Volunteer Supporters Network/Resources

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We have created and compiled various materials concerning community support in the Wikimedia movement over the past few years.

Skillshare sessions

• Video and presentation of the VSN skillshere meeting "Tips for in-person events" (Italian with English subtitles)
• 
  Volunteer Supporters Network skillshare meeting Tips for in-person events (PDF)
• Intro to OpenRefine (Spanish)
• Acción climática y el movimiento Wikimedia
• Introduction to Wikidata (french)
• 
  Slides Supporting the Online Community and Stepping Away from Screens, English (Volunteer Supporters Network Thursday, October 9, 2025)
• 
  Resource Supporting the Online Community and Stepping Away from Screens, English (Volunteer Supporters Network Thursday, October 9, 2025)
• How to Run an Impactful Training Session for Wikipedians as a Volunteer Supporter, Gosia Gramatnikowska, December 2025.

Motivation and appreciation

• Guide to motivation and our role in it
• Diff: Six ways to motivate a volunteer community
• Learning pattern: Appreciation of volunteer work I. Give individual feedback
• Learning pattern: Appreciation of volunteer work II. Make it tangible
• Learning pattern: Appreciation of volunteer work III. Let others know
• Learning pattern: Appreciation of volunteer work IV. Towards a culture of appreciation

Reach and engagement

• Wikipedia Ambassador concept
• Video: The top 9 things to know about safety and inclusion at Wikimedia online events
• Learning pattern: Reach and engage your community
• Presentation slides: The 99 dimensions of community events (PDF)

Impact and evaluation

• Survey report: Community support addressed in the Wikimedia movement strategy recommendations
• Reader: Success and impact of volunteer support in the Wikimedia movement (PDF)
• Landscapes of volunteering
• Presentation slides: Volunteer Engagement in Wikimedia Projects. Ideas and case studies (PDF)

Internal guidelines

• Internal regulations
• Safe space policy for video conferences
• Terms of use for mailing list

2023-4 MSIG funded period report

In the 2023-4 period, the VSN was funded by a Movement Strategy Implementation Fund grant, and was co-coordinated by Wikimedia Argentina and Wikimedia UK.

• 2023-4 Draft Implementation Plan, created as an output of the grant reporting process.

Wikimedia resources

The Wikimedia Resource Center' was created by the Wikimedia Foundation as a central portal for all Wikimedia resources in 2016. It has not been extensively maintained since then, much of the information (contacts etc.) is outdated.

Part of the Wikimedia Resource Center are more than 500 Learning Patterns, including categories like:

• :Category:Volunteer management learning patterns
• :Category:Online engagement patterns
• :Category:Training learning patterns
• and more.

External resources

Practical and inspiring non-Wikimedia resources:

• Developing a Volunteering Strategy – Guidance by Brighton & Hove City Council Communications Team
• Energize, Inc. (“creating and selecting the most relevant, innovative resources in volunteer management”)
• Community Toolbox (step-by-step guidance in community-building skills) by Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas
• Empfehlungen des Deutschen Vereins für den Ausbau einer Anerkennungskultur in den Freiwilligendiensten (Recommendations for the development of a culture of recognition in voluntary services) by Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge e.V. (in German)