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Grants:Administration/Eligibility

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This page documents a process common to all or most of WMF's grants programs. Please don't edit this page, but please do leave a comment on the discussion page instead.




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This page details the most common information and documents needed from an applicant to receive funding from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF).

Requesting information and documents from a Grantee or potential Grantee is part of the eligibility process. This allows for WMF to determine if a grant applicant is eligible for to receive a grant from WMF. This also allows for WMF to have the appropriate documentation for its own compliance with regulations surrounding grant making. Requests for information and documents can happen at any time between the application review period and before the grant funds are disbursed (if a grant request is approved for funding). Generally, once a grant is approved, it must have an agreement signed by all parties within 30 days of the grant approval date.

Eligibility edit

In addition to the program Eligibility and Selection criteria for of each WMF's grant programs[1], eligibility to be considered for grant funding includes but is not limited to the following:

  • A person or organization is not listed in the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watchlists.
  • Registered organizations must be nonprofit and can provide proof of their nonprofit status.[2]
  • Returning Grantees must be in good standing.
  • Wikimedia Affiliates must be in good standing, which includes up to date reporting requirements.
  • A community member must not have a current ban on any of the Wikimedia projects.
  • A potential organizational Grantee must be committed to best organizational practices that include being in good standing with local laws, and to the extent applicable, meets the WMF Board of Trustees in its March 2012 resolution as set out at foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Organizational best practices.
  • A potential organizational Grantee must be able provide financial history demonstrating previous experience in successfully administering funds comparable to the current grant/amount being requested. This is common for but not limited to Alliances Fund or Conference Fund.
  • A potential Grantee interested in a fiscal sponsorship can learn more about it at Grants:Fiscal sponsorships.

For a person or organization based outside the United States, their local laws should not have restrictions for them to receive foreign funding. If there are conditions to receive funding, the Grantees/Applicants should be able to satisfy them. WMF may be able to help, if appropriate and within reason. A list of countries that we have successfully funded can be found at Grants:Administration/Countries.

For any questions about eligibility, please contact grantsadmin wikimedia.org with the Subject: [eligibility question] YOUR NAME – PROJECT NAME or Fluxx Grant Request ID (include the project name, if you have submitted a grant proposal on Meta-Wiki; include Fluxx Request ID, if you submitted a funding request in the Grantee Portal).

Types of Grantee edit

WMF awards grants to four types of grantees, each with its own set of requirements from the Grantee to ensure accurate and complete grantee records, and in order for WMF to remain in compliance with US regulations around grant making. Each grant type also its own grant agreement template[3] that will require signatures from the Grantee/s and WMF.

  1. Individual[4] – grant to a person, who is at least 18 years old[5], and grant funds will be received in the individual's personal bank account[6] (i.e. non-commercial, non-organizational)
  2. Non-incorporated group – a group of individuals with at least one person over 18 years old receiving a grant together, and grant funds will be received in the group's joint or dedicated multi-user bank account. Grant funds should not commingle with non-grant funds.
  3. Non-profit organization – a legally registered organization recognized as non-profit in their local contexts that is equivalent to the US 501(c)(3) status, and grant funds will be received in their organization's commercial bank account
  4. Fiscal sponsorship – where a non-profit organization manages the fiscal responsibility for a grant on behalf of the Grantee (more information at Fiscal sponsorship)

Requirements by Grantee type edit

Choose the most appropriate representation for who will be the Grantee for your grant request, then click "Expand" for the information and documents that you will need to provide.[7]

We take your privacy seriously, and only request information/documents as they are needed to process a grant and comply with US regulations around grant making.

Please note that if your request is approved for funding, a grant agreement must be signed within 30 days of the grant request approval date.

I am an Individual Grantee
 edit

An Individual Grantee is a person[4], who is at least 18 years old[5], and will receive the grant funds in their personal type bank account[6] (i.e. non-commercial, non-organizational). If your application is approved or being considered for funding, the Grant Administrators or Program Officers will request the following information and documents prior to drafting a grant agreement[3] and grant funds disbursement.

  1. unexpired government issued proof of identification[8] with the birth date listed for all grant agreement signatories and bank accountholders
  2. the complete address (including country) for the grant agreement signer(s)
  3. a dedicated[9] personal (i.e. non-commercial, non-organizational) bank account to receive and store the grant funds in
  4. a completed bank account information form, including any country or bank specific wire transfer instructions[10]
  5. a document[11] from the bank with a list of the accountholders for the account where the grant funds will be received and stored

My grant request will be received by our Group
 edit

A Group type Grantee is a group of individuals with at least one person over 18 years old receiving a grant together as a group, and grant funds will be received in the group's joint or multi-user bank account. Grant funds should not commingle with non-grant funds.

  1. unexpired government issued proof of identification[8] with the birth date listed for all grant agreement signatories and bank accountholders. There must be at least two agreement signers who are also bank accountholders.
  2. the complete address for your group[12]
  3. a joint or multi-user bank account used for the group's activities only to receive and store the grant funds in
  4. a completed bank information form, including any country or bank specific wire transfer instructions[10]
  5. a document[11] from the bank with a list of the accountholders for the account where the grant funds will be received and stored

The grant request is for a registered non-profit Organization
 edit

An Organizational type Grantee is legally registered organization recognized as non-profit in their country that is equivalent to the 501(c)(3) status, and grant funds will be received in their organization's commercial bank account.

