Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Exploring new ways for community engagement

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): Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova User Group

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): No

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?: Yes

Fiscal organization name.: Făgăraș Research Institute

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://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedians_of_Romania_and_Moldova_User_Group

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required): Exploring new ways for community engagement

2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year base funding for 3 years? (required) (only for returning applicants): No

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)

N/A

3. Proposed start date. (required): 2025-07-01

4. Proposed end date. (required): 2026-06-30

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): Yes

6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): No

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required): Regional (more than one country in the same continent or region); Romania and Republic of Moldova

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)

Over the past two years, WMROMD has focused on expanding its impact through diverse campaigns and programs. Our efforts have been directed towards strengthening partnerships with NGOs, universities, and libraries while also enhancing our internal team responsible for grant implementation and community development. As a result, we have successfully organized annual campaigns and programs led by WMROMD members. Additionally, we supported community-led initiatives, such as the Writing Competition, proposed by wiki-editor community members, and introduced new campaigns that promote inclusivity and underrepresented communities, including WikiMărțișor and International Roma Day.

During this grant period, we benefited from CEE Hub support, which allowed us to hire two part-time specialists—one in Communication and one in Outreach for university and academic communities. While we have long recognized the need for dedicated communication support, being able to address this through a part-time position has significantly improved our capacity. Similarly, although we have consistently worked to engage students and professors in Wikipedia projects, our progress was limited by a lack of structured support. The assistance from CEE Hub enabled us to innovate, refine our approaches, and explore sustainable ways to develop this direction further.

So far, our strategies have successfully attracted new participants and strengthened community engagement. Based on our current grant metrics, we have already exceeded initial expectations. Moving forward, we aim to continue developing our campaigns and programs while also expanding our technical capacity by integrating software development as an official activity within the User Group. For the first time, we have the opportunity to support software development by a WMROMD member, an initiative previously discussed but not yet implemented. This will further strengthen our capabilities with the support of both WMROMD members and external partners.

Growth strategy for the next year

In the coming year, our focus will be on increasing the impact of our User Group, developing a clear growth strategy, and ensuring sustainable team development. We aim to improve management and administration, streamline campaign implementation, enhance communication (both internally and externally, while also reaching new potential volunteers), expand outreach to the academic community, and improve volunteer coordination.

Over the past six months, we have shifted towards working as a larger, coordinated team rather than focusing on individual tasks. This change presents an opportunity to take WMROMD’s efforts to the next level. To support this growth, we aim to establish permanent staff roles with clear responsibilities, ensuring structured support for volunteers and medium to long-term sustainability.

The management team will work on policies related to infrastructure and logistics, including travel, accommodations, regular meetups, and volunteer coordination. Our communication specialist will continue implementing the communication strategy developed last year, while the academic outreach specialist will focus on designing programs and activities tailored to engage the academic community.

Additionally, we will collaborate with a facilitator to guide us in developing a three-year strategic plan. Capacity-building efforts will also be prioritized to enhance team members' skills and improve internal communication.

We will continue to work with ICF, our fiscal sponsor, which also issues volunteer certificates for those participating in our university programs and other activities. Additionally, Prietenii Bibliotecii Chișinău will remain a key implementation partner for our activities in Moldova.

Receiving additional grants last year allowed us to hire two staff members, which provided essential support for communication efforts and new academic engagement approaches. However, coordinating meetings and schedules for a team that includes both part-time staff and volunteers remains a challenge. To address this, we must develop efficient workflows and coordination mechanisms to empower our team and enhance our overall efficiency.

The activities planned for this grant cycle build upon our existing initiatives and are deeply connected to the partnerships and editor communities we have developed over time:

P1. Software Development – Development of a software solution to support Wikimedia projects, by creating a solution to help admin work on Romanian language Wikipedia, based on feedback form admin community; by doing this we are integrating previous individual software development grants into our group’s activities.
P2. Wiki Loves Monuments Moldova & Bike Quest – Continuing the photography campaign to document cultural heritage in Moldova, with the added biking component.
P3. Writing Contest (Concursul de Scriere) & Open Access Week (OAW) – Continuation of two annual writing competitions and Open Access Week activities proposed by volunteers, encouraging participation and quality content creation.
P4. 1Lib1Ref 2024, WikiMărțișor, Every Book Its Reader – Engaging librarians, educators, and general participants in Wikipedia editing and citation improvement.
P5. Support for Minorities & Minority Languages – Promoting content creation highlighting underrepresented voices, including International Roma Day, and supporting work in minority languages.
P6. Wikimedian in Residence (WIR) – Placing a Wikimedian at a GLAM institution to help integrate Wikimedia projects into their work, supporting content creation and digital outreach.
P7. Education and Higher Education Programs – Expanding Wikipedia engagement among students and faculty at a number of Universities through new and improved approaches.
P8. CEE Spring – Continuing our participation in this regional campaign, where WMROMD has been a consistent contributor.

