Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Cultivate What’s Growing:BLT Wikimedians Community and Continuums 2026-2028

This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds, where the user has submitted their application. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.

Applicant information

Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required): Black Lunch Table

Do you have any approved General Support Fund requests? (required): Yes, I have already applied and received a General Support Fund

You are applying as a(n). (required): Wikimedia Affiliate (chapter, thematic org., or user group)

Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required): Yes

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?: No

Fiscal organization name.: N/A

Please provide links to the following documents if they are available

These documentation can be provided in your local language(s), no translations required.

Organizational website
Detailed financial reporting and/or audits
Documentation of the governance structure, board list, governance processes
Documentation of the general assembly decision on your plan

https://www.blacklunchtable.com/

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required): Cultivate What’s Growing: BLT Wikimedians Community and Continuums 2026-2028

2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year base funding for 3 years? (required) (only for returning applicants): Yes

2.1. Provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan? (required)

Our approach to Years 2 and 3 follows closely to the work of year one. We are focused on solidifying and refining the work seeded over the past five years. We view this next stretch as a chance to reflect on that block of time, celebrate our wins, and strengthen the community and connections that define our impact.

Rather than introducing new or untested initiatives, this period is about affirming the success of our programs and elevating them to their full potential. Implementing more systems and improving our communication among other things will help our programs operate with greater ease and visibility.

By the start of Year 2, we also expect to have completed our strategic plan, which will provide a clear roadmap to accompany this vision. Because we have been thinking intentionally about our goals for the next five years all along, we do not anticipate significant programmatic changes. Instead, the strategic plan will help us sharpen our focus, align resources, and continue building on the foundation we have laid.

In this way, Years 2 and 3 directly advance the goals of our current proposal: laying down a strong foundation, ensuring our programs shine brightly, and positioning the organization to step confidently into its next chapter.

3. Proposed start date. (required): 2026-01-01

4. Proposed end date. (required): 2028-12-31

5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): No

6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required)

Yes

BLT_StrategicPlanUpdate.pdf

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required): United States of America

8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)

Black Lunch Table has long operated as a remote and nomadic organization, bringing the work and word of BLT to many new places. While we achieved many successes, we encountered a recurring challenge: maintaining relationships formed in virtual space, even when they were initially introduced in person. Now, we are focusing on this challenge by finding ways to create texture and depth, so that the connections we have made can better take hold and deepen over time.

This will be an organization-wide approach, and much can be achieved through our Wiki work. Our engagement on Wikipedia is built around the central goal of addressing the knowledge gap that exists regarding the lives and careers of Black artists and creative workers across various Wikipedia platforms. BLT's programs act as spokes in a wheel, each connecting back to the heart of this Wiki knowledge gap. Our goal is to expand the ways readers, editors, and artists engage with, improve, and become aware of artist biographies, or the lack thereof, on Wikipedia.

Our approach to this next phase involves solidifying and refining the work that has been seeded, particularly over the last five years. While those years were anything but typical, spanning the global pandemic and various social movements, it is also the frame since the organization became a recognized non-profit. We are looking at the last five years as a block of time to reflect on and identify wins, as well as how to nurture and improve our community and connections going forward.

We are not making any radical changes to our programs or introducing anything that we have not already initiated. This period is intended to affirm the success of our programs and the positive outcomes we achieve. However, with cleaner systems, improved communication, a more capable team, and sufficient resources, we can attract more people to the cause and make further progress in our lane.

Our strategies include building year-over-year engagements with partners, establishing a more robust and consistent presence in cities such as Chicago, IL, and refining the innovative methods for addressing the knowledge gap we have spearheaded. For example, citable articles/sources about Black artists can be a real hindrance to getting their pages written. Our partnership with Sixty Inches From Center, a worker-led organization and publishing platform, supports the creation of said sources. Once articles are published, they open up opportunities for education about artists' lives and works, as well as improvements to related Wikipedia pages.

Another essential strategy in this next phase of work is attending to the general need for more education about the Wiki universe. This past year, BLT partnered with Wikimedia NYC to host an informational session, "Wikicurious: Navigating Wiki as a Public Figure," that provided artists and other curious editors with concrete tools to understand and engage with Wikipedia as it relates to living artists or public figures. This was a workshop that we had hosted online in previous years, and we found a real thirst for it. These sessions address several concerns specific to artists, primarily aiming to educate them on creating and preserving their own archives and materials. This is critical to the future production of citable works about these artists. These workshops contribute to the ecosystem of citation, ensuring that future editors, historians, and others can properly document and write about their works.

