🧭 ONWARD: A Framework for Maintaining Maintainers

From lurker to leader — that’s the story of how I grew through open source. What began as small pull requests eventually evolved into becoming a maintainer for nonprofit projects, getting funded for my OSS work, and even speaking publicly about the journey. 🌱

Through it all, I noticed one gap: while we often talk about how to contribute to open source, we don’t talk enough about how to maintain maintainers themselves. That’s why I created ONWARD — a simple, memorable framework for maintainers to grow healthy, inclusive, and sustainable communities, no matter if your project has 3 or 3,000 contributors.

🅾️ O is for Open

Be transparent, accessible, and ready to share power.

Document your decisions and governance models.
Create clear paths for feedback and discussion.
Plan for succession and share finances openly.

🇳 N is for Nudges

Shift from doing to empowering.

Nudge contributors toward leadership.
Assign growth-oriented tasks and celebrate progress.
Ask for feedback and model positive intent.

🔥 W is for Warmth

Build a culture that welcomes everyone.

Publish community health files.
Take complaints seriously and remove bad actors.
Celebrate all types of contributions — technical or not.

⚙️ A is for Automation

Let bots handle the boring stuff.

Use GitHub Actions for linting, testing, and deployments.
Automate reminders, labels, and PR reviews.
Reduce toil so you can focus on people, not process.

🌟 R is for Recognition

Make gratitude the default.

Add maintainers to org profiles or project badges.
Offer testimonials or LinkedIn recommendations.
Provide swag, shoutouts, or even funding when possible.

💪🏽 D is for Dedication

Lead with heart and sustainability in mind.

Be responsive and accountable.
Know your limits and communicate them.
Plan for transitions so the work lives beyond you.

✨ Final Thoughts

Great maintainers create other great maintainers. The ONWARD framework is my way of helping open source communities sustain not just code, but the people who make it possible.

➡️ Read the original piece on GitHub’s ReadME Project.