Grants:PEG/Eligibility requirements/ta

Who is eligible to receive funding?

Individuals, non-incorporated groups, and incorporated nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply.

Compliance and technical details

1. Organizations that currently receive funding from the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) are not eligible to apply for project-based grants, except for projects that are explicitly prohibited by the FDC Grant Agreement (e.g. advocacy), or where explicitly directed to the program by the WMF Board of Trustees.
2. Paid staff of the WMF, Wikimedia chapters and thematic organizations, and WMF grantee organizations, are considered ineligible as individual grantees, unless specially exempted by the Committee. This helps us to prevent potential conflicts of interest, and is good organizational practice. In occasional cases where the Committee may choose to recommend a grant be made to a community member who is also currently engaged as a contractor with one of these organizations, the contractor's engagement must not be for more than 20 hours/week.
3. Incorporated nonprofit organizations applying for funding must provide local proof of non-profit status.
4. All grantees are required to disclose their legal names, addresses, and dates of birth to WMF, but are not required to do so publicly. According to US law, all people responsible for operating the organization or project account and all project leaders must be checked against the US Specially Designated Nationals list. Individuals on this list are ineligible for funding.
5. Grantees must have a non-commercial bank account, or be able to make other acceptable arrangements to receive grant funds (such as a fiscal sponsorship). In some cases, grantees may be required to open a new project account to track grant funds.
6. Grantees must be in compliance with all requirements and with any WMF grants program through which they have ever received a grant, including Project and Event Grants (PEG) program reporting requirements and FDC reporting requirements, and the terms of any signed grant agreement. Grantees seeking additional funds while non-compliant with existing grant terms will need to become compliant before their request is considered.
7. Grantees must be in compliance with any other agreement with the Wikimedia Foundation, including chapter, user group, thematic organization, or fundraising agreements.

What projects are eligible to receive funding?

Any volunteer-centered project or event aligned with the Wikimedia mission can be considered for funding. Projects aligned with current Wikimedia strategy will be prioritized.

Limitations and exclusions

1. Grants should not replace volunteer action to accomplish valuable work. Grants are intended as a supplement that supports volunteer effectiveness, and should be used primarily to cover project expenses.
2. Generally, Project and Event Grants do not compensate volunteers for their time. In some cases, Project and Event Grants may fund part-time or full-time contract positions with a limited focus and scope of work related specifically to the activities of the funded project. Requests for part-time staff should be accompanied by an assessment of the applicant's ability to effectively manage staff, and may require necessary infrastructure to support staff (such as policies around travel reimbursements and hiring).
3. Project and Event Grants can still fund organizations that would like to operate on the basis of annual plans and annual budgets, although most applicants will have a better experience applying through the annual plan grants option, which is specifically designed to support groups and organizations with annual plans. Annual budgets funded through Project and Event Grants do not fund full-time permanent staff salaries and other recurring operating expenses, such as the rent of a dedicated office. Full-time staff and recurring operating expenses will now only be funded via the Full Annual Plan Grants option / FDC process, or the Simple Annual Plan Grants option.
4. WMF funding should not replace outreach and liaison efforts of a local affiliate. Affiliates should work to build partnerships with sponsors, allies, and like-minded user groups.
5. The Project and Event Grants (PEG) program generally does not fund travel reimbursements for individuals:
   • For non-Wikimedia-organized events, apply through the Wikimedia Travel and Participation Grants program.
   • For Wikimedia-organized events, individual travel should be funded by the organizing group. The organizing group is welcome to apply for travel funding through the Project and Event Grants (PEG) program as part of a larger project grant related to an event.
6. The minimum amount for a grant request is USD 500, although exceptions may be considered. There is no maximum amount.
7. Grant periods should not exceed 12 months, as a rule. Exceptions will be considered when a justified context can be shown.