In 2026, we plan to host this type of workshop online again. As part of the educational effort, BLT seeks to distribute digital assets that offer considered designs and relevant information alongside these workshops. By standardizing these learnings into clear, accessible resources and sharing them with artists, librarians, editors, arts organizations, and other constituencies that find them useful, we can both demystify Wikipedia and expand the impact of our work. By embedding this educational and design component directly into our program offerings, artists and others leave not only better represented in Wiki platforms but also empowered to understand how those platforms function.

This is work that we have already begun. For example, when BLT hosts photo booths, a significant amount of information and permissions must be exchanged in advance of the shutter click. Not everyone is versed in the text of Creative Commons Licenses. We have designed and shared a "Know Your Rights" card. The details are critical points of information for any person participating in the photo booth, but also a valuable resource for artists whose images/digital likeness/rendering may be subject to such licenses across the internet.

Finally, these efforts around Wiki education are closely aligned with the Foundation's own calls to better educate the public about issues of neutrality and trust, amid questions about the platform and its practices from governmental bodies. In the arts community, a lack of understanding persists about how Wikipedia operates: many artists assume they should "get a page," are unclear about how content is evaluated, or feel powerless to correct inaccuracies. In short, artists lack access to accurate information. We are well-positioned to address these issues and need to better educate our publics by utilizing our archival collections, social media, and digital assets. Our core, recurring Wiki programs are described below with details about how we plan to realize them going forward. Our 2026 programming calendar includes but does not discuss below, attendance at conferences, and the hosting of workshops noted above, and workshops/editathons or programs that we realize with partners outside these program descriptions.

BLT PHOTO BOOTH The BLT Photo Booth initiative makes notable artists who fall into Wikipedia’s gaps more visible. Partnering with art schools, professional photographers, and WikiCommons contests, BLT hosts pop-up portrait studios—often alongside edit-a-thons—where artists receive professional portraits released under open license. These images live on Wikimedia Commons, expanding access and ensuring representation for free use, editing, and distribution.

BLT Photo Booth continues to be one of our most robust programs, and this year we are committed to strengthening it nonetheless. We plan to return to host with trusted partners such as BUTTER, while also taking a close look at the hundreds of images we’ve already captured through the program. Our priority is ensuring that each artist’s image is not only preserved but also fully integrated into the knowledge ecosystem of linked Wikipedia pages, Wikidata entries, and our SPARQL queries. By pairing new engagements with this careful backend work, we maximize the visibility and long-term value of the artists we highlight.

BLT LIVE Launched in response to the pandemic, BLT Live is an ongoing series that connects audiences with Black artists engaged in significant and impactful work. Each live session is artist-driven and interactive, ranging from conversations and keynotes to experimental interventions. Recordings are archived on BLT’s Vimeo, creating an accessible resource that extends beyond the live moment.

This year, BLT Live is evolving beyond an education opportunity just for our audiences, but as an opportunity for artists as well. In the past we have invited artists to participate. For 2026 we will begin each quarter with an open call and a brief review period to choose that quarter's BLT Live artist. The chosen artist will appear in their Live by the end of that quarter and the process begins again. We will host one a quarter with an additional floating invitation that we can extend in alignment with emergent opportunities during the year. BLT Live is an opportunity for our community to learn about living artists and one we think drives people to the platform to amend pages with updated information or see for themselves where the gaps exist. We are excited to see how this format change can broaden the range of voices we showcase and invite new artists, editors, and Wikimedians into the fold.

REGIONAL PROXY The BLT Regional Proxy Program empowers Wikimedians, artists, activists, and cultural organizers around the world to host Wikipedia-centered events in their own communities. Each proxy leads at least two events aligned with BLT’s mission to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of Black artists, adapting the model to local needs while contributing to a global impact.

This year, the Regional Proxy Program is strengthening support for both proxies and participants. We have increased funds to cover costs and fees, provided infrastructure such as dedicated Zoom access, and implemented ways to bring these individuals together as an actual cohort. This has begun through enhanced onboarding and piloting more comprehensive follow-up plans for editors who participate in proxy-hosted events; ensuring sustained engagement and a more connected, collaborative network.

