers, and organizations.

This page outlines the key steps, tasks, and timeline for setting up a local association worldwide.

Key Responsibilities of a Local Association

Before diving in, it's helpful to understand what a local Drupal association typically does:

  • Community Building: Bring together Drupal enthusiasts, developers, users, and agencies through events, meetups, and online discussions.

  • Event Organization: Plan and host regional DrupalCamps, training days, contribution sprints, or social gatherings.

  • Communication & Advocacy: Maintain a website and social media presence to promote Drupal and your local activities.

  • Fundraising & Sponsorships: Develop partnerships with local agencies or businesses to support events and initiatives.

  • Governance: Manage the legal and operational structure, including a board of directors, statutes, and finances.

Timeline and Deliverables

Phase 1: Initiate 

  • Find a core founding team of 3–5 committed individuals

  • Initial meeting with interested community members

Phase 2: Define & Plan 

  • Define your mission, goals, and scope.

  • Research legal requirements for associations in your country.

  • Decision on legal entity structure (e.g., non-profit, foundation, etc.)

  • Decide on your governance structure (e.g., chair, treasurer, secretary).

  • Draft of association statutes or bylaws. You can reach out to other associations for examples.

  • Create a roadmap for the first 12 months

Phase 3: Register & Launch 

  • Legally establish the association.

  • Build a basic online presence.

  • Begin outreach to members and potential sponsors.

  • Create a Website (consider using the NEDA shared website project)

  • Presence on Drupal.org, Drupal Slack and/or social media

  • First public event or meetup scheduled

Phase 4: Grow & Operate 

  • Host your first events and build your member base.

  • Establish recurring board meetings and member communications.

  • Report back to your community on goals and finances.

  • Seek Sponsorship or partnership.

  • Set up annual budget and basic financial management practices.

  • Progress report to members or the community, e.g by a newsletter, slack updates or other means.

Support and Resources

You're not alone! Several resources can support you:

  • Talk to other associations, for example via the Drupal Slack channel for European Associations #europe-local-assoc

  • Connect with other associations and/or NEDA to join coordination calls and share your questions

  • Reuse tools and templates from other associations (statutes, sponsorship packages, event planning checklists)

Let’s grow Drupal together—locally and across the World.