Oliver Sild, CEO of Patchstack, shared on X an email he received from WordCamp Central explaining why Patchstack’s application to sponsor WordCamp Europe 2025 was rejected.
The email, written by Felipe Santos, detailed a shift in the sponsorship process. It stated that “the Community team is transitioning from a first-come, first-served model to a new approach. While the sponsorship process will remain familiar, we are placing greater emphasis on contributions and the relationships companies maintain with the WordPress project. We recognize that this shift may feel frustrating, but sponsoring WordCamps is a privilege, and we aim to increase expectations in this area moving forward.”
Santos suggested that Patchstack pledge to Five for the Future as it “would be an excellent way to demonstrate commitment and build trust within the community.” He added that they will re-evaluate Patchstack’s eligibility “once significant contributions have been established.”
Sild countered that “the tier we applied to still has 6 spots open. I know companies who were accepted for sponsorship after we were rejected who also don’t have five for the future.”
Patchstack is a leading name in WordPress security with a mission to make open-source safer and raised $5 million in its Series A funding round last year. They published 76% of all known WordPress-related security vulnerabilities and became the largest CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) Naming Authority by volume in 2023. Their Zero-Day Bug Bounty Program awarded the highest bounty in WordPress history – $14,400- to John Blackbourn, who exposed a critical vulnerability in the LiteSpeed Cache plugin last month.
Sild also shared that Patchstack contributed to Five for the Future till the person who pledged the hours via Patchstack left the company. Sild also highlighted Patchstack’s other contributions – reporting vulnerabilities in plugins and ensuring the security of the ecosystem, and