Grants:Policies/WMF staff eligibility for Wikimedia Foundation funding

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Policy: WMF Staff Eligibility for Wikimedia Foundation Funding

Purpose

The Wikimedia Foundation operates a number of programs to fund the work of Wikimedia volunteers and affiliates, primarily through the provision of grants. This policy describes when Wikimedia Foundation staff, and organizations that have a significant relationship with Wikimedia Foundation staff, are and are not eligible to receive funding under these programs.

Definitions

Wikimedia Foundation staff includes all employees and contractors working 20 hours or more per week for the Wikimedia Foundation, currently or at any time in the past 12 months.

An applicant has a “significant relationship” with a Wikimedia Foundation staff member if:

• The applicant is an organization for which the staff member is an officer, director, or trustee;
• The applicant is an organization for which the staff member works as a paid employee or contractor for 20 hours or more per week;
• The applicant is an organization for which the staff member is a bank account holder or authorized signatory;
• The applicant is an organization in which the staff member has a material financial interest (such as a greater than 10% ownership stake); or
• The applicant is a close family member of the staff member (spouse, parent, sibling, child, stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, in-law, or domestic partner).

Eligibility

• If any applicant is, or has a significant relationship with, an individual who is a “covered person” under the Conflict of Interest Policy for Wikimedia Foundation Board Members, Officers, Executives, and Key Employees:
  • Follow the conflict of interest policy to determine eligibility and whether the application can be approved.
• If any applicant is, or has a significant relationship with, a Wikimedia Foundation staff member who works for the Community Resources & Partnerships or Grants Administration teams:
  • They are not eligible for any Wikimedia Foundation funding programs, and their application will be denied.
• If any applicant is, or has a significant relationship with, any other member of Wikimedia Foundation staff:
  • They must indicate and provide information about their staff relationship where requested in the application form. The information from the form will be reviewed by the Grants Administration team and the Senior Manager, Community Resources, to determine eligibility.  
  • Examples of staff relationships that generally will not prevent grant eligibility include:
    • Staff members serving as advisors for programmatic and operational elements related to a grant.
    • Staff member serves on the board of directors and has no direct access to WMF grant funding.