Allie Nimmons wrote a really good take on this question in last week’s issue of The Repository newsletter (scroll down), suggesting we should extend our idea of “what counts” as a 5FTF contribution, particularly for WordPress community-active people and volunteers who do a lot of “shadow work” (not this kind) that’s not counted currently:

I like to think of myself as an untraditional WordPress contributor. I spend a good amount of time advocating for and building resources around diversity, researching relevant industry issues, organizing WordPress events that aren’t WordCamps and meetups, and publishing content like newsletters, courses and podcasts. All these things widen the reach of WordPress and funnel more people into the project. Yet, when I visit my WordPress.org profile to look at how I can “claim” my pledge to Five for the Future, I don’t see an option that fits what I do.

Allie Nimmons

There are several calls for feedback relating to 5FTF right now, and the definition of countable contributions discussion is still open. I hope Allie and others weight in, like Jos Klever did:

As a freelancer I’m spending a lot of time (maybe even 50% or more, making long days!) helping others via various Facebook groups by sharing my knowledge and experience for free, so they can start or continue the use of WordPress, a product I love myself. Nobody asked me to do this, but it’s my way to thank the community for making it possible to start my own company and earn a living.

Jos Klever

In response, Josepha indicated she is looking for broad, not narrow, ideas of contribution and Jos’s examples could match up with the Community team.