Grants talk:Project/Rapid/Rod Library ArtAndFeminism 2018/Report

Dear ActionableIdeas,

Wow! This is such a thorough and informative report. It was a joy to read it and I am approving it now.

Here are some of the things that stood out to me:

• “two-thirds said they would participate in a future edit-a-thon, and another 27% said they might ”
  • Great numbers! It really speaks to how well-designed the event was for the participants you recruited.
• “We also held a pilot event to make sure the big event went as smoothly as possible”
  • I’m really impressed by how thoughtfully you prepared for your main event. Hosting a pilot event is such a smart way to work out the kinks in advance.
• “Some editors had a difficult time establishing notability of their chosen artist of art educator, so the articles they created were deleted.”
  • This is a really common problem at Art+Feminism editathons, as you may already know. I think your ideas for how to address this issue next time are very strong. Starting inexperienced editors in their Sandbox is wise. A+F coordinators have learned a lot about how to handle deletion over the years, in terms of training, templates, techniques on the front end, and support on the back end from more experienced Wikipedians (sometimes remotely). It sounds like you are on the right track already, but if you haven’t already, you might reach out to some other organizers for additional ideas.
• “Going into the event they were nervous they didn't know enough to be expert presenters. By the end of the event, it was clear to all of them that they are. Student participants shared how meaningful the event and assignment was. Some of them hope to become teachers and want to include similar Wikipedia-based assignments in their future classes.”
  • I love hearing about the transformational aspects of this event for the participants. Your quantitative outcomes are super, but it’s especially delightful to hear about the intrinsic value it had for the students.
• “we ended up having 14 inches of snow. The university's caterers had great difficulty delivering all of the food we ordered. (In fact, they did not deliver all of it, so we had some budgetary savings.)... The fact that the event was successful despite 14 inches of snow tells us there was and is more excitement and investment in the event and project than we anticipated.”
  • Oh my! That is a big snowstorm. As you say, it speaks to the investment of the participants that so many showed up anyway.
• “we plan to hold several edit-a-thons in the fall and spring semesters focusing on different diversity issues.”
  • Very excited to hear this!
• “We received skilled childcare care; the student group received funds to support their work aimed at preventing suicide and helpful folks struggling with depression, addiction, and self-harm on our campus.”
  • What a lovely partnership.
• “We did follow up with all known participants… with an IRB-approved survey”
  • This is a great practice and it’s inspiring for us (and I’m sure for you, too) to hear how meaningful this event was to the students through their feedback.
• “A short write-up of the event appeared in the MLA Newsletter no. 196 pages 15-16.”
  • Nice coverage!

We are thrilled you want to do more events! Of course, you can use the remaining funds towards your new grant submission I only have one question concerning that:

* Our math from your expense documentation shows a remaining amount of $200.67 USD instead of the 194.16 you reported. Could you please let us know if we missed a receipt or you overlooked submitting one?

For now I will accept the report but will wait for your response on the expense documentation before closing the grant and moving the remaining funds to your new submission. Best regards, WJifar (WMF) (talk) 20:37, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

Thank you! I am so glad you are happy with our outcomes. It was a meaningful learning project for so many of us. We look forward to doing it again! I've sent clarifying expense documentation via email. Our specific expenses were $281.51 for catering, $200 for childcare, $7.82 for name tags and markers, and $6.51 for plates and napkins, which leaves $194.16. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions. ActionableIdeas (talk) 22:09, 12 September 2018 (UTC)