An update on DrupalCon, April 24, 2020



Thank you to this awesome community for your patience as we navigate the effects of COVID-19 and its impact on our desire to gather at DrupalCon in Minneapolis in May. Canceling DrupalCon Minneapolis was the right decision, but it didn’t make it any less painful for all involved. Thank you to the volunteers, sponsors, staff, vendors, and attendees that supported DrupalCon Minneapolis along the way.

Now, more than ever, is the time to celebrate community and the power of open source. In the Drupal spirit of being flexible and adaptable, the Drupal Association is excited to announce DrupalCon Global: The Open Source Digital Experience Conference, online everywhere July 14-17, 2020.

An update on DrupalCon North America, March 31st 2020

I can only think of one way to begin this update, and that is to express my sincere gratitude. You have shown patience and understanding as I work with the Drupal Association team, our board of directors, and the Drupal Community to evaluate our options related to DrupalCon 2020. You have expressed your support in a myriad of ways, through kind messages, sharing ideas, and by reaching out to the community around you. You heard the call, when I outlined the negative financial impact this will have on the Drupal Association, and stepped up to pledge your support and make donations.

As I mentioned in my update to the Drupal Community, we are facing a negative financial impact as a result of not hosting DrupalCon North America as planned for this May in Minneapolis. We continue to need significant help in bridging the financial gap, and if you and/or your organization have the capacity to give, I would love to add you to our growing list of supporters.

So where do we stand today?

As I mentioned in the March 18th update, we won’t be hosting the event in May; that much is clear. We have been and are continuing to work through Plan B (and C, and D) to find a way forward that brings our community together while putting everyone's health and welfare first. Some of our major hotel contracts have shown flexibility, and we continue to work with the convention center around options. The situation evolves almost every day, as does the governmental guidance on both the federal and state level, and I’m hopeful we will be able to make additional progress around our alternate conference plan over the coming week.

As of today, postponement continues to be the best option that governmental guidance and contractual obligations will allow. Even with a postponed conference, it is unlikely that all of our scheduled presenters will be able to attend in person. For this reason, we are exploring options around virtual conference participation. Many other events, both within the Drupal Community and without have recently gone virtual. I invite you to share your experiences from those events and your ideas with us at help@drupal.org. I’m excited for the opportunity to highlight new voices that virtual participation could enable!

We will continue to update the community as the situation evolves, and as soon as it becomes possible to share a firm plan for the future of DrupalCon, we will share it.

To our DrupalCon sponsors, attendees, and volunteers: thank you! You continue to step up during this time of uncertainty, and you’re the reason I’m committed to bringing our community together - someway, somehow - in 2020.

There are so many people in our community who deserve our thanks right now - but for today's update, I want to share a particular thank you to the DrupalCon Minneapolis sponsors that have committed to keeping their dollars within the Drupal Association no matter what. We are currently at 76% of our goal to retain DrupalCon Minneapolis sponsorship dollars, which is crucial in preventing our projected deficit from growing further. Please join me in thanking the following organizations for their commitment to Drupal:



-Heather Rocker, Executive Director

The next DrupalCon North America update will likely be posted by April 24, 2020.



Read the March 25 Drupal Association Update

An update on DrupalCon North America, March 18th 2020

I want to thank you for your patience and support since my last update. As the DA team, my own family and I adapt each day to changes around us, I've heard many stories about the impact this pandemic is having on each of us. Leaning on each other and being together (virtually) helps me and, I hope, is helping you, too.

We talk about prioritizing health and safety, and those words have deeper meaning for me, and maybe for you as well. Many of you have reached out to encourage us to cancel or postpone DrupalCon North America this May, and you may be wondering why that hasn’t happened yet. Let me assure you that it’s not for lack of concern over this health crisis or lack of talented people working to solve the situation. We are working tirelessly on new plans for DrupalCon and our desire is to gather the Drupal community when it’s safe to do so.



So, why hasn’t this happened yet?

Despite current events, nothing has triggered “force majeure” contract cancellations in the eyes of our venue and hotel partners, which leaves us in financial and legal peril. You might wonder how that can be the case, with so many other events announcing cancellations. In many cases, it is because those events were scheduled earlier in the year than DrupalCon. As of now in Minneapolis, events that take place prior to May 10th may cancel or postpone. We are just outside of that window. If we cancel on our own accord without a clear governmental directive that applies to all aspects of the event, the Drupal Association may encounter serious legal consequences.

Regardless of our contract obligations, we don’t feel it is prudent to conduct DrupalCon at the currently scheduled date in May and our focus is on rescheduling.

We are working with Meet Minneapolis and the hotels to find an alternate date. We hope to have more news on our options very soon. It’s a complicated puzzle, and we are thankful for the support and expert advice we’ve been given along the way.

What I find so uplifting and reassuring is the outpouring of support from our community. It would be more than reasonable for the community to react from a place of fear and uncertainty, but instead we've heard your voices raised in support. And that support has come not only in word, but in action. As I mentioned before, DrupalCon North America provides a substantial amount of our funding; it is important for the Project and our community, including maintaining the Drupal.org infrastructure. Many sponsors and donors are reaching out: offering to keep their support in place regardless of what happens next. Individual members have been renewing early and increasing their membership level. In addition, many community groups and local associations have contacted me directly with similar support.

I ask you to join me in thanking the following on behalf of our Drupal community. These are some of the people whose concrete support in the past days we are especially grateful for, and I will continue to update this list as we receive your pledges of support.

Organizations

Associations

Individuals



- Heather Rocker, Executive Director

The next DrupalCon North America update will likely be posted March 31, 2020.



An update on DrupalCon North America, March 13, 2020

Watching the news unfold across the world has been difficult in recent weeks. The global community that makes Drupal a passionate and powerful project has never been closer in our thoughts. Here at the Drupal Association we've been tracking the situation daily, hearing your stories as well as experiencing the impact in our own lives. We've seen people across our community and beyond reaching out to support each other and have felt your support ourselves.

As you can imagine, we are working almost non-stop to keep up with the constant changes surrounding COVID-19. So, where do things stand right now? We are in “standby” status, exploring all of our options (including postponement) and hoping for increased flexibility with our contracts related to the conference. It's hard to wait in a time of uncertainty, but I’m asking you to wait with us a bit longer as we figure out these details. We understand the importance of DrupalCon’s role in bringing our community together, we care about the community, and we want to do the right thing. We are working diligently to craft a solution while keeping a focus on the health of our attendees and supporting public health in general.

The situation is complicated. We are working with the conference center, hotels, planners, lawyers, volunteers, vendors, and talented staff to navigate a path forward. Like many other events, we have to not only mitigate expenses but also think about revenue impact. DrupalCon North America provides a substantial amount of our funding; it is important for the Project and our community, including maintaining the Drupal.org infrastructure.

It’s been less than a year since I began my leadership role with Drupal, but one thing is crystal clear: the strength of Drupal is our community. Sponsors such as Lullabot and individual DA members are reaching out, unasked, to let us know of their unwavering support regardless of what happens next. Your messages and donations - small and large - are inspiring and so very much appreciated. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and understanding as we work through the next steps. Look for my next update here no later than March 18.

- Heather Rocker, Executive Director