Grants:Project/Rapid

Rapid Funds

The Rapid Fund program funds Wikimedia community members – individuals, groups, or organizations contributing to Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia or Commons – to organize projects throughout the year with a budget of 500 USD up to 5,000 USD.

Apply

Eligibility criteria

Specific criteria

All requests between 500 USD and up to 5,000 USD are considered (or its equivalent in another currency at the time of the application).
Individuals, groups, and organizations may apply.
Individuals are limited to 2 open grants at any given time. The total grant value accessible annually, in the given fiscal year (July 1 – June 30, for example, 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023), is up to USD 10,000, encouraging applicants to move into longer term planning in the General Support Fund program when more resources are needed.
Organizations including affiliates and informally organized groups are limited to 3 open grants at any given time. The total grant value an organization or group can access annually is up to USD 10,000. We encourage applicants to move into longer term planning in the General Support Fund where more resources are needed. This also applies to informal groups whose members apply for Rapid Funds as individuals (Wiki Fan Clubs, University clubs, planned User Groups, etc.)
Grant requests and reports can be submitted in any language.
Grants can be up to 12 months in length, and there is no minimum length.

Basic Criteria

The following are basic criteria that must be met by all Wikimedia Community Fund applicants in order for a proposal to be reviewed:

Proposals should support the achievement of Wikimedia’s mission and strategic direction.
Projects should aim at improving one or more of Wikimedia's existing websites. Projects aimed at improving third-party applications are not eligible for funding.
Applicant must follow the Universal Code of Conduct and Friendly Space Policies.
Youth Safety Policy must be in place for any activity that involves underage community members.
Applicant is within a country that can legally receive funding for the described activities and expenses based on laws on sending and receiving funds in the United States and their country.
Applicant does not appear on the United States Department of Treasury Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN).
Applicants must be in compliance with all requirements and in good standing for any current activities funded through the Wikimedia Foundation.
Works and contributions must be able to be published under ethical, open access agreements.
Applications must be for future, planned work.
Proposed activities that meet the United States Internal Revenue Service definition of lobbying cannot be funded.^[1]
Applicants receiving funding must not be Wikimedia Foundation staff members or contractors working more than part time (more than 20 hours per week).

Behavioral requirements

Applicants should be in good standing in regard to ethical behavior within the community (e.g. social behavior, financial behavior, legal behavior, etc.), as determined through the due diligence process of the grant program.
Within the last year, applicants have not been blocked, banned, or otherwise flagged by Wikimedia Foundation staff or another affiliate for violations of Universal Code of Conduct and Friendly Space Policies, or for other types of violations or conduct issues. If such issues have occurred in the past, the applicant is required to demonstrate learning and understanding in regard to the cause for the issue, such that they are ready to serve as a role model for others as a grantee.
Within the last year, applicants have not been repeatedly blocked or flagged for the same issue and/or have not been banned on the Wikimedia Projects. If a block/ban is recorded in the applicant's account history, the applicant is required to demonstrate learning and understanding in regard to the cause for the block, such that they are ready to serve as a role model for others as a grantee.

Youth Safety

If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, it also outlines compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provides documentation of the local laws in the annex.
The proposal demonstrates how they will ensure the safe engagement of young people in all of the project’s activities.
The proposal demonstrates that any adults who will be working in close contact with young people have been properly vetted and trained.
The proposal outlines an action protocol in the case that incidents occur relating to the physical and psychological safety of young people.

Application Process

Applications are submitted on the Fluxx Grantee portal starting April 15, 2022. Revised application and reporting forms are used. Applicants will still engage with Community members on Meta as all applications will automatically be published on Meta.

After submission, the application will be processed with the following steps:

Review and feedback of proposals (14 days)
Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee (10 days)
Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed (10 days)
Approvals and disbursement (14 days)

Examples of what we fund

Individuals coordinating local events related to a global campaign in their community.
Cultural and heritage projects that support contribution of content, curation of the content and promote accessibility of that content.
Strategic and annual plans from Wikimedia Movement Affiliates
Local, regional, and thematic conferences that bring together Wikimedians
Common expenses supported through previous grant programs such as (but not limited to):
- Working space, services, prizes, outreach, and other common costs needed to support edit-a-thons, contests, photowalks, and promotional campaigns.
- Data costs to support access to online events
- Project related travel for organizers
Compensation for well-defined roles that do not replace volunteer activities, including (but not limited to) graphic design, training, childcare services, translation, project management, and Wikimedian-in-Residence roles.

Regional Committees will have flexibility to fund projects and expenses that applicants identify based on their specific context and situational needs, and may support additional requests not described here.

