Update to this post: Our vendor has been selected and our final fundraising goal has been set at $31,200. You can learn more about the entire project by attending The WPCampus Gutenberg Accessibility Audit session at WPCampus Online 2019.
Last month, WPCampus released a request for proposals to conduct an accessibility audit of the WordPress Gutenberg editor. This audit will help higher education institutions, and the whole WordPress community, make informed decisions about when and how to upgrade to the new editor.
We received numerous proposals and our selection committee is hard at work, reviewing and evaluating each and every one. We’re not ready to announce our selection, but we’re hoping to finalize the vendor and release an updated timeline for the audit soon.
We’re going to need your help to make it happen.
A professional accessibility audit is a large expense for a small nonprofit like WPCampus.
Accessibility is important to all of us in the WordPress community. We’re asking for your help to fund the audit and ensure this important research is completed.
Every dollar counts. If you’re willing and able to support this project, please consider donating.
Donate to fund the Gutenberg accessibility audit
Our initial fundraising goal
Here’s the awkward part: we don’t actually know how much money we need yet.
Each of the proposals we received approaches the audit a little differently, and each one comes with a different price tag. Until our selection committee chooses a vendor, we don’t actually know how much this will cost.
With that in mind, we’re setting a target fundraising goal somewhere in the middle, between the lowest and highest proposals: $30,000.
When we select a vendor, we’ll announce exactly how much the audit will cost. When you contribute, you’ll have the option of signing up for our newsletter, which will be the best source for updates.
If the final amount is more than what we raise, we may need to ask for more contributions. If we raise more than we need, we’ll designate the extra money for accessibility efforts like the following:
- Future accessibility audits (either of Gutenberg or of other parts of WordPress)
- Live captioning at our events
- Captioning all our recorded conference sessions and podcasts
- Accessibility professional development opportunities for WPCampus members
What you get when you donate
No fancy swag or Kickstarter-style rewards. But when the accessibility audit is complete, WPCampus will publish the final report, and any supporting documents, on its website. The report will be free and open to the public.
We’ll also post your name, company, or organization on our website to recognize and thank you for helping make this happen. You may also donate anonymously, if that’s your preference.
FYI: WPCampus is a nonprofit organization, but does not have 501c3 status. Your donation will not be tax deductible.
What happens next
We’re hoping to select and announce a vendor soon. Once that happens, we’ll update our fundraising goal and our project timeline. We’re still aiming to release the audit report by January 17, 2019, but that date may shift slightly as we work with the vendor.
Once the report is complete, we’ll be sharing its findings in as many different ways as we can. We want this to be useful for everyone in the higher ed and WordPress communities, whether you’re a designer, developer, manager, or content creator.
If that sounds useful to you (and we hope it does), please consider donating!
Donation form
The fundraising drive has ended. Visit the main audit page for more information.
This donation form is powered by the Give WordPress plugin. A big thank-you to Impress.org for donating a license.
Our Generous Donors
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