Maintainer Month 2023: 42 events, 16 organizations, and one shared goal

May 2023 saw the open source community come together for Maintainer Month, a 31-day period of events, stories, and sponsorship drives aimed at the people who keep critical projects alive. Sixteen organizations coordinated 42 activities, from local meetups to international conferences, all centered on supporting and celebrating maintainers.

The month's offerings included:

  • 15 meetups, workshops and talks convening nearly 500 maintainers worldwide, including sessions like “Empowering Open Source Contributors and Building Future Leaders” with CHAOSS Project Africa.
  • 2 conferences: the Linux Foundation's Open Source Summit North America in Vancouver and JupyterCon in Paris, together drawing thousands of participants.
  • 24 podcasts and streams, featuring conversations such as “The journey to becoming a maintainer with Jessica Tegner” and a Sustain podcast episode on Maintainer Month with Predrag Gruevski and Kingsley Mkpandiok.
  • 27 maintainer stories published in the open library celebrating maintainers.
  • 2 corporate giving programs: Bloomberg's second round of FOSS Fund nominations and GitHub's sponsorship matching for organizations using Sponsors for Companies.

For maintainers: balance, mentorship, and succession

A recurring theme among maintainers this year was sustainability—not just of code, but of the people behind it. At the Maintainer Month wall at Open Source Summit North America, Anne Bertucio offered a shoutout to “all the two-maintainer libraries with 10,000 users,” acknowledging the outsized burden carried by tiny teams.

Duane O'Brien explored the concept of Critical Human Infrastructure, arguing that sustainable software depends on the people who build it. The SustainOSS team spoke with Bob Killen of the Kubernetes Steering Committee and Navendu Pottekkat of Apache APISIX about advancing contributors into larger maintenance roles. Killen discussed how he's investing in mentorship now to create a future where he can step back from leadership positions.

Kelsey Hightower shared his journey on the ReadME podcast, covering burnout avoidance, cultivating new leaders, and the value of showing up to inspire the next generation of technologists. Open Source Stories profiled Filippo Valsorda on the peculiarities of security maintainership, highlighting how essential saying “no” is to keeping projects secure.

For companies: funding maintainers now

Maintainer Month also served as a push for organizations to move from appreciation to financial commitment. The Changelog podcast hosted Duane O'Brien, Chad Whitacre, and Alyssa Wright on how companies can sponsor OSS, covering models for selecting projects and distributing funds. Bloomberg used the month to announce the second nomination round for its FOSS fund.

The Open Source Initiative encouraged people to consider sponsoring a maintainer or contributing to an open source project, and highlighted the vital role maintainers play in the context of the Cyber Resilience Act. Ockam also used the month to seek recommendations for maintainers and projects to sponsor, specifically those helping make software “secure by design.”

Carrying the momentum forward

Maintainer Month may be over, but the need for support isn't. Three practical steps can help keep the spirit alive through the rest of the year:

  1. Identify a maintainer whose work you rely on, and reach out to thank them or offer support through platforms like GitHub Sponsors.
  2. If you maintain a project yourself, consult the open source burnout checklist from governingopen.com and consider joining the Maintainer Community for advice. Perhaps most importantly: schedule a vacation.
  3. Share your own #MaintainerMonth memories to encourage others to recognize and support the people behind their favorite projects.

Maintainers build the foundation of modern software. Sustaining that work takes ongoing effort from everyone who depends on it.

Recognizing the community behind Maintainer Month

Maintainer Month 2023 wouldn't have been possible without the contributions of the many community members who helped organize events, create content, and spread the word about the importance of open-source maintainers. The following people played an essential role in making the program a success:

  • Meetup hosts and facilitators: @255kb, @AbhinavRajesh, @adamj89, @adamstac, @AndreaGriffiths11, @awright, @blackgirlbytes, @camaleyjennings1, @Carreau, @CBID2, @chadwhitacre, Courtenay Pope, @danielroe, @demetris11, @DuaneOBrien, @edwarnicke, @ElizabethN, Erica Allen, @ErikEJ, @FBoucher, @feranmiokafor1, @FiloSottile, @freakboy3742, @geekygirldawn, @iamkingsleey, @jerodsanto, @JessicaTegner, @jofftiquez, @kelseyhightower, Kristin O'Connell, @LucioMSP, @martinwoodward, @miguelraz, @mrbobbytables, @msbise, @msfussell, @mumoshu, @mvkaran, @navendu-pottekkat, @nerddiana, @nerdneha, @obi1kenobi, @olybeke, @pachicodes, @prathamshroff, @ricardomiron, @robbmapp, Roberto Perez, @sarahboyce, @shaunagm, @simonw, @slspencer, @ssalbdivad, @stormypeters, @tiangolo, Tiffany Cohen, @Trenly, @UlisesGascon, @UrielOfir, @Vlbryant, and @webchick.

Their efforts ranged from hosting virtual meetups and authoring blog posts, to recording podcast episodes and producing educational content. Each contribution helped raise awareness of the challenges maintainers face and the value they bring to the software ecosystem.

Advisory Council members

A dedicated Advisory Council guided the planning and execution of Maintainer Month 2023. Their experience across open-source communities, developer advocacy, and event coordination was instrumental in shaping the program's direction. The council members were:

  • @anajsana
  • @DuaneOBrien
  • @joshsimmons
  • @juliaferraioli
  • @melissawm
  • @RichardLitt
  • @Ruth-ikegah