The Commitment to Keep ATO Accessible and Affordable

When attendees and partners purchase a ticket or decide to sponsor All Things Open, they are helping us keep a commitment we made more than a decade ago – to keep our events affordable and accessible and to involve traditionally underrepresented individuals and organizations.

Despite logistical and planning costs steadily increasing over the last six years (since All Things Open was started in 2013), we’ve bucked industry trends and kept registration costs steady, and in the case of the Open Source 101 series, even dropped them. We’ve almost gone in the opposite direction.

But why?

We continue to believe there are many, many individuals (and companies) that want to learn about open source and use it’s inherent opportunity to better not only their lives, but the lives and quality of life for others. However, the reality is that most of these same individuals and organizations simply cannot afford to pay registration costs of many hundreds or thousands of dollars.

We firmly believe a world-class conference (and the associated education/networking experience) and accessibility shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.

So, what does this mean for attendees of All Things Open?

• Attendees are guaranteed to see a diverse lineup of world-class content and speakers without having to taking out a loan.
• Attendees are guaranteed a conference experience unlike most others. They’ll meet people they wouldn’t otherwise meet and hear about a range of topics not typically covered at conferences, which we feel is incredibly valuable. The vibe is different, the conversations are different.
• Attendees will meet many underrepresented organizations and learn about volunteer, mentorship and other assistance opportunities. We make an honest effort to make “paying it forward” possible.

But it’s only possible when people purchase tickets or support the event through sponsorship or partnership.

We’ve deliberately kept prices low – $99 for the first 1.5 weeks, and only slight increases after, and a permanent $49/$79 for students – so that nearly everyone with an interest can participate.

And we’re well aware we run the risk of undermining our own credibility with those not familiar. After all, how could any event of value be priced this low? But that’s ok with us. Once someone attends the first time, they soon “get it” and it all makes sense.

We sincerely thank everyone that purchases a ticket or partners with us in some way. It is often hyperbole, but this time it’s absolutely true – without you, it wouldn’t be possible.