Volunteers don't cost money, but acquiring and retaining them does. A lot of these events are chances to get WP volunteers to meet and connect in real life, hop

Volunteers don't cost money, but acquiring and retaining them does. A lot of these events are chances to get WP volunteers to meet and connect in real life, hopefully making WP more tangible and enjoyable to volunteer for. Saying that spending money on volunteer outreach doesn't contribute to site content is just absurd. It's exactly the opposite.