Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Monuments 2026 in the United States (ID: 23946648)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Ktkvtsh (talk • accounts • contributions • edit count)
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Wiki Loves Monuments 2026 in the United States
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-08-31 - 2027-03-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
United States of America
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments is an annual photography campaign and contest that focuses on gathering photos of registered historical sites from all around the world. From the official "about us" page, "Cultural heritage is an important part of the knowledge Wikipedia collects and disseminates...An image is worth a thousand words, in every language at once and local enthusiasts can (re)discover the cultural, historical, or scientific significance of their neighborhood."
Each year, the main goal for Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States is improving our photographic coverage of historic sites. In the United States, the National Register of Historic Places is the main national register with over 100,000 listings. On the English Wikipedia, WikiProject National Register of Historic Places tracks what percent of tracked NRHP sites have been illustrated on Wikipedia, which is currently at ~86% as of June 2026. Beyond the national register, however, are hundreds of thematic and geographic registries on the national, state, and local levels that catalog thousands of additional historic sites that can be illustrated by contest participants. Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States has a guide for finding historic sites across the country through these various federated registries.
The second challenge we aim to tackle is the onboarding of new Wikimedia contributors. Several Wikimedia projects, including the English Wikipedia, have more or less stagnated in the number of active editors. As online information habits change, Wikimedia projects continue to need accessible entry points for new contributors. Wiki Loves Monuments provides a low-barrier way for photographers, history enthusiasts, and local heritage advocates to begin contributing to Wikimedia Commons. Commons photography is a practical entry point because participants can contribute useful free media without needing to learn article writing, citation formatting, or complex editing norms at the outset. In fact, roughly 70%-90% of participants to Wiki Loves Monuments in the US each year are brand new registrants, making it an effective way to introduce people to contributing to Wikimedia. Once a new user has contributed to Wiki Loves Monuments, we can continue to invite them to participate in future Wiki Loves events, and hopefully encourage long-term contributions across Wikimedia projects.
While our event attracts new contributors, over the years we've recognized pain points, especially with copyright. Many new contributors are not familiar with the nuances of Commons policies on free media, and US copyright restrictions on freedom of panorama that do not, for example, allow us to host photos of copyrighted artworks or historic markers. In 2025, we revamped our upload form to help better inform uploaders. The form asks users for the "type" of monument they are contributing a photo of (e.g. building, sculpture, cemetery, historic marker, etc.). If the user selects a work that could potentially be copyrighted, we give them a friendly warning to inform them of potential restrictions. This form also categorizes the photos so that it is easier for us and Commons contributors to monitor and review new uploads as they come in. For 2026, we will continue iterating on our upload form to continue making it more helpful for new contributors.
Through its history, Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States has resulted in over 80,000 photo uploads of historic sites across the country. In 2025, in addition to our traditional top-10 winners, we introduced new prize categories: top-2 Native American sites, top-2 UAV photos, and most newly-illustrated. We found these new prize categories to be a positive addition to drive interest in certain topic areas and plan to repeat that this year.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
During September 2026, the organizing team will prepare the campaign infrastructure, including the Commons event page, upload instructions, prize categories, judging process, state-level monument guides, outreach materials and any updates to the Wiki Loves Monuments United States upload form.
During October 2026, Wikimedians and members of the public will be invited to upload photographs of historic sites in the United States to Wikimedia Commons. The primary recruitment method will be a CentralNotice banner across Wikimedia projects, supported by outreach to previous participants, social media promotion, WikiProject and affiliate outreach, and contact with historical societies, preservation groups and other cultural heritage organizations.
Participants will be directed to the Commons event page, state-level historic-site guides and the Wiki Loves Monuments Map to help them identify eligible sites. We will have an event page, similar to our 2025 event page, that has information and instructions for participating. We have state-level guides and the Wiki Loves Monuments Map to help people find historic sites across the country. After October, we will have a jury of 10-15 judges who will determine the top-10 photos for the contest, in a process similar to our 2025 judging.
After the upload period closes, the organizing team will review submissions for basic eligibility, monitor copyright and categorization issues, and prepare entries for jury review. This is similar to other Wiki Loves Monuments national contests. A jury of approximately 10 to 15 judges will select the top-10 national winners, which will be submitted to the international Wiki Loves Monuments jury.
