Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/2023-24 Round 2 Announcement
The Wikimedia Community Fund announces the upcoming round 2 for the General Support Fund, which will run from February through May 2024. The General Support Fund provides flexible support for general operations to individuals, groups, or affiliates who have developed larger, long-term projects or programs contributing to Wikimedia projects. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to review the General Support Fund eligibility criteria, review framework, and detailed timeline.
For new applicants
At this time, we are only accepting applications from new grantees in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Middle East & North Africa (MENA), East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific (ESEAP) and North America (NA) regions.
If you are a new applicant applying for our program, please contact your Regional Program Officer before submitting your application to confirm that you meet the necessary eligibility criteria. Our regional program officers are dedicated to providing guidance and support to applicants. They work closely with applicants throughout the entire grant preparation process, from the initial stages to the final submission and review. Through collaboration and communication, our program officers ensure that each applicant is set up for success and can make a valuable contribution to the Wikimedia Movement.
For returning applicants
If you plan to renew your application, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the revised application format published for the General Support Fund. You will notice that we have cut a number of the questions that have been in past application forms. If you would like to address specific questions from previous applications, you may do so in the first open-ended question. We are in a continuous process of revising and simplifying the application process and will continue to do this with your input over the coming months. If there are areas of the application form that you think are duplicative or are a significant burden to complete, please let your program officer know so we can consider them in the next round.
Multi-year grant funding may be available if appropriate to the goals and objectives of the applicant for a 2- to 3-year grant period and if approved by the Regional Funds Committee. For multi-year applications, the Regional Funds Committee will evaluate potential increases for years 2 and 3 on a case-by-case basis once the budgets for the upcoming fiscal years are known.
Please note that we cannot guarantee requested budget increases, and advise having a conversation with your Program Officer to establish what budget range may be feasible. We advise renewal applicants to plan for budgets similar to the previous year's. Modest increases may be supported in limited cases, particularly to address inflationary costs if the budget allows.
For all applicants
To qualify for the General Support Fund, all applicants must contact their regional program officer for assistance and guidance before submitting the application. Only proposals from applicants who have contacted their program officer and received a confirmation for the application are eligible for review.
General Support Fund - Round 2 Dates (2023-2024)
See the detailed round calendar for each region
| Region | Applicant proposal support starts | Submission deadline | Decision announced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-Saharan Africa | February 9, 2024 | March 1, 2024 | May 3, 2024 |
| Middle East & North Africa | |||
| South Asia | February 15, 2024 | March 14, 2024 | May 23, 2024 |
| East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific | |||
| Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia | February 16, 2024 | March 8, 2024 | May 10, 2024 |
| North America | |||
| Latin America & Caribbean | February 16, 2024 | March 8, 2024 | May 17, 2024 |
| Northern & Western Europe | February 20, 2024 | March 15, 2024 | June 2, 2024 |
Community Resources grant budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024
In September 2023, we shared that the budget for funding programs had significantly increased in 2021-22 to support the new grants strategy and focus on underrepresented communities. Following this significant increase, this fiscal year 2023-2024 funding budget has stabilized at US $14,440,000 for the General Support Fund and Rapid Fund programs.
For fiscal year 2023 (July 2023 - June 2024), funding increased in all regions with a greater focus on underrepresented regions in order to promote equitable resource allocation. Each region was allocated a budget percentage increase for this fiscal year, determined based on anticipated requests and regional inflation, as follows:
| Funding region | Actual spending in FY 2022-23 | Percentage of increase | Projected budget in FY 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia | $1,161,255 | 9% | $1,260,000 |
| East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific | $1,356,033 | 14% | $1,540,000 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | $2,181,172 | 14% | $2,480,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | $1,913,452 | 13% | $2,160,000 |
| Middle East & North Africa | $187,331 | 23% | $230,000 |
| South Asia | $321,927 | 24% | $400,000 |
| North America | $2,209,738 | 6% | $2,340,000 |
| Northern & Western Europe | $3,805,159 | 6% | $4,030,000 |
| TOTAL | $13,136,067 | 10% | $14,440,000 |
Looking Ahead: Application and Reporting Forms
In living to our commitment towards improving grantmaking programs and the enabling processes, we want to share an update that we are currently working to simplify the application and reporting tools. In March, we will reach out to groups that these changes will impact for input and feedback. We understand from various and recent conversations that this element of the grantmaking process is currently complex and time-consuming. We want to ensure that we move it in the right and needed direction.
Changes on the application and reporting forms and accompanying proposed impact assessment tools will take effect in Round 1 FY 2024-25. Thank you to everyone who continuously shares feedback, including ways to improve our overall grantmaking efforts.
Please reach out to the Community Resources team as early as possible for support with your application process or any questions you may have.
- For East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific (ESEAP), contact Jacqueline Chen at eseap_fund
wikimedia.org - For Middle East & North Africa (MENA), contact Farida El-Gueretly at mena_fund wikimedia.org
- For South Asia (SA), contact Jacqueline Chen at sa_fund wikimedia.org
- For Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), contact Veronica Thamaini at ssa_fund wikimedia.org
- For Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia (CEECA), contact Chris Schilling at ceeca_fund wikimedia.org
- For North America (NA), contact Chris Schilling at usca_fund wikimedia.org
- For Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), contact Mercedes Caso at lac_fund wikimedia.org
- For Northern & Western Europe (NWE), contact Agnes Bruszik at nwe_fund wikimedia.org
The Community Resources team at Wikimedia Foundation supports the Wikimedia Foundation Funds. We offer funding opportunities, guidance, and other resources to the Wikimedia Movement.