CROWDSOURCING THE CANON Crowdsourcing the Canon is BLT’s Wikipedia initiative focused on creating and improving articles about Black artists’ lives and works. In partnership with Sixty Inches From Center—a worker-led publishing platform in Chicago and the Midwest—this program supports emerging Black art critics and writers in producing new critical writing on contemporary Black artists. By expanding the quality and quantity of citations available, the collaboration helps bridge the citation gap that often prevents Black artists from meeting Wikipedia’s notability requirements.

We are proud of the progress of Crowdsourcing the Canon and grateful for our collaboration with Sixty Inches From Center, through which four new articles have already been published. To mark this milestone, we look forward to hosting an editing and informational event in 2026 that will bring greater visibility to both the writers and the artists featured. Looking ahead, we are excited by the possibility of partnerships with additional publishers and new channels for dissemination. We are beginning conversations with local bookstore owners, independent presses, and publishers here in Chicago to broaden the reach of this work. Our goal extends to push the publishing field more broadly to recognize and address the persistent lack of documentation of the lives and works of Black artists.

BLT CLUB BLT hosted an online program called Office Hours regularly throughout the pandemic. Offering online time and space for editors, artists, and others to join with BLT staff, it was an opportunity to come together as a community and to edit together. With the distinct phases of attention and focus (hyperconnection, digital fatigue, hybrid reorganization) experienced since the pandemic, Office Hours has been phased out and reimagined. In its place is BLT CLUB. This program will engage experienced and returning Wikipedia editors in small, cohort-based groups modeled after book clubs. Each “club” focuses on a theme from BLT’s task list (e.g., Black painters in Philadelphia, Black muralists in Houston) and works collaboratively to research, edit, and improve related Wikipedia pages over a quarter. This model prioritizes curiosity and collective care over instruction, with light infrastructure such as check-ins, optional editing sessions, and prizes like swag or gift cards.

BLT Club’s Core Values: 'C'urate: Identify underrepresented Black artists who need stronger Wikipedia presence. 'L'earn: Share skills, resources, and expertise among peers. 'U'plift: Improve the accuracy and visibility of Black artists on Wikipedia. 'B'uild: Strengthen a collaborative community of editors aligned with BLT’s mission.

9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)


Category	Yes/No
Education	Yes
Culture, heritage or GLAM	Yes
Gender and diversity	Yes
Community support and engagement	No
Participation in campaigns and contests	No
Public policy advocacy	No
Other	No

Education

9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required): Editing Wikipedia Training, Wikidata programs, Wikimedia Commons programs; Other programs and activities if any: N/A
9.1.2. Select all relevant audience groups for Education. (required): Vocational, tertiary, or higher education, Teachers or professors, Other groups; Other groups if any: Librarians, Archivists, Critics, and Writers

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required): Introducing new approaches to underrepresented culture and heritage, e.g. decolonising or reparative work; oral and visual knowledge; outreach to communities of origin, indigenous and first nations self-determination, Supporting GLAM professionals to incorporate use of Wikimedia in their work, through documentation, training, or Wikimedian in Residence programs; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Gender and diversity

9.3. Select all your programs and activities for Gender and diversity.

Bringing in women and/or gender diverse participants and editors, Focusing on creating content about marginalized (underrepresented) communities and their knowledge, Focusing on knowledge equity by bringing in contributors from underrepresented communities, Fomenting female leadership within the movement (either staff, members or boards)

Other programs and activities if any: N/A

10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required)

uploaded.

BLT 2026 events calendar.pdf

11. Describe your team. (required)

BLT LEADERSHIP Our leadership team is composed of three Co-Executive Directors (Co-EDs), each overseeing a distinct program area.Together, the Co-EDs provide organizational direction, manage five core teams, and ensure alignment with BLT’s mission.

Co-ED, Finance + Operations (1.0 FTE, salaried, funded external to Wiki)
Co-ED, Archive + Strategy (1.0 FTE, salaried, funded external to Wiki) Username: keondra34950
Co-ED, Wiki + Public Engagement (1.0 FTE, salaried) Username: Raggachampiongirl

BLT TEAM Alongside the leadership team, BLT’s core staff manage day-to-day operations, development, communications, and program coordination, including oversight of all Wiki initiatives and partnerships.