Through these initiatives, WMROMD aims to empower contributors to Wikimedia projects in Romania and Moldova by adopting a more structured and effective approach to community building, knowledge sharing, and digital inclusion. By developing technical solutions, strengthening partnerships, and expanding team capacity, we are building a strong foundation for long-term growth and sustainability within the Wikimedia movement. We look forward to continuing these efforts and working alongside our new partners to broaden access to knowledge and strengthen Wikipedia’s impact in our countries.

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	Yes
Participation in campaigns and contests	Yes
Public policy advocacy	No
Other	No

Education

9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required): Editing Wikipedia Training; 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 if any: N/A

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required): Supporting institutions to open up their collections, data, metadata, and research, Supporting GLAM professionals to incorporate use of Wikimedia in their work, through documentation, training, or Wikimedian in Residence programs, Partnering with institutions, professional associations, and allied organizations to raise awareness of open culture, ethical sharing, and related issues; 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 women and/or gender diverse groups, including biographies, intersectional topic areas and/or adding images, Focusing on knowledge equity by bringing in contributors from underrepresented communities, Building organizer skills in women and diversity groups, Fomenting female leadership within the movement (either staff, members or boards), Sensitize and educate for gender perspective among Wikimedia projects stewards and editors; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Community support and engagement

9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.: On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Supporting community members' participation in events and conferences; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Participation in campaigns and contests

9.5. Select all campaigns that apply. (required)

1Lib1Ref, CEE Spring, Wiki Loves Monuments, WikiForHumanRights, WikiGap, Other

Other programs and activities if any: Open Access Week

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

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10sDULjJtOrAfJdwO7B5RmIYIBS-U3xZ_zQetpAveWWw/edit?usp=sharing

Gannt WMROMD 2025-2026 - Google Sheets.pdf

11. Describe your team. (required)

Claudia Serbanuta - part time salaried, project manager, coordinator of communication activity, reports
Elena Damian - part time salaried, assistant manager,
Magda Bărăscu- part time salaried, communication specialist
Anamaria Lupan- part time salaried, university outreach specialist
Gikü- volunteer, coordinator of Wiki loves Monuments Moldova and CEE Spring
Strainu - contractor for software development and volunteer coordinator of University outreach

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)

We will continue collaborating with CEE Hub to participate in regional events, contribute to communication processes, and strengthen engagement within the Wikimedia community.

Additionally, we will maintain partnerships with:

Făgăraș Research Institute – Serving as our fiscal sponsor and ensuring smooth administrative processes for team members.
Babes Bolyai University Cluj – Advancing open knowledge and citizen science initiatives.
University of Bucharest – Facilitating volunteer practical work for students across multiple academic departments.
County Libraries (Giurgiu, Brașov, Buzău) and Municipality libraries (Onești, Bârlad) – Organizing events for 1Lib1Ref, WikiMărțișor, and International Roma Day campaigns.
Seneca Anticafe – Hosting events in Bucharest for new editors and Wikimedia campaigns.
Network Biblioteca Romă pentru Copii – Supporting the inclusion of more information about Roma culture on Wikipedia.

These partnerships will help us expand our reach, enhance content diversity, and strengthen our engagement with various communities.

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, Improve User Experience, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development, Innovate in Free Knowledge, Evaluate, Iterate, and Adapt

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	500	N/A
Number of all editors	350	N/A
Number of new editors	100
Number of retained editors	20
Number of all organizers	30	N/A
Number of new organizers	10	N/A

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

Contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia	150	4000
Wikimedia Commons	5000	500
Wikidata
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

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): No

16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)

N/A

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

17. Your local currency. (required): RON

18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required): 247990 RON

Multi-year funding request summary
Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	N/A RON
Year 2	N/A RON
Year 3	N/A RON

Requested amount in USD: 53436.89 USD ^{[note 1]}

Multi-year funding request summary in USD
Year	Amount USD ^{[note 1]}
Year 1	N/A USD
Year 2	N/A USD
Year 3	N/A USD

↑ ^a ^b ^c 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.

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.

4 part time staff

2 contractors

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.

the total is 1.5 FTE for 4 part time staff for 12 months

1.5 FTE for 2 contractors for 1 month

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees): Thanks to a CEE Hub grant, we were able to hire two part-time employees, in addition to the part-time management staff budgeted in our current grant. This has significantly improved our efficiency, and we aim to continue supporting these positions through this proposal. Securing funding for these roles will enable our team to grow sustainably and further develop our impact.

In the past, besides the General Support Fund, UG members applied for small grants to support software development or event organization. To streamline our efforts and improve efficiency, we have now included software development as a contracted collaboration within this proposal.

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	178290 RON
Operational costs	20600 RON
Programmatic costs	49100 RON

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

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10yWFFKTusjrmHbk-IMP-70HTNMQvK06O/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112211129032041309033&rtpof=true&sd=true

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)

Communication strategy developed in the previous grant: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16dgtlk2O5FnaYurfPwrgNeCymKS-VnCQ/view?usp=drive_link

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.

[fixedrate-1] 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.

[note 1]