  1. proof of non-profit status in your local contexts. If your documents are not originally written in English, please provide a set of documents translated in English (Google translation is fine) in addition to the documents in your local written language. This document is kept as part of your Grantee/Grant record and is provided to our external auditors. Please include any important information that would help us understand how nonprofit organizations are recognized in your country.
  2. unexpired government issued proof of identification[8] with the birth date listed for all grant agreement and bank account signatories.
  3. your organization's complete address (including country)
  4. your organization's commercial bank account where grant funds will be received and stored
  5. a completed bank information form, including any country or bank specific wire transfer instructions[10]
  6. a document[11] from the bank with a list of the account signatories for the account where the grant funds will be received and stored

I have a Fiscal Sponsor
 edit

A Fiscal sponsorship type of grant is where a non-profit organization manages the fiscal responsibility of a grant on behalf of the Grantee. The grant agreement will be between the Fiscal Sponsor and WMF, and the project agreement will be between the Fiscal Sponsor and the Grantee. The Fiscal Sponsor will work with the Grantee to ensure the Grantee is complying with the terms of the project agreement, which includes the satisfying the grant's reporting requirements. More information can be found at Grants:Fiscal sponsorships.

Requirements from the Fiscal Sponsor

  1. proof of non-profit status in your local contexts. If your documents are not originally written in English, please provide a set of documents translated in English (Google translation is fine) in addition to the documents in your local written language. This document is kept as part of your Grantee/Grant record and is provided to our external auditors. Please include any important information that would help us understand how nonprofit organizations are recognized in your country.
  2. unexpired government issued proof of identification[8] with the birth date listed for all grant agreement and bank account signatories.
  3. your organization's commercial bank account to receive and store the grant funds in
  4. a completed bank information form, including any country or bank specific wire transfer instructions[10]
  5. a document[11] from the bank with a list of the account signatories for the account where the grant funds will be received and stored

Requirements from the Grantee

  1. unexpired government issued proof of identification[8] for all persons signing Appendix 3 (Project Grant Agreement) portion of the fiscal sponsorship grant agreement[3]
  2. if the Grantee is also a registered organization, their proof of nonprofit status is also required

Reference edit

  1. ↑ As of 1 July 2021, the Wikimedia Foundation funding programs include: Other funding programs may be found at Grants:Start#Other funding programs
  2. ↑ For nonprofit documentation that is not in English, applicants may be required to provide translation for the documents submitted that are not in English.
  3. ↑ a b c Grant agreement templates are available on meta-wiki for the following grant programs at Grants:Agreements.
  4. ↑ a b For grants to Individuals, please note that one grant can be shared by a team of up to 4 people, and would have a choice to process their funded grant by:
    a) having all persons sign one Individual grant agreement, and all grant funds to be received by one person
    or
    b) having all persons sign one Individual grant agreement, and grant funds to be received in a joint bank account shared with the other grant recipients working on the same project
    or
    c) each person could sign their own Individual grant agreement, and each to receive their own portion of the approved grant amount
  5. ↑ a b For individuals requesting grant funding who are not yet 18 years old, a parent or guardian must co-sign with Grantee, even if the Grantee has their own personal bank account.
  6. ↑ a b WMF may request that your personal funds not commingle with the grant funds. In this case, you may need to open a personal bank account where grant funds will be sent and stored.
  7. ↑ If your grant request was not submitted through the Fluxx Grantee Portal, your Program Officer would have notified you of your grant request decision by email. If your request was approved for funding, the instructions for next steps, this information would have been included in your award notification email. Please follow those instructions and provide the requested information and documents as early as possible. A grant agreement must be signed by all parties within 30 days of the grant request approval date.
  8. ↑ a b c d e Required information and documents can be directly uploaded into the Fluxx Grantee Portal in the 'My User Info' or 'My Organization Info' areas of the Portal. If you do not currently have access, please click the Register button to start your account creation If you have forgotten your password, please click this password reset link. More information related to privacy and grants is at Grants:Administration/Privacy FAQ.
  9. ↑ A dedicated bank account, in this context, means that grant funds will not be moved to another bank account before they are expensed to pay for eligible grant related expenses.
  10. ↑ a b c d Some banks also require specific wire instructions depending on the type of account that you might have or the currency that the funds will be wired in. It is important for us to know this information to minimize delays to your receiving your grant funds. Some countries require additional information for WMF (the sender) to provide at the time the wire is requested. Examples include:
    • Australia – BSB number
    • Brazil – CPF
    • Canada – complete Address, Bank Code (usually 3 digits), Transit Number (usually 5 digits)
    • Colombia – phone number with country code
    • Mexico – CLABE
    • India – IFSC
    • Italy – personal tax ID number (for some banks)
    • UK – Sort Code + Account number + IBAN
  11. ↑ a b c d The document from the Grantee's banking institution must include the account number (last few digits are okay), all account signatories, and something that verifies the document is from their banking institution. This bank document is part of the process to ensure WMF is complying with US regulations around grant making, and so it is required for all grantees. There are a number of ways to satisfy this request, but the most common documents we receive are a scanned bank letter signed by a bank representative, an email to grantsadmin wikimedia.org directly from a bank representative, a recent bank statement (okay to block out transaction amounts/balances, if that is preferred), the signed bank account contract for newly opened accounts, or a screen shot from their current online banking account.
  12. ↑ If your group does not have a physical location, use the address that is registered with your group's dedicated joint or multi-user bank account
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