Wiki Team: Composed of a Wiki Assistant (0.5 FTE, part-time hourly) Username:Rpeters97 and a Programming Assistant (0.5 FTE, salaried, with a 50/50 cost share with the Archive team, funded external to Wiki) Username:Salix1999.

Communications Team: The Communications Specialist (0.5 FTE, part-time hourly) is also overseen by the Co-ED of Wiki + Public Engagement.

Archive Team, F+ O team: BLT also employs, through external funds, a Finance + Operations assistant (.5 FTE, part-time hourly), Development Specialist (0.5 FTE, part-time hourly),Archives Assistant(.3 FTE, part-time hourly), and Programming Assistant (0.5 FTE, salaried, with a 50/50 cost share with the Wiki team).

CONTRACTORS BLT engages a variety of contractors throughout the year to make our work possible. This includes Wikimedians serving as Regional Proxies, artists hosted in BLT Live programs, and writers who ensure the creation of citable and reliable biographies of Black artists. We also engage photographers, writers, and other creative professionals on a project basis.

PARTNERS Each year, BLT collaborates with arts organizations, educational institutions, libraries, and other small organizations. For the upcoming year, current partners with whom we are in conversation include Santa Monica Community College, National Museum of Women in the Arts, GANGGANG, and Sixty Inches From Center, among others.

For further clarity on roles, structure, and current/vacant positions, please see the attached organizational chart.

12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)

BLT has partnered with many internal-to-Wiki organizations in formal ways in the past, and we will work to confirm intercommunity partners for our 2026 season in Q4 of 2025. We hope to continue collaboration with the Wikimedians of Indiana User Group as we deepen connections to Midwest artists through the BUTTER Art Fair. Over the past two years, we have added images for more than 50 artists to Commons and improved related pages. Their more intimate knowledge of significant artists in the region has served as a roadmap for artists to photograph, and whose existing presence needs improvement.

We also expect that the individual Wikimedians we work with as Regional Proxies will bring their own affiliations, which in turn extend BLT's network. In the past, these have included the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group, the Wikimedians of DRC User Group, and the Igbo Wikimedians User Group, among many others. This reach remains an essential aspect of the conceptual conceit of BLT; the knowledge gap around Black artists and creative workers is not limited to English Wiki, nor is it limited to American artists. We want to ensure that other organizations and Wikimedians are also called to work on this knowledge gap in their respective cultural contexts, as the diaspora is vast. BLT's call for Regional Proxies in 2026 will be announced in Q1 of 2026.

As always, we remain in community with other user groups, including Art+Feminism, Wikimedians of Chicago, AfroCROWD, Wikimedia District of Columbia, and WikimediaNYC, with whom we share ideas, exchange information, and have partnered in the past to host edit-a-thons, photo booths, and other knowledge-sharing workshops.

Our external partner conversations are beginning to take shape, with much work ahead in Q4 of 2025. As mentioned earlier, the goal of our work in the next term is to nurture the programs and partners we have already seeded and seen success with. Over the past several years, BLT has partnered with Santa Monica Community College to plan a year-long residency program. Working at the intersection of a large urban center with a rich local arts community and a deeply embedded community college and dynamic learning institution, we held exhibitions, hosted Wikipedia editing and education sessions, and presented artist talks and keynotes that connected students, faculty, and practicing artists. This collaboration has demonstrated the transformative power of bringing cultural production, scholarship, and digital engagement together in the same space. Following BLT's on-campus programs during the 2024-2025 residency, Santa Monica College leadership experienced firsthand the impact of our work and the critical importance of Wiki engagement. We look forward to bringing BLT-led Wiki education opportunities to a broader segment of the SMCC community in 2026.

13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required): Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Coordinate Across Stakeholders, Innovate in Free Knowledge

Metrics

Wikimedia Metrics

14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)

14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.

All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.

