Grants:Programs/Hub Fund/CANCUS (Canada, Caribbean, US) Hub Proposal
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Applicant information
[edit]- Organization or group name. (required)
- CANCUS Hub
- Provide your main Wikimedia Username. (required)
- Pacita (WikiNYC) (talk • accounts • contributions • edit count)
- Have you contacted the Wikimedia Foundation Hub team before applying? (required)
- Yes
Is your group legally registered in your country? (required)
- Yes
- Do you have a fiscal sponsor?
- Yes
- Fiscal organization name.
- Wikimedia Canada
Main proposal
[edit]- 1. State the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required)
- CANCUS (Canada, Caribbean, US) Hub Proposal
- 2. Proposed start date. (required)
- 2026-04-01
- 3. Proposed end date. (required)
- 2027-04-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? Provide the region or country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal. (required)
- We envision this proposal being implemented across Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. Wikimedia Mexico has opted out of joining this hub to focus their efforts on Latin America, hence the name change from North American Hub to CANCUS Hub. We want to make sure the hub title is reflective of the actual geographic region we will be operating in. The hub looks forward to hopefully partnering with and including Wikimedia Mexico in this ecosystem at some stage.
- 5. Does your group have a theory of change for your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (optional)
- Yes
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jfs5EpScvQKUbin6GzO7Vdn5v2HS6T-n6AxAJdp8R2M/edit?tab=t.0
- 6. Why do you believe your group is best positioned to drive this hub initiative? (required)
The core leaders helping to draft this proposal represent formal affiliates, highly experienced editors, and movement leaders within this region. We believe this group of core leaders is reflective of the overall movement ecosystem in the region and has the expertise and knowledge to make this hub a success. For years, the core team behind this proposal has organized discussion of this hub idea among regional Wikimedia community organizations, with individual unaffiliated Wikimedia community members, and with other stakeholders such as cultural partners. This more recent discussion follows a legacy dating at least to Wikimania 2012 in Washington DC, where Wikimedians discussed this idea, and to years of regular WALRUS meetings as documented on Meta-Wiki. At this point, we have senior Wikimedians in support of the proposal and a mix of Wikimedians of all experience levels and backgrounds who actively would like a more sustained regional collaboration. In the context of Wikimedia community organization, this group and its planning are as well prepared as anyone could expect given the resources we have had to coordinate consensus and strategy. As a particularly visible indicator of support, We have an on-wiki draft agreement among 9 WMF affiliates, several (chapters and user groups) in this region. For a list, see [1]
In addition, the hub has support from WikiCred, WikiPortraits, WikiHaus, and WikiLatinos. Although Art + Feminism is a global organization, they’ve offered their support in sharing CANCUS Hub resources with their network in the region.
- 7. Do you have a strategic plan that can help us understand your proposal? If your proposal relates to piloting a hub, share your piloting plan. If your proposal relates to research, share your research plan. (required)
- Yes
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/12nAeR_FCBYBa5LQIF7A38HEqGoE98hKu4eAb6-GJMrc/edit?tab=t.0
- 8. Describe the specific activities that will be carried out during this project. If your proposal is related to piloting a hub, describe the services you plan to offer and include how you are drawing on community consultation and needs assessments to define your activities. (required)
Plan
I. Engagement
- The Hub will be focused on developing emerging communities throughout the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada. We will support the Wikimedia Foundation with the rapid funds grant awards to address the sustainability of existing Wikimedia volunteer groups and help aid in the development of new communities throughout the region. In the United States, this will address the problem of lack of resources to host impactful programming, volunteer burnout, and small groups failing because of lack of monetary support. In the Caribbean, supporting the rapid funds program will help to support the growth of emerging groups in the region. A significant problem in the Caribbean is a lack of Wikimedia groups, editors, and partnerships with the institutions that exist there. A first step would be to provide rapid grants to local communities on the ground to help us recruit and train Wikimedia organizers from that region. In Canada, rapid fund grants would help to support the development of communities that are underrepresented with a focus on the western side of Canada and Canada’s Indigenous community.
