Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Wikimedia DC:Sustaining and Growing Chapter Programs and Partnerships in 2023-24

Some questions

Hi,

@Econterms, Antony-22, and Sarasays: Thanks for your proposal. As I was going over the proposal, I had some questions that I hope you can help clarify:

• Could you clarify a bit your role in relationship to the community, both locally and online? While on various places in the proposal you suggest some relationships, you give an unequivocal "no" at question 13 when asked if you plan to work with the relationship. For example, what does your membership look like, and how is your membership involved in setting these plans that underpin this proposal?

We very much welcome the opportunity to talk all of these questions over with the Regional Committee. The answer of “no” to question 13 indicates not a rejection of the idea of collaboration or partnership, but instead reflects that we interpreted this question in its context of the use of funding. While we welcome and enjoy many partnerships, WMDC does not plan to use the grant funding in such a manner that collaboration with other groups or affiliates is a prerequisite for successfully achieving the goals of the grant. Of course, we have a longstanding history of collaborating programmatically with other chapters including Wikimedia New York, Wikimedia Sweden, and Wikimedia Mexico as well as with user groups and Wikimedians-in-Residence. We intend to continue doing so as part of our general operating activities. However, the funds provided by this grant will be used for WMDC’s core operations and will support general expenses associated with the chapter’s programmatic and administrative activities, and will not be disbursed to other affiliates.

Our annual reports are available here

It is worth noting that WMDC recently received, separately, a short-term Movement Strategy grant that requires intense work with other affiliates and user groups across North America. As part of this work, WMDC will facilitate conversations among affiliates and user groups to determine the needs of the community and the viability of a potential North American Hub. As an organization, we strongly value collaborative work, but our answer to Question 13 was intended to emphasize that the funds would be expended in service of operational support to ensure the continuity of the chapter.

Wikimedia DC currently has around 70 active members, many of whom live (or have lived) in the DC area, but some of whom are volunteers who primarily interface with the chapter through online activities. Members are engaged via regular meetings, committee memberships, public programs, volunteer opportunities at WMDC events, and formal and informal meetups, and of course, via board elections. Our members are very much aware and a part of the activities we conduct, and frequently attend to provide support. We are excited to return to a greater number of in-person meetings and events in the coming months. We also look forward to engaging deeply with membership over the coming year as we look to write a new strategic plan. -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:46, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

• One of the provided links in the budget section seems to give access denied. Could you please verify if this is correctly set up?

This (expired) link to a Google Sheets budget can be removed. It is an exact duplicate of the budget that was uploaded to Fluxx as a spreadsheet, and is therefore redundant. -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:46, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

• The linked strategic plan (Q18) is from 2016-2021. Could you contextualize what its status is?

While the strategic plan technically expired during the pandemic, it continues to articulate a series of goals and activities that we follow to this day. In January 2022, the current President and new executive board considered the possibility of extending the end dates on the 2016-2021 plan but decided to wait and undertake a new planning process once our nonprofit status was successfully restored. We feel the time will be right to undertake a new strategic planning process in 2023-24, supported by this General Support grant, that will incorporate findings from the Movement Strategy North American Hubs research project and reflect the direction of current leadership and the realities of this present moment. That is the reason you see a budget line for strategic planning consultant in the proposal. -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:46, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! Effeietsanders (talk) 05:33, 21 April 2023 (UTC)

Hi Effeietsanders. Thank you for your questions. Please see above for our answers. We have also provided answers to other related questions below. -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:46, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Regional Committee feedback and questions

Hello econterms, Antony-22, and Sarasays, and thanks for your proposal supporting your affiliate activities and projects across the United States, especially in the mid-Atlantic region. The US/Canada Regional Committee has initially reviewed the proposal, and wanted to offer some initial feedback and questions for your review:

• Please review the earlier comments from committee member Effeietsanders above, as this feedback coincides with general feedback from the committee as well.

• The committee agreed it would be beneficial for us to meet with you to discuss some topics related to the proposal. In particular, the committee wanted to understand more about your nonprofit status history and your community-facing programs. Chris will be reaching out soon via e-mail to schedule a meeting between your team and some members of the Regional Committee.

• Overall, the evaluation plan has a healthy combination of metrics that incorporate your own interactions and experiences with community members and partners, as well as quantitative metrics around participation and editing that will help address your learning questions in different ways. The briefs you will publish on your areas of focus may also be good resources for other affiliates in the movement who could use support in tasks such as forming partnerships, and supporting participation from groups who face significant obstacles to participation in the WIkimedia movement.

• There is some confusion regarding the budget documents provided with the proposal, This link appears to be the budget associated with this proposal for General Support Funds. However, we are not sure what this budget refers to. Could this be clarified? I (Chris) can also make changes on Fluxx to adjust the proposal where needed.

• Wikimedia DC maintains a grant program of its own. In reviewing the budget and proposal, this grant program is not clearly mentioned as a part of your funded activities. Will your organization continue to run this grant program, and if so, how is it funded in your budget?

In the past, WikiDC gave small grants for books and other purposes, but ceased doing so around 2016. Since then, the chapter has not issued any grants except for conference travel and Wiki Science prizes. Issuing grant funds is not something we plan to undertake during the upcoming year, hence it is not requested in this budget. Having been made aware of this confusion, we’ve just updated our website to remove the out-of-date statement that the chapter offers grants.-Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:35, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

• WMDC has not received general operating support from the Wikimedia Foundation since 2017 due to a lapse in its nonprofit status, which has since been restored this year.

