Grants:PEG/WM PH/General operations 2013/Report

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Report accepted
This report for a Project and Event grant approved in FY 2012-13 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
  • You are welcome to Email grants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.


Compliance and completion[edit]

Did you comply with the requirements specified by WMF in the grant agreement?
YES, except for submitting reports on time.
Is your project completed?
YES. Note: The project is considered closed but we are requesting for an extension for 1 particular item. Please see #Remaining funds.
Did you use any of the grant funds?
YES

Activities and lessons learned[edit]

This section describes what the grantee did, and what the grantee learned from implementing the project. This section should be useful to others implementing similar projects and is an opportunity for the grantee to reflect on the project's performance.

Activities[edit]

Provide a detailed list of activities performed to complete this project, descriptions of these activities, and the amount of time spent on each activity. This section should also include a list of participants, or a link to pictures, blog posts, or videos from the project or event.

Administrative expenses[edit]

  • 2013 Board Strategic Planning (further reading: report)
    • The Board of Trustees held its annual Strategic Planning meeting at the Bakasyunan Resort and Conference Center in Tanay, Rizal. With the chapter facing mounting administrative duties, many of these duties were divided among individual members for completion within the next year, and both new projects and the chapter's budget for 2014 were discussed.
  • For other expenses (rental, office supplies, etc.), please refer to the #Expenses section for details.

Programmatic expenses[edit]

Wikimedia Philippines performed the following programmatic activities under this grant:
  • Participation to the 2013 Amsterdam Hackathon by Michael Rubio
  • Tagalog Wikipedia 10th year anniversary meetup (further reading: report)
    • The organization facilitated the celebration of the Tagalog Wikipedia's tenth anniversary, which was held on December 1, 2013. The Tagalog Wikipedia community, along with members of Wikimedia Philippines and interested members of the general public, not only recounted the history of the Tagalog Wikipedia, but also talked about where the project is now, what we can do to improve the state of the Tagalog Wikipedia in terms of content, and what projects the community should pursue in order to increase both readership and editorship.

Lessons learned[edit]

What lessons were learned that may help others succeed in similar projects? Consider the following questions and respond with 1 - 2 paragraphs.
What went well?
For the most part, projects were well-executed and the overall strategy of the organization worked: that we must continue to build our membership base and implement good projects. In particular, Open Web Day and Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 were successful in conducting outreach for the organization, and the Strategic Planning process for the organization has allowed for a clearer direction to take root at the organization for the next few years.
What did not go well?
Although the projects themselves were well-executed, the organization admits to being remiss on deadlines, and so as much as possible, we would try as much as possible to stick to them. We also need to improve our feedback mechanisms so that members will have a better voice as to how projects are run.
What would you do differently if you planned a similar project?
Mostly, we look forward to getting more oversight as to what the organization is doing, and that should be incorporated into future grants of an administrative nature.
In addition, while the projects and activities are executed fairly well, Wikimedia Philippines' significant weakness is in reporting and documentation. The Board has recognized this shortcoming and we are trying various strategies to improve in this regard. So far, some ideas are working, such as by having volunteers from a partner university in documenting meeting minutes for the organization, but others are not working, as shown by the late submission of this grant report. The Board is still considering various other options especially during the planning phase in order to avoid getting out of compliance.

Project goal and measures of success[edit]

This section should reference the project goals and measures of success described in the approved grant submission. See Grants:PEG/WM PH/General operations 2013 to review the goals and metrics listed in the approved submission.

Project goal[edit]

Provide the project goal here.
The goal of this project is to provide an operational budget for Wikimedia Philippines for the year 2013 (retroactive to January 1). That will ensure continuity of the chapter to meet its regulatory obligations as a non-stock, non-profit corporation in the Philippines.
Did you achieve your project goal? How do you know your goal was achieved? Please answer in 1 - 2 paragraphs.
For the most part, yes. The chapter achieved its goals of expanding its membership base and reach outside of Manila, executing projects well that seek to broaden Wikipedia's appeal to Filipinos, and was able to keep administrative expenses below 30%, which is a requirement towards the long-term goal of obtaining NGO accreditation and donee institution status. However, we understand that in the Philippines, we are investing in the long-term health and welfare of our community, and so we look forward to seeing how much fruit the projects we have implemented this year will bear.

Measures of success[edit]

List the measures of success exactly as provided in the approved grant submission, and evaluate your project according to each measure listed there.
  • 30 additional members by the end of the year
The Board approved 36 out of the 48 membership applications in 2013.
  • Conduct other projects to cap administrative expenses to 30%
Preliminary financial statements figures show that the percentage of administrative expenses is at 22.1%, below the mandatory 30% limit, as other projects were also held during the duration of the year, which includes Wiki Loves Monuments 2013, WikiConference, Open Web Day, etc.
Provide an overall assessment of how your project went according to these measures.
The grant which was intended for the beginning of January 2013 was only submitted on April 21, well into the year. The chapter was also out of compliance due to non-submission of grant reports which resulted to the withholding of the approval of the grant. It was not until October 1, that the chapter was back in compliance.
If you were to plan a similar project, would you measure it differently? If yes, please explain how.
In order to avoid compliance issues, the Board will add measures regarding compliance to documentation and reporting and not just measures on membership growth and capping of administrative expenses.

Impact[edit]

This section ties this project to Wikimedia's broader goals, and shows what the project accomplished.

What impact did this project have on WMF's mission and the strategic goals? Please answer in 1 -2 paragraphs and include specific measures of impact such as the number of readers or editors reached by a particular project, or the number of articles edited or improved.
Stabilize infrastructure
"Chapters provide important capacity for the movement's work, however most are still young. The chapters will need to improve their capacity to serve their communities at a greater scale of impact."[1]
While Wikimedia Philippines cannot meaningfully contribute towards stabilizing the infrastructure of the Wikimedia movement as a whole, the 2013 general operations grant does allow the organization to continue operating and improve its capacity in promoting the Wikimedia mission in the Philippines. Specifically, the Strategic Planning meeting that the Board did in November 2013 allowed the Board to reflect on where the organization is and where the Board wants the organization to be in the future.
Increase participation
"Chapters will continue to play an active role in organizing and funding in-person community gatherings and in conducting outreach programs to bring new, diverse groups to Wikimedia's projects."[1]
The 2013 general operations grant allowed Wikimedia Philippines to continue operating in support of its projects which were funded by other grants from the Wikimedia Foundation such as Open Web Day and Wiki Loves Monuments. The Open Web Day project is specifically an outreach project aimed at engaging the target demographic of students, while Wiki Loves Monuments aimed to promote the idea of building a free and open repository of heritage sites of the Philippines to a demographic that is usually sensitive to copyright issues: photographers. These projects were well-executed this year owing to previous experience in handling these projects in 2012. In addition, with the tenth anniversaries of other Philippine-language projects coming up, we hope that awareness of the Tagalog Wikipedia's tenth anniversary will also lead to greater community participation in the building-up of local language Wikipedias.
As for the organization itself, membership increased, especially outside of Metro Manila. Wikimedia Philippines is confident that its expanded membership base outside the capital will be able to further the cause of the Wikimedia projects in places the organization is currently unable to reach. Although the effects were not immediately seen in 2013, we're starting to see some of this in 2014, with members taking increased interest in the organization and our projects, as well as taking stewardship of these projects. Especially with the launch of the Wikipedia Philippine Cultural Heritage Mapping Project as a continuation of our GLAM program, we look forward to our members serving as point persons for Wikimedia in their respective locales.
Improve quality
"Chapters will continue to support the work of editors and pursue opportunities to free knowledge in their geographies for use in the projects. They also have an important role in creating content partnerships with cultural institutions in their geographic area."[1]
The projects Wikimedia Philippines organized in 2012 were not specifically targeted towards increasing the quality of the content in the Wikimedia projects. Wikimedia Philippines is still in the stage where we are building up participation and reach to the projects first as there is still a lack of awareness on how Wikipedia and the the other Wikimedia projects work, as evidenced by news articles such as this one that reported that a local politician's Wikipedia article was vandalized, something that would not be news-worthy in other countries.
Nevertheless, in promoting Wikipedia via the Open Web Day events, we emphasize that quality is an important goal in Wikipedia. And in Wiki Loves Monuments, quality is the primary factor in judging the winning photographs.
Increase reach
"Chapters provide the local expertise, infrastructure and passion that can help to spur project growth. As the movement focuses more energy on the Global South, it will be valuable to build chapters in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East & North Africa, and Latin America."[1]
This is heavily linked with the criterion on increasing participation, and in the Philippine context, both should be taken into account together. As mentioned earlier, the expanded reach outside of Manila will allow for the organization to seriously launch region-based projects.
Encourage innovation
"Chapters should encourage innovation among the communities they serve and experiment with new approaches to their work."[1]
This criterion does not apply to this particular grant.

Reporting and documentation of expenditures[edit]

This section describes the grant's use of funds

Documentation[edit]

Did you send documentation of all expenses paid with grant funds to grants at wikimedia dot org, according to the guidelines here? Answer "Yes" or "No".
Yes, submitted to grants at wikimedia dot org and awang at wikimedia dot org.

Expenses[edit]

Please list all project expenses in a table here, with descriptions and dates. Review the instructions here.
These expenses should be listed in the same format as the budget table in your approved submission so that anyone reading this report may be able to easily compare budgeted vs. actual expenses.
Note that variances in the project budget over 10% per expense category must be approved in advance by WMF Grants Program staff. For all other variances, please provide an explanation in the table below.


Number Category Item description Unit Number of units Actual cost per unit Actual total Budgeted total Currency Notes
1 Rental Co-working/virtual office space month 12 2,012.00 24,144.00 24,000.00 PHP Variance of 0.6%
2 Rental Conference room/facilities rental 5,500.00 10,000.00 PHP
3 Rental Storage space 31,606.00 33,000 PHP Amount includes 2 months security deposit, and an advance rental to cover the 12th month of the year-long contract.
4 Professional services External auditor 3,700.45 5,000 PHP Amount is inclusive of 10% tax required to be withheld.
5 Professional services Bookkeeper 3,000 PHP Service not availed, Treasurer maintained the books for 2013, pro bono.
6 Professional services Secretarial/messengerial services 2,534.00 3,000 PHP
7 Professional services Legal services/representation - - - - 50,000 PHP Requesting item for reallocation.
8 Courier Mail/Cargo services - - - 1,770.00 4,000 PHP
10 Office supplies Steel storage cabinet 1 1 8,000.00 8,000.00 15,000 PHP Purchased the item direct from the supplier rather than a retail store and got as much as 40% off the retail price.
11 Office supplies Office supplies - - - 6,574.25 18,000 PHP Unused office supplies bought for projects (from other grants) were turned over.
12 Representation Meeting expenses - - - 15,184.30 20,000 PHP
13 Representation Transportation/Fuel - - - 15,563.70 20,000 PHP
14 Taxes and licenses Annual business registration/permits - - - 7,715.00 10,000 PHP
15 Taxes and licenses Provision for taxes/penalties - - - 1,954.70 7,000 PHP
17 Publication Annual Report 1 copy 100 50 200 210 11,092.50 20,000 PHP Only 50 copies were printed.
18 Publication Strategic Plan 1 copy 60 250 15,000 PHP Not printed
19 Utilities Domain registration/webhosting 8,304.31 8,304.31 8,500 PHP Web hosting is for 16 mos. ending on January 1, 2015.
20 Miscellaneous Bank check books/certifications 1 - - 1,150.00 1,000 PHP Direct bank charges/debits (remittance charge, bank service fee and check book). Variance of 15%.
21 Miscellaneous Contingency - - - 5,585.00 15,000 PHP
22 Participation Visa and travel insurance - - - 11,143.17 20,000 PHP Used for incidental expenses of Michael Rubio to the Amsterdam Hackathon. Original Wikimedia Conference 2013 representatives Relly Bautista applied for visa at the Italian embassy but was declined.
23 Taxes and licenses 20 Booklets of Official Receipts booklet (50s) 20 120 2,400.00 2,500 PHP Receipts are now good only for 5 years, and must be retired even if unused. This is in compliance with a new Bureau of Internal Revenue regulation.
24 Development and training Strategic Planning - - - 40,100.00 50,000 PHP
25 Equipment Camcorder + Tripod 1 set 1 21,748.95 21,748.95 25,000 PHP
26 Office supplies Letterhead 1 ream (500 pcs) 4 5 1,950 38,025.00 10,000 PHP Most of the printers canvassed require a minimum 5,000+ pcs to accept a job order for colored printing. The printer that we contracted offered the lowest minimum number at 1,000 pcs. Due to this, the number of pieces and units couldn't be observed. A 50% discount was given for the Catalog envelopes as a compromise, rather than rejecting the finished product as they had used "short envelopes" instead of "catalog envelopes". Variance of 3.51%
27 Office supplies Envelope (letter) 1 box pcs. 2 1,000 17.55 8,000 PHP
28 Office supplies Catalog envelopes 100's pcs. 3 1,000 21.45 18,000 PHP
29 Activity Tagalog Wikipedia 10 Anniversary Meet-up 23,107.50 20,000 PHP Variance of 15.5%
Total project budget (from your approved grant submission)
₱ 435,000.00
Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission, this total will be the same as the total project budget if the WMF grant is your only funding source)
₱ 435,000.00
Total amount spent on this project (this total should be the total calculated from the table above)
₱ 286,902.83
Total amount of WMF grant funds spent on this project (this total will be the same as the total amount spent if the WMF grant is your only funding source)
₱ 286,902.83
Are there additional sources of revenue that funded any part of this project? List them here.
N/A


Remaining funds[edit]

Are there any grant funds remaining?
YES
Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)
₱ 148,097.17
The funds remaining from this grant in the amount of ₱148,097.17 were deducted from another grant payment for Grants:PEG/WM PH/Annual program plan 2014.
If funds are remaining they must be returned to WMF, reallocated to mission-aligned activities, or applied to another approved grant.
Please state here if you intend to return unused funds to WMF, submit a request for reallocation, or submit a new grant request, and then follow the instructions on your approved grant submission.

References[edit]