Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/WMEE Grant Application for 2026 H2

statusUnder review

Wikimedia Community Fund

WMEE Grant Application for 2026 H2

Fluxx IDR-GS-2602-21918

proposed start date2026-07-01

proposed end date2026-12-31

amount requested (local currency)61370 EUR

amount requested (USD)71563.56 USD

grant typeWikimedia Affiliate (chapter, thematic org., or user group)

funding regionCEECA

decision fiscal year2025-26

funding program roundRound 2

applicant and people related to proposal[[User:|]] ([[User talk:|talk]] • accounts • contributions • edit count)

organization (if applicable)Mittetulundusühing Wikimedia Eesti

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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)

Mittetulundusühing Wikimedia Eesti

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

Website: www.wikimedia.ee

WMEE Fiscal Year report 2024: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Eesti_financial_statement_2024_(Estonian).pdf Our detailed activity report from 2025 on Meta-Wiki: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Eesti_activity_reports#2025

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required)

WMEE Grant Application for 2026 H2

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)

2026-07-01

4. Proposed end date. (required)

2026-12-31

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)

Yes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oMfcFLSqAiWPgmOSltx7R0_VGwZHv-t2Akx-5R9CxII/edit?gid=0#gid=0

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

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17BBJnD3kuuJ29c8oJHshiztMnUqfPBXMYMYKLgHns84/edit?tab=t.0

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)

Estonia

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)

WMEE’s core priorities for 2026 build on the successful approaches introduced in 2025. Our focus will remain on ensuring strong media visibility and strengthening our international presence—for example, by organizing more photo expeditions, inviting Wikiresidents to work with WMEE, involving foreign students in Estonia in our activities, expanding the Wiki Science Competition, expanding our work with education institutions, and jointly organizing international Wikimedia meetups. Adding more cooperation with the state to help us reach new audiences, attract talented people and high-quality content, raise the prestige of Wikimedia, and increase the funding diversity. Growth in media coverage and international presence would increase awareness of Wikimedia in Estonia and enable us to contribute more effectively to the international Wikimedia movement.

In education, we will continue working primarily with universities (including the University of Tartu, and expanding work with the Estonian Academy of Arts) and, to a lesser extent, with secondary schools, with the main goal of improving information literacy among Estonian students. We will conduct more trainings, and take interns. For instance, in the first half of the year, we already have 4 interns signed, and we just participated in the University of Tartu Career Day to add even more. We will continue working with secondary schools, where, for instance, students at Rakvere State Gymnasium will write an article about their hometown, and students at Tartu Tamme Gymnasium will participate in the audio project. We intend to expand the pool of educational materials.

In GLAM, we will particularly support smaller museums and libraries in sharing their materials on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons under clear, open licenses. We will continue showcasing the Exhibition on 125 Years of Estonian Encyclopedias and collect additional materials on the topic to prepare for Estonian Wikipedia's 25th birthday in 2027. We will also move around the exhibition of science photography that we assembled in the first half of the year. In communications, we will maintain visibility through presence in nationwide media and conduct interviews with Wikipedians to document the past. We will keep on publishing our monthly newsletter and organizing community events.

Internationally, we aim to deepen cooperation with Nordic chapters, particularly WMFI, as part of the Finno-Ugric language communities. But also advance the Wiki Science Competition (where we look for new organizers worldwide, including ones who have never contributed to Wikipedia), bring together people behind Wikiquote (that is a Wikimedia project in desperate need of attention internationally), and involve more countries in our virtual exhibitions program. The Wikimedia conference and the CEE meeting will provide opportunities for us to share information about our activities to broader audience. We will keep on building international bridges through shared campaigns, resource exchange, learning sessions, and community events (like the Finno-Ugric meeting in Oulu, Finland 2026).

Our approach is in many ways grounded in community co-creation and targeted onboarding. We set priorities with our NGO's members and board via constant consultations and meetups. We provide newcomers with clear pathways to improve their wiki-themed skills (e.g., editing and source criticism) and will launch a series of training sessions aimed at seasoned Wikipedians. We will not solely focus on Wikipedia, but aim to develop all viable Wikimedia projects (with special attention to Wikimedia Commons and Wikiquote).