Important clarification: Wikimedia DC did not lose its non-profit status until 2021. The reason we did not receive WMF support in 2017 afterward is because the Foundation ended the funding program. After being lost in 2021, WMDC’s nonprofit status has been fully and retroactively restored by the IRS.-Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:35, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

• The committee is interested in supporting your organization if there are needs that can help you maintain your status in the future. What practices has your organization already implemented that will help your organization successfully maintain its nonprofit status in the future? Thinking ahead, are there other internal changes or investments that would help with your reporting or other requirements around maintaining your nonprofit status?

Thank you to the committee for this good question. The current President and executive board, several of them new in their roles as of January 2022, are extremely committed to ensuring the sustainability of the organization. WMDC has always exercised prudence and addressed our stated charitable mission, kept reliable financial records, and published timely annual financial reports on our website. We’ve already taken several new steps to ensure greater transparency and accountability for financial matters by ensuring that at least 3 board members have access to the accounting and tax reporting software at all times, where formerly only one member filed the tax paperwork. We also updated all mailing addresses to ensure that all correspondence here and into the future goes to the chapter’s permanent PO Box, accessible to multiple people, as we believe one of the tax problems stemmed from prior IRS correspondence being sent to an outdated street address.

The requests we’ve made in the General Support budget indicate a new investment in ongoing support from a professional accountant, and upgrades to business software that allow for more user seats so that there is greater shared visibility into the finances and legal status of the organization. We also have started involving the Chapter’s staff member in more administrative activities, and will seek further additions to the board in the coming year who bring renewed strengths in non-profit operations and administration. We could foresee a future state, in years to come, where additional operations staff or contractors could be hired to augment the work of the programs manager and ensure ongoing good practices in managing the organization. -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:35, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

In terms of the schedule for our review process, please complete your review and responses to committee feedback by May 8th. After this time, the Regional Committee will begin a final review of the proposal to make a formal decision. Thanks again for your work on the proposal and supporting our review.

On behalf of the Regional Committee, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 20:41, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Hi I JethroBT (WMF). Please see our answers above. Thanks! -Ariel Cetrone (WMDC) (talk) 13:56, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Request for reduced budget

As requested, WMDC has prepared a revised budget of $75,000 USD. The cuts would come primarily in the form of reducing the duration of engagement and scope of work for the strategic planning consultant. It also cuts salary by 25%, which will require WMDC to find alternative sources of income for 1/4 of the year (via contracts and other grants) in order to meet payroll obligations. While this reduced amount would leave us in a tighter financial situation, we believe this budget could be workable. Happy to answer any questions the Committee may have! --Sarasays (talk) 16:13, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

General Support Fund proposal approved in the amount of 146,450 USD

@Econterms, Antony-22, and Sarasays: Congratulations! Your grant is approved in the amount of 146,450 USD for an 18-month period with a grant term starting 1 July 2023 and ending 31 December 2024. The 18-month grant is being provided to support Wikimedia DC to switch its funding round from the current period to a more supportive period for its own fiscal year (with funding periods starting January 1) for the next round. This amount reflects a partial funding decision for the first year compared to the primary budget submitted, but supports a longer-term funding period overall. The award is expected to be disbursed in the following manner:

• Amount for Year 1 (starting 1 July 2023): 104,000 USD
• Amount for six months of Year 2 (from 1 July 2024 - 31 December 2024): 42,450 USD

The Regional Committee greatly appreciates the proposal from Wikimedia DC to support its needs in operations, staffing support, and strategic planning. The committee is also glad that previous issues related to the lapse in the organization’s nonprofit status have been resolved. We understand that WMDC has made improvements in its internal practices through assigning multiple officers to support nonprofit compliance requirements. If your chapter anticipates any challenges or risks related to maintaining your nonprofit status in the future, please be sure to reach out to us for support.

The committee noted several areas of strength in its review of Wikimedia DC’s proposal, including:

• WMDC volunteers are experienced and highly engaged in chapter activities and operations
• Organizational scope of work and purpose is clear both locally and regionally
• Organizational capacities ensure WMDC is well-placed to support new contributors and broadly collaborate with communities and affiliates across the region
• Recognition that Ariel has made significant contributions supporting WMDC’s operations and community programs in her role on staff as Institutional Partnerships Manager.
• Plans to develop a new long-term strategy are a sensible investment and next step for WMDC’s organizational growth
• While not explicitly part of this funding proposal, the committee has confidence that WMDC has the capacity to innovate in the movement through its role in researching needs related to a possible Regional Hub for North America.

The committee did not support full funding of the proposal, in part due to limitations in the overall budget for the General Support Fund this round. In addition, the committee felt there was some uncertainty in the expected costs for the consultancy role to support the chapter’s strategic planning needs. If possible, the committee would like to see this budget used for a broader set of expenses related to strategic planning, such as travel costs, planning, and meetings beyond the immediate fees for a strategic planning consultant.

One important change in the General Support Fund is that a written midpoint report is no longer required. We will continue to have a midpoint conversation to meet and generally reflect on your progress, needs, and updates on your ongoing and future movement work.

In terms of next steps:

1. You will be contacted to sign a grant agreement.
2. If you want to discuss the funding decision or have questions during the funding period, you are welcome to contact your regional program officer.
3. Please review the FAQ for multiyear funding. Your program officer will reach out about meeting a few months before the start of your second year to confirm your budget and any changes in your plans.

Thanks again for your hard work preparing the proposal and supporting our review process for the General Support Fund. We look forward to your work this year!

On behalf of the Regional Committee, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 06:08, 29 May 2023 (UTC)