II. Improved Administration
The hub will provide shared administrative resources for Wikimedia groups across the region, capacity building & training, and online safety support. This will be led by Hub staff and the Hub Steering Committee.
- Administrative resources will include training and support for grant reporting requirements, access to program management and budget templates, and coaching/guidance from more experienced Wikimedians in the community on how to effectively run their groups.
- The Hub will offer online meetings that will include capacity building and training sessions, including digital safety training from experts in the field.
- These supports will help expand the knowledge base of Wikimedians in this region and improve the operational capability of emerging groups within the community.
- 9. Did you involve communities during the drafting of this proposal? Share which specific communities you involved, the process you used to involve them, and how they will participate in this proposal. (required)
Yes, the North American Wikimedians (NARWHAL) community and the WikiConference North America (WCNA) user group members. There was an open invite for people to participate in the drafting of this proposal and the current team putting together this proposal are the people who responded to that ask. We also had individual conversations with different leaders of affiliates and user groups to get their insight on the Hub concept.
- 10. Are you in communication with other initiatives or groups that either support similar communities or offer similar services to the ones in your proposal? Provide information about any initiatives, affiliates, and/or hubs that have the potential to duplicate or overlap with your proposal. (required)
As far as we know, there aren’t any other initiatives or groups doing similar work around supporting the larger U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean communities. This hub would be the first project of its kind for this region. We have consulted with the ESEAP Hub team about the CANCUS Hub proposal and gained valuable insights into what could work for this region.
- 11. Who is your primary audience(s)? List the communities, affiliates, and groups. (required)
North America but specifically contributors, chapters, and user groups in Canada, United States of America, and the Caribbean. Affiliates and user groups who support this initiative include Wikimedia Canada, Wikimedia New York City, Wikimedia DC, Wikimedians of the Caribbean, WikiPortraits, WikiCred, AfroCROWD, Philadelphia WikiSalon, Wikimedians of Los Angeles User Group, North Carolina Wikipedians User Group, Wikimedians of Colorado User Group, Bay Area Wikipedians User Group, Wikimedians of Chicago User Group, Cascadia Wikimedians, MediaWiki Stakeholders Group, Wiki Project Med, WikiPortraits, Wikihaus, and WikiLatinos.
- 12. If your proposal relates to piloting a hub, share the governance structure you plan to establish. If this governance structure is not yet in place, share how you are making decisions in the interim. (optional)
- To ensure that the Hub remains community driven, the governance model will consist of a 7-person publicly elected Steering Committee with members representing each community e.g. 1 member representing the Caribbean, 1 member representing Indigenous communities, 2 members representing the U.S., 2 members representing Canada, and 1 appointed member who has expert matter experience that will be appointed by the Steering Committee. The elections process will be fair and transparent with a candidate criteria developed by Hub staff in partnership with regional movement leaders from the WikiConference North America user group. Steering Committee members will play an advisory role helping to shape the long term vision of the Hub, supporting the regional rapid funds decision making process, and ensuring the Hub doesn’t impose a monolith over diverse regional sub-groups.
- The fiscal sponsor for the CANCUS Hub will be Wikimedia Canada and they will have oversight over the operational and financial stability of the Hub. The day to day running of the Hub will be led by two paid positions. One part time Administrative Manager at 24 hours a week who will be based in Canada and supervised by Wikimedia Canada. And one Programs Manager at 32 hours a week who will be based in the United States and supervised by Wikimedia New York City. As the Hub progresses, our vision would be to hire an additional paid staff member that would be based in the Caribbean. At present, there are no Wikimedia chapters or user groups on the ground in the Caribbean who could support the supervision and local legal and nonprofit/charity requirements of a paid staff member.
- In efforts to create a language and geography neutral environment, documentation and decision making will happen in shared digital spaces to respect different time zones and we will utilize live interpretation and translation services for region wide gatherings and materials.
