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Participation.md

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+# Welcome to Maintainer Month!
+
+...a month for open source maintainers to gather, share, and be celebrated.
+Open source runs the world, but who runs open source? Open source maintainers are behind the software we use everyday, but they don't always have the community or support they need. That's why we're celebrating open source maintainers all month long.
+
+The 2024 Maintainer Month is, of course, in **May**! You're invited to participate in whatever ways you'd like. 
+
+## Themes for 2024
+
+**Theme For Maintainers**
+TBD for this year pending Advisory Committee recommendations. 2023's theme was 'Finding balance, stepping back, and succession planning as leaders.'
+
+**Theme For Companies**
+TBD for this year pending Advisory Committee recommendations. 2023's theme was 'Now is the time to double down on funding open source.'
+
+## How To Get Involved
+Maintainer Month is an open source project — anyone can jump in and contribute! Whether you're a maintainer, an organization, or a fan or open source, you're invited to participate! Here are a few ways you can jump in:
+
+### **For Maintainers:**
+- Share your story
+- Let others know what it’s like to be a maintainer with the hashtag #MaintainerMonth & add it to our library!
+- Interested in sharing your story on a podcast or post with one of our partners? [Sign-up here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqRDeGf0c05xj1ztLX__SsbWlWRMSbVghBHkgJFMF7vkx1cQ/viewform) and we'll introduce you to a partner if there's a good fit.
+- Take a look at the Maintainer Month activities on the calendar and attend an event where you can meet other maintainers. We’re always adding more activities to the calendar, check back often!
+- Join the Maintainer Community: [request an invitation to the Maintainer Community](https://maintainers.github.com/), a private space for maintainers to connect with peers, preview GitHub features, and learn from each other. [LINK]
+
+### **For Organizations, Podcasts, Companies, Foundations, and others:**
+- Highlight maintainers
+- Feature open source maintainers on your podcast / stream / social media with #MaintainerMonth during the month of May. If you would like us share potential maintainers you can feature, [let us know](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7ENmSvtbSGU5_IFzR3NqVsr66-MHdegvrcWAJDVL6NJHtiw/viewform).
+- [Add your event to our calendar or share stories in the library](https://github.com/github/maintainermonth/issues/new)!
+- Host events to convene maintainers
+- Host an event that brings maintainers together! Give them space to connect and learn from each other. Submit an issue to get your event listed on our website.
+- Pay maintainers: Launch a FOSS Fund or sponsorship program to pay the maintainers of the software you depend on. We’d love to help, [please reach out](mailto:karasowles@github.com).
+
+### **More stuff to check out:**
+- Starting a FOSS Fund? Join FOSS Funders: https://fossfunders.com/
+- Interested in open source sustainability? Check out [Sustain OSS](https://sustainoss.org/), which has an active Slack and bi-weekly meetings.