The key challenges we aim to address include difficulties in recruiting new members, limited volunteer engagement, and insufficient public understanding of the benefits of open knowledge. In education, the conclusion of our three-year strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research (2022–2024) calls for a transition toward more diversified alliances to sustain momentum across both secondary and adult learning. Another important challenge is scaling up our communications to reach local and international communities more effectively.

Our strategies map directly to the previously highlighted needs. We do not expect people to find us, but we are actively engaging potential contributors and seeking activists in relevant fields. We bolster retention through community events and meetups, amplified by local outreach and via our social media. We do not aim to add people at any cost; we look for quality and seek people who can contribute in areas where we have lacked skills in the past or where we need to extend our capabilities. We close content gaps through direct outreach events and targeted campaigns + (international) competitions, directing effort to a wide range of topics. We are in active communication with the state and continue to seek new partners to increase our funding and outreach options. In the field of advocacy, we work with the Estonian Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs on updating copyright law to foster a more supportive environment for knowledge creation and information sharing.

Our actions are designed to increase participation and retention, enhance content quality and discoverability, and strengthen the resilience of Estonia’s open knowledge ecosystem in 2026 and beyond. We will also build on previous projects and prepare for 2027 to ensure our actions have a compound effect.

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	No
Community support and engagement	Yes
Participation in campaigns and contests	Yes
Public policy advocacy	No
Technology (software development)	No
Other	No

Education

9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required)

Wiki Club, Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom or other Reading/Evaluating Wikipedia Training, Editing Wikipedia Training, Translation, Research, Wikidata programs, Wikimedia Commons programs

Other programs and activities if any: N/A

9.1.2. Select all relevant audience groups for Education. (required)

Secondary school students, Vocational, tertiary, or higher education, Teachers or professors, Senior citizens

Other groups if any: N/A

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required)

Documenting or incubating languages on Wikimedia projects, 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 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

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, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Supporting community members' participation in events and conferences, Offering non financial support and services to community members (equipment, space, books, etc.), Off-wiki training of community members

Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Participation in campaigns and contests

9.5. Select all campaigns that apply. (required)

Wiki Loves Earth, Wikipedia Birthday or Anniversary

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)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oMfcFLSqAiWPgmOSltx7R0_VGwZHv-t2Akx-5R9CxII/edit?gid=0#gid=0

11. Describe your team. (required)

CEO Ivo Kruusamägi. Brief description: CEO manages the whole organization and oversees the work of the other employees, helping them implement the general directions suggested by the board of directors. Additionally, he deals with major organizational issues, including representing WMEE both domestically as well as abroad and planning the chapter's strategic development. He also oversees finding opportunities for cooperation with educational institutions and running the projects that develop from those opportunities. He reports directly to the Board of Directors. Ivo also conducts and leads together with Pille our trainings and lectures. Indication of FTE and duration of work: 1.0 FTE, permanent contract as mandated by Estonian law. User:Kruusamägi

Office Manager Kerdo Kristjan Tamm. Brief description: Office Manager is in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of the chapter. He deals with minor but important day-to-day organizational issues (organizing transport, making small purchases, ensuring bills are paid on time, etc.). In addition, he conducts smaller projects with different GLAM institutions. He is second in command and reports to CEO on day-to-day duties and to WMEE members via weekly update reports. Indication of FTE and duration of work: 0.3 FTE, permanent contract (as mandated by Estonian law). User:KerdoKristjan

Communication Manager, Pille Priks. Brief description: Communication Manager oversees the chapter's internal and external communication. She runs the chapter's blog and social media pages, helps organize and promote events, and makes sure the chapter members and the public are kept up to date on the chapter's activities and on anything interesting happening in the Estonian Wikiverse. In addition, Pille conducts wiki-themed trainings, workshops, and various campaigns. Indication of FTE and duration of work: 0.7 FTE, permanent contract (as mandated by Estonian law). User:PillePrix

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)

In 2026, WMEE will continue to act as a connector between diverse partners, fostering collaboration across cultural, educational, and governmental sectors as well as within the Wikimedia movement. Externally, we will maintain our cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Government Office. We will also strengthen our ties with museums, libraries, municipal authorities, state institutions, and universities throughout Estonia. For instance, we will take part in joint initiatives such as Terminology Day (organized by several universities) and the summer meeting of Estonian GLAM institutions. Among our key long-term partners are the Institute of the Estonian Language, the Estonian National Heritage Board, the University of Tartu, and the Estonian Literary Museum.

