User:KHarold (WMF)/Sandbox/Conference/Develop a proposal

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• Wikimedia Grants
• Conference & Event Grants
• Rapid Funds
• Project Grants
• Simple Annual Plan Grants
• Annual Plan Grants
• Risk Assessment During COVID-19

• Start
• Resources
• Committee
• Review proposals
• Review reports

Step 1: Confirm that you are eligible for a conference and event grantReview the eligibility guidelines below and send an email to conferencegrantswikimedia.org if you have any questions or concerns about eligibility.

1. Groups and organizations who are in compliance with grants and WMF agreements may apply. This means all outstanding grant reports for the grantee and fiscal sponsors must be complete prior to the proposal submission deadline.
2. Groups who do not have a shared bank account or individuals applying on behalf of a group must provide confirmation of an eligible fiscal sponsor who can accept grant funds on their behalf.
3. Organizations who are funded through Annual Plan Grants are not eligible for Conference & Event Grants, however they may act as fiscal sponsors for groups who are eligible. APG funded chapters may request a Conference & Event Grant for movement-wide or region-wide event, such as GLAMWiki conference, Wikisource Conference, WikiIndaba, CEE Meeting, etc.
4. Grantees must adhere to the Friendly space expectations and have some type of Friendly space policy for in-person events.
5. All sections in the grant proposal must be completed by the submission deadline.

Step 2: Send out a community engagement survey

The purpose of the community engagement survey is to help organizers demonstrate how important it is to the community to have this event. The survey will also help gather consensus on what topics or priorities the community wants to focus on at the event.

1. Open the community engagement survey template and make a copy.
2. You can add additional questions to the survey, but you should not remove any questions.
3. Send the survey out to people in your community who might be interested in this event. Make sure they know that the size of the event will be influenced by the number of survey responses you get.
4. Send out survey reminders and set a deadline for survey responses to be completed.

Important note: The community engagement survey is required. You will need the results from the community engagement survey to complete the grant application and be eligible for funding.

Step 3: Get started on the grant proposal

• Review budget guidelines and look at budgets for recently funded conferences to
• Preview the grant proposal template, and gather information you need to answer all of the questions, such as grant reports from previous events.

General planning tips

Participants & Scholarships	Participants should be experienced, active editors or volunteers who are engaged with with work that is relevant to the conference goals. Conferences can be an expensive and ineffective way to do outreach. Travel scholarships should only be given to experienced editors and active volunteers.
Location & Timing	Choose a location that is relatively central to most of the target participants. High travel costs will limit the number of travel scholarships you can offer, and may limit the number of people who are able to attend without funding. Conferences and working group meetings should not be longer than two or three days. Sightseeing trips and museum visits should be limited to evenings after conference programs have ended or as optional activities on the days before or after the conference.
Additional funding	Ask for in-kind donations: i.e. donations that are done in goods and services rather than money/cash which are usually comparably easy to obtain and manage and can also be a door opener to interesting partner organizations. Free use of venue Reduced prices for meals, printing or other services Drinks for an after party Ground transportation

Gather a strong organizing team The size of a conference will likely dictate the number of volunteers needed to plan and execute a successful event. The roles below can be split into smaller teams, and additional roles can be added. Conference planning experience is not the most important quality to look for, but it is important that there is momentum and genuine commitment from the core organizing team.

Core Team
WMF Liaison	Main point of contact for grant proposal. Available to check in with the core organizing team and grant program officer on a regular basis to ensure plans are on track. Responsible for tracking the budget, collecting expense documentation from different teams and working with the fiscal sponsor (if applicable).
Logistics	Coordinates research on possible event venues, caterers, and accommodation for participants. Ensures there is sufficient internet at the event venue and coordinates logistics on the day of the event. Responsible for getting official documentation or contracts with the event venue and any vendors. It is helpful to have someone with experience negotiating vendors.
Conference Program	Coordinates program planning survey, call for proposals, and developing the conference program. Collects documentation of outcomes and action items from each session.
Support Teams
Communication	Keeps the event page updated. Coordinates the community engagement process. Creates a mailing list, Facebook page or other communication platform to keep participants updated before, during, and after the event.
Scholarship committee	Manage scholarship application process. Request approval from program officer on list of selected scholarship recipients before recipients are notified.
Volunteer coordinator	Coordinates volunteers to work on small tasks, i.e. design logos, manage check-in, set up ether pads and take notes in sessions.