Participants, editors, and organizers
Metrics name	Target	Description
Number of all participants	1858	BLT is providing expected participant numbers for recurring events throughout the year. Participants here can include editors, attendees, viewers of panels or talks, artists, or others. Targets take into consideration that those we aim to welcome to photo booths and BLT lives are professional artists who would meet or reach the kind of notability criteria Wiki demands. Views for BLT Live define views as IG, the original platform the program is hosted on. These are all target numbers for 2026. BLT Live Artists: 5 Viewers(per event): 300 Regional Proxy Event attendees(per event): Virtual, 25 participants In-person, 15 participants Photo Booth Photographers: 5 Participants(per event): 10 CLUB Participants(per event): 10 Canon Writers: 4 Artists: 4
Number of all editors	N/A	N/A
Number of new editors	N/A
Number of retained editors	N/A
Number of all organizers	N/A	N/A
Number of new organizers	N/A	N/A

14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)

Contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia
Wikimedia Commons	50	0
Wikidata	50	150
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

Wikimedia Commons: Expected to create 50 items related to new artist photographs taken in 2026.

Wikidata:Expected to create 50 items for new photographs taken in 2026 and 150 edited items as we begin to refine the connections between Wikidata items, images on WikiCommons, and Wikipedia articles. The number of edited articles may need to be reviewed and changed once this process has begun. An initial review of all of our photos and the levels of interconnectedness between all images has to be considered and the parameters for the hundreds of images is not entirely defined.

Other Metrics

15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required): No


Other Metrics	Description	Target
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A

Budget

16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required): Yes

16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)

Mellon Foundation-Secured American Council of Learned Societies-Secured Culture Forward Chicago-Secured Terra Foundation-Secured

Ruth Foundation- Applying Craig Newmark Foundation- Applying Logan Foundation-Applying Warhol Foundation - Applying

2026 secured 315k 2026 applying 215k

16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required): 315000

17. Your local currency. (required): USD

18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required): 796521 USD

Multi-year funding request summary
Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	260000 USD
Year 2	265458 USD
Year 3	271063 USD

19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required): Yes

19.1. How many paid staff members do you plan to have? (required)

Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms.

Paid staff members: 4x

Co-Executive Director - Wiki and Public Engagement Wikimedia Assistant Communications Specialist Programming Assistant

Contractors: 4x regional proxy, short term, annual 5x photographers Photo Booths, short term, approx month 8x artists/writers/creative workers- BLT live, visiting artists, fellow, short term, approx month 1-2x publishing partners/presses month to annual

While the terms of each engagement are specific to that contractor and program, in general these totals represent the amount of time said workers are engaged by BLT to complete the terms of their agreements. Short-term contractors include photographers, artists, experienced Wikimedians and scholars. On average contractors are engaged over the period of a month, with BLT Regional Proxies having up to a year to complete their work.

19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total? (required)

Include the total FTE of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include their FTEs with the terms separately.

BLT Staff:

There are 2 FTE salaried staff written into this grant, though the programming assistant salary is shared with another department 50/50.The are two additional part-time hourly staff at .5 FTE each.

Contractors: Regional Proxy: Regional proxies are expected to realize 3 events over the term with an expectation of 75 total or equivalent 25 hours to each event shared among pre and post event work as well as hosting.This is in addition to maintaining communication with the core BLT team for support and to share progress.

Photographers and artists are engaged on a project specific basis, with varying requirements. Photographers and artists are engaged by BLT on a project-specific basis, with varying requirements. Their time does not translate neatly into FTE and fluctuates according to project needs. Typically, these engagements range from a few hours for a single event to several weeks for larger projects.

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees): The total staff overall is relatively stable for the organization, with some line items for personnel removed in our WMF grant request compared to previous years, as other funds within our organization now cover them.

In general, the costs that we have previously held as the standard rate for artists, videographers, etc, have all increased. We have raised these rates in recognition of the fact that we are asking more from these roles than we previously did. For example, the regional proxies have new reporting and data collection expectations. We have adjusted our rates for photographers in response to feedback on our standard rate. Across the board, BLT's initial offer for photographers was countered with a request for an increase. Photographers affirmed that they want to participate but need additional funds. One interesting fact here is an increased fee request due to Creative Commons licensing. Because photographers are giving up potential future income for these portraits or other image-making, it increases the rate of this particular request. We understand that and want to be responsive to the rights and appropriate rates for what we are asking.

20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Fund (required).


Budget category	Amount in local currency
Staff and contractor costs	202152 USD
Operational costs	13200 USD
Programmatic costs	44648 USD

21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)

BLT_2026 Budget.pdf

Additional information

22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)

By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Feedback

Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.