- 13. Describe your team. (required)
- Paid Staff
- Louis Germain (Wikimedia Canada) - Affiliate Staff
- Pacita Rudder (Wikimedia NYC) - Affiliate Staff
- Vacant Paid Positions (to be filled with grant funding)
- CANCUS Hub Program Manager
- CANCUS Hub Administrative Manager
- Volunteers
- Steering Committee Members (to be elected
- 14. Upload a timeline of activities or provide a link to it. Timeline (operational calendar) is for your programs and activities. (required)
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/12nAeR_FCBYBa5LQIF7A38HEqGoE98hKu4eAb6-GJMrc/edit?tab=t.0
- 15. How do you intend to keep communities updated on the progress and outcomes of the project? Share your communication plans. (required)
We plan to keep the communities updated on the progress of the Hub through close collaboration with our Hub Programs Manager. Their role will serve as a central point of contact helping us coordinate regular updates with the community. They will also gather feedback from the community that will help us shape the strategy for the Hub throughout the year. We will update the community on the hub’s work on Meta in English, French & Spanish, to ensure that everyone can find the information in their native language. In addition, in person discussions at Wikimania in Paris and WikiConference North America in Edmonton, Canada will enable us to keep the community informed on the progress of this project. Finally, we will publish a report and executive summary detailing recommendations and next steps for the creation of the CANCUS hub.
- 16. If your activities include community discussions, what is your plan for ensuring that the conversations are productive, inclusive, and safe? Provide a link to a Friendly Space Policy or UCoC that will be implemented to support these discussions. (optional)
We will adhere to and align our practices with the principles outlined in the Wikimedia Foundation Universal Code of Conduct.
- 17. Are there any other details you would like to share? Consider providing rationale, research or community discussion outputs, and any other similar information that will give more context on your proposed project. You can also upload any additional documents in the section below. (optional)
Strategic investment in this region will help grow the Wikimedia movement and combat harmful narratives about the projects. Research shows that the views and opinions in this region have an impact globally. In terms of growing the Wikimedia movement, because of the lack of country chapters for the United States and the Caribbean and lack of general thematic and local chapters/user groups across the entire region as well, there’s an opportunity to attract new editors and organizers to the community. There are small regional community and thematic user groups that have formed in North America, and they often struggle to continue to exist. This hub will support these existing and future groups; the support for them will mean they’re less likely to quickly disband when momentum dissipates and can instead develop themselves into program-managing, independent volunteer community organizations in the best practice model of user groups or on-wiki community organizations. In the Caribbean, this fund will help support the development of the Wikimedia movement on the ground there which will lead to an increase in diverse content and editors on the platforms. And in Canada, the hub will help support the growth of the Indigenous community and their representation in Wikimedia.
Metrics
[edit]- 18. Share quantitative and/or qualitative metrics that you plan to measure in order to showcase the impact of your activities. (required)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12nAeR_FCBYBa5LQIF7A38HEqGoE98hKu4eAb6-GJMrc/edit?tab=t.0
Budget
[edit]- 19. Your local currency. (required)
- CAD
- 20. What is the requested amount in your local currency? (required)
- 207639 CAD
- Requested amount in USD
- 150000 USD [note 1]
- ↑ a b The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.
- 21. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required)
- Yes
- 21.1. How many paid staff members and contractors do you plan to cover through the Hub Fund? (required)
Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period as well as their work status (full-time/part-time, indefinite/fixed). If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms (period of work).
- We plan to cover two part time positions - one Programs Manager and one Administrative Manager that will include health benefits for both positions.
- 22. Provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. (required)
| Budget category | Amount in local currency |
|---|---|
| Staff and contractor costs | 108000 CAD |
| Operational costs | 15000 CAD |
| Programmatic costs | 27000 CAD |
- 23. Upload your detailed budget or provide a link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zlwNBl-k0mwskmH1XYVLGhQfIQDA7E0eqKNxFoS6Xbg/edit?gid=0#gid=0
By submitting your proposal/funding request you confirm that you have read and agree to the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy, and the Universal Code of Conduct.
- Yes
Feedback
[edit]- Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.