User:Varnent/Sandbox/WALRUS/Wikimania 2012

Just brainstorming. More on the talk page.

WALRUS Summer 2012 Grant application draft and discussion.

Communities represented on WALRUS committee.

Legal name of organization or individual requesting this grant

WALRUS (not a formal organization); Wikimedia NYC; & Wikimedia DC, fiscal agent

Grant contact name

Gregory Varnum ^{Varnent (talk)}, James Hare ^Harej (WMDC contact), and Richard Knipel ^Pharos (WMNYC contact)

Grant contact username or email

Varnent (talk), Harej (talk), and Pharos (talk)

Grant contact title (position)

Wikimedians, MediaWiki developers, Wikimedia chapter officers, & Wikimedia DC Treasurer

Project lead name

Richard Knipel

Project lead username or email

User:Pharos

Project lead title (position), if any

Wikimedia NYC President

Full project name

'Wikimedians Active in Local Regions of the United States'

Amount requested in USD or local currency (USD will be assumed if no other currency is specified)

USD 5148 (total)

Provisional target start date

Wikimania 2012, July 10, 2012

Provisional completion date

Annual WALRUS Retreat, July 15 (tentatively), 2012

Budget breakdown

• 8 additional volunteer scholarships for Wikimania 2012
  • Conference registration and hostel (USD 45 x 8 people): USD 360
  • Hostel (USD 38 x 6 nights x 8 people): USD 1824
  • Airfare travel (USD 368 x 8 people): USD 2944
• Annual in-person WALRUS meeting (tentatively scheduled for afternoon of unconference on July 15) - fees for printing and supplies: USD 20

Project goal

Seek funding by way of a Wikimedia Foundation Chapter Grant jointly sought by Wikimedia NYC and Wikimedia DC. The grant would specifically seek to support development of WALRUS in a manner chosen by active volunteer leadership. Funding would be used to encourage volunteer participation, support community building activities, and support capacity building for WALRUS.

Project scope and list of activities

• 8 WALRUS Wikimania 2012 scholarships
  • Coordination of scholarship committee by Wikimedia NYC
  • Financial oversight and implementation assistance by Wikimedia DC
  • Promotion of scholarship availability across multiple WMF project sites
  • Application process and review process based on current and future contributions to WALRUS coordination
• WALRUS in-person and virtual meeting to determine development objectives for upcoming year
  • Tentatively scheduled for afternoon of unconference on July 15
  • Intention to hold annual follow-up at subsequent Wikimanias
  • Afternoon meeting (5-6 hrs)

Non-financial requirements

• Use of meeting space at Wikimania
• Access to already arranged and available catering
• Use of conference printers at Wikimania
• Use of meeting supplies as provided by Wikimania team

Fit to strategy

WALRUS has proven success by organizing local US events for the The Great American Wiknic in June 2011, usage of the WikimediaUS-l mailing list activity, and monthly IRC meetings at #wikimedia-usconnect. These efforts and those outlined in this grant directly apply to these components of Wikimedia's strategic plan:

Support the recruitment and acculturation of newer contributors by encouraging a welcoming environment on the Wikimedia projects, as well as supporting community leaders who are eager to serve as recruiters, guides and mentors for newer volunteers.


Support offline and social events to increase community cohesion and commitment to the projects.


Support Wikimedia chapters with financial or other assistance to enable them to serve their local Wikimedia communities effectively, and contribute to the health and growth of the overall movement. A priority will be pursuing outreach to expand and increase diversity in the contributor base. 


Facilitate community efforts to create organizational models and structures that support the Wikimedia projects.

Support volunteer initiatives that fuel the growth of communities and projects around the world, including meet-ups, public outreach activities and other volunteer innovations.


Organize meetings and events bringing together developers and researchers who are focused on Wikimedia-related projects with experienced Wikimedia volunteers and staff.

Other benefits

Additionally, WALRUS activities help support these strategic objectives:

Spread information about Wikimedia’s mission, vision, values and practices. Help people better understand our work, and motivate them to help us do it.

Grow the number of Wikimedia donors, to ensure steady, robust support.

Provide project funding for efforts to connect Wikimedia projects with the work of institutions of culture and learning.

Provide better information about the movement to enable everyone to better support it, by developing and publishing diverse measures of the health and growth of Wikimedia communities and projects.

Continually improve social and technical systems for volunteer development of core software, extensions, gadgets and other technical improvements.

Finally, coordination of the scholarship disbursement process by Wikimedia NYC, with involvement by Wikimedia DC, supports the capacity building of both organizations - particularly in regards to Wikimedia NYC's future grant administration.

Measures of success

• Attendance by at least 12 people to the First Annual WALRUS Retreat
• Drafting and adoption of WALRUS charter
  • Provide unity and support for local US chapter-esque activities
  • Increases engagement of potential editors
• Plan and furuther deliverables for upcoming year

Team members

• Varnent (talk)
• Harej (talk)
• Pharos (talk)
• Dmcdevit (talk)

Supporters

Anyone interested in seeing this grant happen - even if you're not going to be directly involved.

• Your name here