Internally, we will continue deepening collaboration with Wikimedia chapters in the Nordic region and with Finno-Ugric language community partners, ensuring that our work connects local initiatives to international networks. Besides Wikipedia, we will focus on Wikidata, Wikiquote, and Wikimedia Commons (which involves activities like working with the National Library in Wikidata, organizing an international Wikiquote conference, and getting image donations from museums). Currently we are writing an application to receive the Supporting Organization badge from European Solidarity Corps. If successful, we could use this platform to attract and invite wikiresident(s) to Tartu already as early as this year.

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, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development, Manage Internal Knowledge, Identify Topics for Impact, 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	Based on our Metrics table created on data from 2025: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11d9IT1Cby8S_PKcMcd0KdrD1bz1YsYDPmqt8TMkq4K8/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Number of all editors	50	The number only contains the editors attracted only as a direct result of our activities. Please note that this application is only for a half-year period, and we do not plan to hold competitions during that period. The numbers are smaller than the ones presented back in September´s application, as we focus more on internships.
Number of new editors	40
Number of retained editors	10
Number of all organizers	40	It is vital to mention that we are counting organizers by events so some people are recurring and not every one is different individual.
Number of new organizers	12

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

Contributions to Wikimedia projects

Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia	80	250
Wikimedia Commons	750	10
Wikidata
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote	0	50
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

We have also started with the so-called "approches´ log" where we carefully fix all the outside inquiries, pleas and various questions sent us via email.

We keep overall metrics tables, where we are gathering detailed information and data about different metrics. You can found the summary of that tabel from 2025 here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11d9IT1Cby8S_PKcMcd0KdrD1bz1YsYDPmqt8TMkq4K8/edit?gid=0#gid=0

We also aim to work with other projects than the ones listed above. But with Wikisource, when one book counts as one addition, the numbers would be too small to list. And Wikidata is too unpredictable.

Other Metrics

15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required)

Yes

Other Metrics	Description	Target
Inters and volunteers	Measuring the number of WMEE interns (e.g., in language editing or translation) and the number of different people actively participating in our organized events without getting paid or being chapter members (i.e., external volunteers). So we would count external people who have done something noticeable in relation to us (like participated in a photo expedition).	15
Internal media activity	Measures the number of posts on our official FB and IG accounts and the publications of our monthly newsletter.	60
Articles published in media	Measures the number of articles published in different media outlets. Either published by us or directly tied to us.	10
Requests for replies	The number of requests made to us that we have replied to.	30
Cooperation partners	The number of organizations that are cooperating with WMEE during this period in order to achieve a united goal or hold a joint meeting/event.	15

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)

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonian Government Office, Estonian Research Council and other different project funds from various Estonian municipalities.

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

5000

17. Your local currency. (required)

EUR

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

61370 EUR

Multi-year funding request summary

Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	N/A EUR
Year 2	N/A EUR
Year 3	N/A EUR

Requested amount in USD

71563.56 USD

Multi-year funding request summary in USD

Year	Amount USD
Year 1	N/A USD
Year 2	N/A USD
Year 3	N/A 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.

3

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.

2.0

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees)

Compared to 2025, we changed the workloads of our two part-time employees at the beginning of 2026. Office Manager continues at 0.3 (before 0.5) and Communication Manager at 0.7 (before 0.5). Everything else remains unchanged.

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	40140 EUR
Operational costs	13630 EUR
Programmatic costs	7600 EUR

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

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_JCWuOWJga_z8ff4W00dHdXAozSwP9qyDH1S02MER1I/edit?usp=sharing

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)

As we applied for the same grant in September 2025 but only qualified for H1 2026, this application is largely the same and uses the same sum aimed for the 2nd half of the year. We have expanded the explanation to clarify our plans and actions.

We have some updates from the first half of 2026. By the start of the year, we had completed the translation of the UCoC into Estonian. In February, we created our chapter's SWOT analysis, as a continued effort on working with our strategy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iTOEsbCIEhPz20CmsftFOmPrv77DC1PKN5NBC4RI5c4/edit?tab=t.0

We will hold a General Meeting in March to add two more board members, approve the annual report, and introduce an independent goodwill chancellor as a separate institution within the chapter.

In the first three months, the number of chapter members increased from 42 to 43, marking a new record.

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Yes

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