Timeline

April – May 2022

Cycle 1: April 15th – May 31st
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
April 15th 2022, 23:59 UTC	Submission deadline of applications
April 16 – 29th 2022	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
April 30th – May 9th	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
April 30th – May 9th	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
May 10th – May 24th	Approvals and disbursement	14 days
May 25th	The earliest start date for Rapid Fund projects in this cycle

June – July 2022

Cycle 2: 1st June – July 15th
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
June 1st 2022, 23:59 UTC	Submission deadline of applications
June 2nd – 15th 2022	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
June 16th – 25th	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
June 16th – 25th	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
June 26th – July 10th	Approvals and disbursement	14 days
July 11th	The earliest start date for Rapid Fund projects in this cycle

July – August 2022

Cycle 3: July 15th – August 31st
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
July 15th 2022, 23:59 UTC	Submission deadline of applications
16th – 29th July 2022	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
30th July – 8th August	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
30th July – 8th August	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
9th August – 22nd August	Approvals and disbursement	14 days
23rd August	The earliest start date for Rapid Fund projects in this cycle

September – October 2022

Cycle 4: 1st September – 15th October
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
1st September, 23:59 UTC	Submission deadline of applications
2nd – 15th September	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
16th – 25th September	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
16th – 25th September	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
26th September – 10th October	Approvals and disbursement	14 days
11th October	The earliest start date for Rapid Fund projects in this cycle

October – November 2022

Cycle 5 : 15th October – 30th November
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
15th October, 23:59 UTC	Submission deadline of applications
16th – 29th October	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
30th October – 8th November	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
30th October – 8th November	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
9th – 22nd November	Approvals and disbursement	14 days
23rd November	The earliest start date for Rapid Fund projects in this cycle

December 2022 – January 2023

Cycle 6 : December 1st 2022 – January 30th 2023
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
1st December	Submission deadline of applications
2nd – 15th December 2022	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
16th December 2022 – 8th January 2023	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	20 days
16th December 2022 – 8th January 2023	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	20 days
9th January – 14th January	Approvals	5 days
15th January – 23rd January	Disbursement	10 days

January – March 2023

Cycle 7 : 30th January – 20th March 2023
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
30th January	Submission deadline of applications
31st January – 14th February	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
15th February – 25th February	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
15th February – 25th February	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
26th February – 2nd March	Approvals	5 days
March 3, 2023 – April 14, 2023	Disbursement

March – May 2023

Cycle 8 : 20th March – 5th May 2023
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
20th March	Submission deadline of applications
21st March – 4th April	Review and feedback of proposals	14 days
4th – 14th April	Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee	10 days
4th – 14th April	Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	10 days
14th – 19th April	Approvals	5 days
April 19 – May 5, 2023	Grant processing, agreement, and payment

Cycle 9 – May – June 2023

May 5 – July 1, 2023
Dates for Rapid Funds	Activity	Estimated time
May 5, 2023	Submission deadline of applications
May 6 – May 27, 2023	Eligibility and compliance check	21 days
May 20 – June 10, 2023	Review and feedback of proposals Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal from the community and regional committee Applicant makes adjustments to their proposal where needed	21 days
June 10 – June 17, 2023	Decisions announced	7 days
June 10 – July 1, 2023	Grant processing, agreement, and payment	21 days
July 1, 2023	Earliest project start date

Conversation hours

Please join the Rapid Fund conversation hours if you have any question about the program.

Office Hours
Date	Time	Language	Topic	Grantee Partner Type	Link to meeting
February 1, 2023	4 p.m – 5 p.m UTC	English	Rapid Fund Applicant Support	Rapid Fund Grantees	Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 874 6899 4589 Passcode: 454018
March 1, 2023 -	4 p.m – 5 p.m UTC	English	Rapid Fund Applicant Support	Rapid Fund Grantees	CANCELLED DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES
April 8, 2023	4 p.m – 5 p.m UTC	English	Rapid Fund Applicant Support	Rapid Fund Grantees	Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 874 6899 4589 Passcode: 454018
May 3, 2023	4 p.m – 5 p.m UTC	English	Rapid Fund Applicant Support	Rapid Fund Grantees	Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 874 6899 4589 Passcode: 454018
June 5, 2023	4 p.m – 5 p.m UTC	English	Rapid Fund Applicant Support	Rapid Fund Grantees	Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 874 6899 4589 Passcode: 454018

Resources

Contact us

Please send your grant submissions, reports, any questions or feedback to:

Region	Regional Program Officer	Email address
Middle East and Africa	Veronica Thamaini	mea_rapidwikimedia.org
South Asia (SA)	Tanveer Hasan	sa_rapid@wikimedia.org
East, Southeast Asia, and Pacific (ESEAP)	Jacqueline Chen	eseap_rapidwikimedia.org
Latin America (LATAM) and The Caribbean	Mercedes Caso	lac_rapidwikimedia.org
United States and Canada	Chris Schilling	usca_rapidwikimedia.org
Northern and Western Europe	TBA	nwe_rapidwikimedia.org
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia	Chris Schilling	ceeca_rapidwikimedia.org

References

↑ https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/lobbying.

[1] ttps://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/lobbying.

[1]