diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 739efdaf..a998de13 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -3,6 +3,33 @@
 
 # Collaborative Development
 
+## Impostor Syndrome Disclaimer
+
+Before we get into the details: **We want your help. No, really.**
+
+There may be a little voice inside your head that is telling you that you're
+not ready to be an open source contributor; that your skills aren't nearly good
+enough to contribute. What could you possibly offer a project like this one?
+
+We assure you -- the little voice in your head is wrong. If you can write code
+at all, you can contribute code to open source. Contributing to open source
+projects is a fantastic way to advance one's coding skills. Writing perfect
+code isn't the measure of a good developer (that would disqualify all of us!);
+it's trying to create something, making mistakes, and learning from those
+mistakes. That's how we all improve.
+
+We've provided some clear `Contribution Guidelines` that you can read below.
+The guidelines outline the process that you'll need to follow to get a patch
+merged. By making expectations and process explicit, we hope it will make it
+easier for you to contribute.
+
+And you don't just have to write code. You can help out by writing
+documentation, tests, or even by giving feedback about this work. (And yes,
+that includes giving feedback about the contribution guidelines.)
+
+([Adrienne Friend](https://github.com/adriennefriend/imposter-syndrome-disclaimer) 
+came up with this disclaimer language.)
+
 ## Prerequisites
 - [Git](https://git-scm.com/)
 - [GitHub](https://github.com/)