User:Varnent/Sandbox3

Just brainstorming. More on the talk page.

WALRUS Fall 2012 Grant application draft and discussion.

This is a draft submission to the Wikimedia Foundation grants process. Please do not respond or comment on it just yet.

Legal name of organization or individual requesting this grant

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

Grant contact name

Gregory Varnum ^{Varnent (talk)}, ** ^*** (WMDC contact), and ** ^*** (WMNYC contact)

Grant contact username or email

Varnent (talk), ***, and ***

Grant contact title (position)

Wikimedians, MediaWiki developers, ****

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 = (WMDC) + USD = (WMNYC) = = (total)

Provisional target start date

August 31, 2012

Provisional completion date

December 31, 2012

Budget breakdown

• Funding to WMNY for:
  • Local activites fund: USD 500
• Additional funding to WMDC for:
  • Capacity building consultant (USD 75/hour for 15 hours): USD 1125
  • Chapter development fund (filing fees, basic startup needs, basic printing for potential chapters, etc.): USD 1000

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 and its chapter development efforts.

Project scope and list of activities

• WALRUS events outside DC/NY areas for potential new chapters
• Capacity building training and assistance for new chapter officers and potential chapter leadership
• Chapter and future WALRUS fundraising plan development

Non-financial requirements

n/a

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.

Measures of success

• Drafting and adoption of WALRUS charter
  • Provide unity and support for local US chapter-esque activities
  • Increases engagement of potential editors
• 6-8 local WALRUS supported events
  • Easier access to funding to spur new volunteer leadership while introducing new volunteers to grant model utilized by WMF
• Group trainings for chapter leaders on identified areas of need
• One-on-one online assistance for chapter leadership
• Plan and furuther deliverables for upcoming year

Team members (optional)

• Varnent (talk)