By Nate Waddington, Head of Mentorship and Documentation, CNCF
Open source projects rely on strong communities. Mentorship programs like LFX Mentorship and Google Summer of Code offer maintainers a chance to bring new contributors into their projects, fostering long-term growth and sustainability.
But mentorship isn’t just about onboarding new talent—it’s also a way to expand your network, demonstrate leadership, and build a stronger foundation for your project’s future.
This post highlights the benefits of mentorship for maintainers, explains what mentees can bring to your project, and shares key details about the upcoming CNCF mentorship opportunities.
Mentorship: A Catalyst for Project Growth
Mentorship programs aren’t just for aspiring contributors—they’re a strategic tool for project maintainers. By welcoming mentees, you can:
- Expand Your Community: Introduce skilled, eager contributors to your project and grow your network.
- Develop Future Leaders: Identify and mentor contributors who have the potential to become maintainers, helping ensure your project’s continuity.
- Deliver Results: Whether it’s improving documentation, building new features, or resolving persistent bugs, mentorship delivers tangible outcomes.
Why Mentoring Benefits Maintainers
Mentoring is more than an act of generosity—it can be a career-defining opportunity for maintainers:
- Showcase Leadership: Coaching new contributors enhances your leadership portfolio and demonstrates your ability to guide complex technical work.
- Build Your Network: Engaging with mentees and fellow mentors connects you with a diverse, global community of professionals.
- Advance Your Career: Adding mentorship to your professional track record demonstrates your commitment to open-source growth and talent development.
What Can Mentees Do for Your Project?
CNCF mentees are prepared to make meaningful contributions, such as:
- Developing features or improving functionality.
- Enhancing project documentation.
- Tackling backlogs or addressing long-standing issues.
Impact of Mentorship
Mentorship creates a ripple effect, benefiting projects long after the term ends:
- Sustained Contributions: Between 40-60 percent of CNCF LFX mentees continue contributing to the project they worked with in the year after their term.
- Future Maintainers: Since 2020, 14 CNCF LFX mentees have gone on to become maintainers, showing the program’s value in cultivating leadership.
- Stronger Foundations: Mentees familiar with your project’s ecosystem grow into indispensable contributors, tackling increasingly complex challenges over time.
Key Dates for the Next Term of CNCF LFX 2025 Mentorship
Get ready to make an impact; the call for 2025 CNCF LFX Mentorship Term 1 project proposals opens soon:
- Project Proposals Open: January 8 – February 4, 2025
- Mentee Applications Open: February 5 – February 18, 2025
- Program Begins: March 3, 2025
- https://github.com/cncf/mentoring/tree/main/programs/lfx-mentorship/2025/01-Mar-May
Join the CNCF Mentorship Working Group
Be part of the team shaping the future of cloud native. The Mentorship Working Group is a collaborative space for maintainers to share insights, develop strategies, and support mentorship efforts. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month, and new members are always welcome.
The Next Step in Project and Career Growth
CNCF’s mentorship programs are a win-win for maintainers and contributors; only 73 of our 205+ projects have participated, so there is room to grow–and in particular, I’d like to invite sandbox projects to participate. By mentoring, you’ll not only grow your project but also gain recognition, leadership experience, and a stronger community. Have any questions? Here are helpful links, and if you still want to chat, reach out to natew@cncf.io: