Grants talk:Programs/Hub Fund/CANCUS (Canada, Caribbean, US) Hub Proposal

Feedback on name

The name "CANCUS" doesn't feel like it rolls off the tongue for me. Northern America is sometimes used to mean the U.S. and Canada, so perhaps "Northern and Caribbean American Hub" would a be better name. Antony-22 (talk) 02:35, 7 March 2026 (UTC)

I agree. What about CARUSCA (Carribean-US-Canada)? Gaurav (talk) 19:17, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

Suggestions:

1. WHISCC, pronounced "whisk", for Wikimedia Hub of the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean
2. HUSCC, pronounced "husk", for Hub of the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean
3. CCUSH, pronounced "cush", for Canada, the Caribbean, and United States Hub
4. CCRUSH, pronounced "crush", for the Caribbean, Canada, and United States Hub
5. CRUSC, pronounced "crux", for the Caribbean, United States, and Canada

↠Pine (✉) 02:26, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

We are trying to centralize some of this at Talk:North American Wikimedians/Hub#May 2026 consultation, but always good to have more acronym possibilities. How would you feel about the idea of formatting it as something like "WikiCircle of X, Y, Z" for whatever value of XYZ, so there's a non-hermetic shorthand we can use? Pharos (talk) 02:53, 20 May 2026 (UTC)

@Pharos: please see above regarding naming suggestions. If needed this section can be moved to a different page. Thanks, ↠Pine (✉)

Decision on your Hub fund application

Dear Pacita and Louis,

Thank you for your patience. We appreciate the time and effort you put into this application. The care and thought are clearly reflected in the revised version.

Based on reviews from colleagues in the Community Resources, Content Enablement, and Community Development Teams, I am glad to share that the CANCUS Hub pilot has been approved. The total funding approved is USD 145,000. We are unable to fund the full request right now due to budget constraints and the need to support applications for the next round.

We provided feedback for the earlier application, which can be accessed through this doc, below are some feedback on the current application.

Feedback on the CANCUS Hub:

Strengths

The proposal shows a strong understanding of the regional context and where support is most needed. It clearly identifies underrepresented areas such as the Caribbean, Western Canada, and rural parts of the United States, and positions the hub to address gaps in participation, resources, and capacity. This kind of targeted focus aligns well with movement priorities around equity and inclusion.

The overall strategy is well structured. The three main areas, engagement, training, and administrative support, are logically connected and supported by clear activities. This makes the plan easy to follow and shows that the team has thought through how the different pieces of work connect.

The proposal also defines measurable outputs. Targets such as increasing the number of editors, creating content, forming contributor groups, and delivering training programs are clearly highlighted in the proposal. This is useful for tracking progress and assessing whether the hub is delivering on its commitments. In addition, the hub’s role within the broader ecosystem is reasonably clear, especially in how it plans to support affiliates and collaborate with the Wikimedia Foundation on funding processes and capacity building.

Areas for improvement and Support:

This comment is provided for the hub actors to consider as they design the program. It is not a condition for approval, but rather guidance to strengthen the overall design and implementation of the services.

The biggest gap is in retention beyond one-off activities. While the proposal lists activities, outputs, and outcomes, it does not clearly explain how interventions such as training or campaigns will lead to sustained contributor engagement or stronger communities, and it includes no clear follow-up plans. The focus is heavily on onboarding new editors, with limited detail on how they will be supported to stay. Retention may require different strategies such as mentorship, community integration, recognition, and ongoing engagement pathways. Many hubs, such as the EduWiki Hub and the Language Diversity Hub, offer mentorship programs to support and grow individuals in the movement. It would also be important to see how new volunteers and training participants are integrated into regional user groups over time.

Some services would benefit from greater detail, particularly how trainings will be structured and what platforms will be used. While areas such as digital safety and grant writing are mentioned, the implementation approach remains unclear. We believe this can evolve as staff are hired and the steering committee is formed, which should strengthen both design and delivery. In addition, the WikiLearn team can be of support to help structure courses and host online training for participants on learn.wiki.

If the Hub wants to explore new onboarding tools that support new editors or engage editors in the Wiki projects, we are happy to connect the members with the Product and Tech teams.

Regarding the Rapid grants transition, your next steps will be to begin discussions with Community Resources to define a clear transition plan for review, decision-making, and grant administration. These responsibilities may be shared initially or fully transitioned to the Hub, depending on your readiness and preparation to take on these functions. There will be support from the Community Resources Team on this. - SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 14:17, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Related deprecated proposals

Over the years, since 2011 at least, there have been regular discussions involving dozens of Wikimedians to organize United States or North American Wikimedians regionally. Here are two recent grant proposals toward this -

• Grants:Programs/Hub Fund/North American Hub 2025
• Grants:Programs/Hub Fund/North American Hub 2025-26

I am hopeful for this project to build on precedent and advance our common regional goals. Bluerasberry (talk) 18:09, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

Possible logos or mascots

1. Monarch butterfly or another butterfly that visits all 3 of Canada, US, and the Caribbean
2. A whale that visits all 3 of Canada, US, and the Caribbean
3. A bird that visits all 3 of Canada, US, and the Caribbean

↠Pine (✉) 02:30, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Turtle Island turtle? Arlo Barnes (talk) 01:58, 6 August 2026 (UTC)