When we sent out the email introducing the new GitHub Sponsors page a few weeks back, the honest hope was that a handful of community members might chip in a few pounds a month. What we did not expect was for an agency to read it and, within minutes, become our next Event Partner tier sponsor!
That is exactly what Filter did. They are now on the #WPLDN sponsors list as an Event Partner, our highest tier, and I want to take a moment to say thank you publicly.
For anyone who has not yet crossed paths with them at an event, Filter is a London-based WordPress agency with a strong track record in enterprise (JD Wetherspoon, Medivet, Ennismore, Children with Cancer UK, Fundraising Everywhere, and many others). They were WP Engine’s EMEA Agency Partner of the Year in 2024, and you may have come across their open-source work on PersonalizeWP, Filter AI, or, more recently, Filter Abilities, which builds on the Abilities API and MCP that landed in WordPress 6.9.
But that is not really why I am writing this. The reason I am writing this is that a few of the Filter team have been familiar faces at #WPLDN for several years. Paul Halfpenny gave a brilliant talk on personalisation in 2024. Allie Tupper from their project management team has presented on what makes WordPress projects run smoothly. And multiple team members joined in the fun when we launched our AI Build Battle at the Festive Special event. The team was already part of this community before they sponsored anything.
That matters because it tells you what good agency sponsorship of #WPLDN actually looks like. It is not a logo placement exercise. It is people who already turn up, deciding to make sure the event they value continues to exist.
If your agency builds on WordPress and you have benefited from the conversations in this room, the Event and Agency Partner tiers at wpldn.uk/sponsor offer the most meaningful support. They are how we keep the lights on, the pizza warm, and the door open and free to everyone. The team at Filter have shown what stepping up at that level looks like, and there is plenty of room on the list alongside them.
If a higher tier is not the right fit, the GitHub Sponsors page offers community-level support starting at a few pounds per month. Every contribution at any level genuinely matters, and as Filter’s case shows, the GitHub page is also how the bigger conversations sometimes start.
To Olly, Paul, and the wider Filter team: thank you!