In addition to the national top-10, the project will include special prize categories intended to encourage contributions that address coverage gaps:
- Most photos of places that did not previously have photos on Wikimedia Commons
- Best UAV (drone) photos
- Best Indigenous historic site photos
After judging, the team will announce winners, distribute prizes and certificates, thank participants through on-wiki messaging, and invite participants to future Wiki Loves campaigns and other Wikimedia contribution opportunities. Also, as we do each year, we will continue updating our state guides for helping participants find local historical sites to photograph.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
Our core team consists of the following, roughly ordered in involvement level for this year:
- Timothy Holdiness (User:Ktkvtsh): Timothy is a newspaper publisher in Louisiana and a contributor to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. He has helped organize Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States since 2023. For 2026, he will serve as the primary organizer, coordinating campaign setup, participant support, jury coordination, prize distribution and post-event follow-up. His Wikimedia work includes contributions related to National Register of Historic Places listings and historic-site documentation.
- Kevin Payravi (User:SuperHamster): Kevin is a longtime Wikimedia contributor, having joined in 2007. In addition to day-to-day editing, Kevin has helped lead and run Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States since 2016. For 2026, Kevin will be playing a more minor role than prior years, mainly focusing on on-wiki tasks and tech. Over the years, Kevin has also helped organize WikiConference North America, Wikipedia Asian Month, and WikiPortraits. Kevin also co-founded the Ohio Wikimedians User Group and serves on the board of Wikimedia DC.
- Laura Soito (User:Quercusechinus): Laura is a librarian at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and enjoys working with community partners to organize local Wiki events. Laura has also helped run Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States since 2016.
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States is intended for people interested in photography, history, cultural heritage and free media. The event primarily targets participants in the United States, but it is also open to people outside the United States who have photographed eligible historic sites in the country.
The main recruitment method will be a CentralNotice banner across Wikimedia projects. Additional outreach will include messages to previous participants, promotion through Wiki Loves Monuments social media channels, outreach to relevant WikiProjects and Wikimedia affiliates, and contact with external organizations such as historical societies, preservation groups and local historic sites.
During the campaign, participants will be directed to the Commons event page, upload instructions, state-level monument guides and the Wiki Loves Monuments Map. After the campaign, participants will receive an on-wiki message thanking them for participating, sharing contest results and inviting them to participate in future Wiki Loves campaigns and other Wikimedia contribution opportunities.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States is a recurring campaign that has been shaped by feedback from prior participants, Commons contributors, WikiProject National Register of Historic Places participants, judges, the international Wiki Loves Monuments community and Wikimedia organizers in the United States.
For the 2026 proposal, the organizing team discussed the project scope, leadership transition, prize categories, outreach strategy, upload workflow, judging process and budget among the core organizers. Team members involved in the application are aware of their roles in the project.
The proposal builds on prior community feedback from previous United States Wiki Loves Monuments campaigns, including feedback related to newcomer onboarding, copyright review, Commons categorization, judging, prize categories and the need to continue improving coverage of historic sites that do not yet have photographs on Wikimedia Commons.
The project also aligns with ongoing work by WikiProject National Register of Historic Places and Wikimedia Commons contributors who maintain monument lists, categorize historic-site photographs, review uploads and improve the use of heritage photographs across Wikimedia projects.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geography
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Culture, heritage or GLAM
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geographic
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Identify Topics for Impact
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
We always learn new things with each run of the contest, including:
- Learning about hundreds of historic sites and which ones still need to be documented
- Learning about new cultural heritage organizations and their registries
- Learning about the types of historic sites people are interested in, based on what is submitted and used across Wikimedia sites
- Ways that people are interested in both capturing and consuming historical and cultural heritage, particularly in the context of current events
- New and growing technologies that are being used to capture historic sites (e.g. drones, panoramas, photo spheres, etc.)
We also want to see if providing funding in a coordinated campaign across the country with local user groups can spark more local engagement.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 400 | Wiki Loves Monuments' participation each year can vary widely, from as few as ~260 participants to nearly 2,000. The primary driver of participation is the central notice banner; the frequency with which the banner is configured to appear, as well as if there are other concurrent banners running, can greatly influence the number of participants we get.
For 2026, we will aim for 400 participants. This is roughly in line with our 390 participants in 2025. Our number of editors is the same as the number of participants, as participation in the event means contributing a photo to the Wikimedia Commons. |
| Number of editors | 400 | Our number of editors is the same as the number of participants, as participation in the event means contributing a photo to the Wikimedia Commons. |
| Number of organizers | 3 | We expect ~3 core organizers, as well as a jury of ~10-15 members. |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
N/A
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| New photos | We would like to get at least 3000 new photos. | 3000 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
Commons categories
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
2500 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
2500 USD
- 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
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).