Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Growing our community - one volunteer, campaign, program at the time
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Applicant information edit
- Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required)
- Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova User Group
- Do you have any approved General Support Fund requests? (required)
- Yes, I have already applied and received a General Support Fund
- You are applying as a(n). (required)
- Wikimedia Affiliate (chapter, thematic org., or user group)
- Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required)
- No
- Do you have a fiscal sponsor?
- Yes
- Fiscal organization name.
- Făgăraș Research Institute
Main proposal edit
- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required)
- Growing our community - one volunteer, campaign, program at the time
- 2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year funding or renewal process? (required)
- No
- 2.1. For how many years of multi-year funding are you applying? (required)
- N/A
- 2.2. Provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan? (required)
N/A
- 3. Proposed start date. (required)
- 2024-06-01
- 4. Proposed end date. (required)
- 2025-05-31
- 5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required)
- No
- 6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required)
- No
- 7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
- International (more than one country across continents or regions)
- We will have activities in Both Romania and Republic of Moldova.
- 8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Our goal as a User Group (UG) is to provide support to new editors joining Wikipedia and to contribute to a better understanding of the Wikimedia movement within Romania and the Republic of Moldova. In 2021, we outlined development directions with the assistance of GSF grants from the Wikimedia Foundation. Since then, we have seen gradual growth each year. This past year, we successfully attracted more dedicated volunteers to our group than in the previous four years. We recently welcomed a new member into our user group and diversified the types of partnerships we engage in. Overall, our programs are reaching a wider audience, and members and volunteers are bringing forth new ideas for campaigns and activities. A notable example is the #EveryBookItsReader campaign, which was initiated and conducted by volunteers with the support of WMROMD.
For the upcoming year, our focus will be on advancing in three key areas: strengthening the capacity of WMROMD as a group, organizing more effective Wikipedia campaigns to attract editors and enhance content quality, and establishing programs to engage partners, new editors, and supporters.
Capacity Development for WMROMD
A1. Communication: The development of WMROMD's capacity is a strategic priority that we initiated last year. This involves providing support for staff members, volunteers, and the community of editors. Currently, we are working on crafting a communication strategy for WMROMD and are working on formulating an annual plan for campaigns and activities. As we reassess our communication practices for campaigns and outreach activities, we will continue to invest in improving both internal and external communication effectiveness (A1).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tHA3zsLjlu5mPUY4zYMoNJ9wnzOGlCJi/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112211129032041309033&rtpof=true&sd=true
A2.Managing volunteers & A3.Monthly online meeting s& group activities:
Implementing this annual grant is crucial for our continued growth as an affiliate. As part of this grant, we propose updating our year-long plan of activities, adopting a more strategic approach to working with volunteers (A2), and maintaining regular open meetings with the community of editors (A3). These discussions are instrumental in understanding the diversity of editors and their interests, as well as in identifying ways to better support them. As more volunteers join us we plan to have local meetings of community editors.
A4. Management and travel:
Establishing a management team and allocating resources for members to contribute to grant implementation (A4) not only allows us to involve more individuals in project execution but also facilitates the development of partnerships with organizations in the Republic of Moldova. As part of the activities supported by the current grant, we have initiated a partnership with Prietenii bibliotecii în Chișinău, and we plan to extend this collaboration into 2024-2025. This partnership will offer more direct support for Wikimedians from Moldova.
With our communication strategy for our UG expected to be finalized by this summer, our plan for the next year includes drafting a strategy for WMROMD.
Campaigns on Wikipedia to attract editors and increase content quality
The second focus area for our UG involves continuing to organize campaigns on Wikipedia to attract editors and improve content quality. With our current grant, we have been able to organize campaigns that are bringing more individuals on board and empowering both people and partners to participate more actively.
A5. Wiki Loves Monuments Moldova & Bike Quest: was a successful campaign last year, with results showcased at Wikimania 2023 through a poster presentation by Giku and a photo exhibit at Moldova's largest public library. This year, we plan to continue the campaign and aim to involve even more volunteers.
A6. Open Access Week: was piloted as a campaign in 2022 without any dedicated resources, and unfortunately, it could not be sustained last year due to a lack of community interest in managing it. However, with two new editors expressing interest in contributing to this campaign, we are proposing to revive it for 2024-2025. We are eager to explore how we can engage more individuals and organizations in this endeavor.
A7. The Article Writing Competition (Scriere de articole): used to be highly popular among Wikimedians more than a decade ago. Recently, a member of our community proposed restarting it, and WMROMD provided support from the current grant. After assessing the results of this current round, we plan to continue organizing this competition using resources from the upcoming grant and aim to expand its reach to as many editors as possible.
A8. Wiki Loves Romania: was a widely acclaimed campaign, but due to time constraints, we had to suspend it last year. However, we are excited to reintroduce it this year, as a volunteer with expertise in data science has offered to assist.
A9. 1lib1ref 2024 & EveryBook its readers:
We will maintain our commitment to running campaigns for and with librarians from Romania and Moldova. Over the past three years, the 1lib1ref campaign has steadily grown in impact. This year, we hosted eight events (seven in-person) organized by individuals outside the UG, with a record-breaking 148 librarians participating, 56 of whom actively contributed. In the coming year, we will further promote 1lib1ref across all types of libraries and collaborate with library associations.
The Every Book its Readers campaign experienced significant success last year, particularly as it was organized by new volunteers. We are determined to continue this campaign and involve even more librarians in the process.
A10. WikiMărțisor:
Wikimartisor is a WikiGap-inspired campaign aimed at improving and writing new articles about women from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Currently in its second edition, the campaign has already garnered more contributions than last year, with plans underway for two in-person events. Looking ahead to 2025, we intend to sustain this campaign and forge partnerships with additional NGOs to promote this campaign more.
A11. CEE Spring: We have a longstanding tradition of participating in CEE Spring, and we are continuing this practice this year with plans to carry it forward into 2025. We are currently working, and will continue to work, on improving communication about this competition to have a greater impact in promoting it.
A12. Week of the Volunteers - will be celebrated for the first time this year, and we are already planning for next year's event. In Romania, the culture of volunteering traditionally does not include Wikimedians, and editing Wikipedia is not commonly perceived as a form of volunteering. The awareness that anyone can contribute to Wikipedia is relatively low. Therefore, WMROMD needs to invest in presenting the work of Wikipedia volunteers as genuine volunteering efforts and better promote what it means to volunteer for Wikipedia.
Programs to attract partners, new editors and supporters
We are currently piloting and implementing programs aimed at attracting partners, new editors, and supporters. Last year, we began exploring ways to engage with representatives of minority languages. This included initiating conversations with members of the Roma community and establishing dialogue with the Magyar Wikimedia Foundation. Additionally, in the fall of 2023, we piloted a partnership with the Tyap Wikipedians User Group, which proved to be a valuable learning experience for all involved.
A13.Support for minorities & minority languages:
In April 2024, we will participate in International Roma Day and have plans for activities in 2025 as well. Collaborating with the Magyar Wikipedia Foundation, we are organizing a joint event in July 2024 in Cluj Napoca, Romania. The Magyar Wikipedia Foundation hosts a three-day meeting for its community members every summer, and for 2024, they have chosen Cluj Napoca as the location. We have discussed dedicating one of the three days to a workshop with Wikimedians from Romania and Moldova.
A15. ROWIKI Celebration: We are planning a two-day event for members of our community in Cluj Napoca, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of Romanian Language Wikipedia. Following the joint workshop with Magyar Wikipedia volunteers, our aim is to launch a collaborative campaign for our communities.
A14.Wikimedian in Residence:
This year marks the launch of our first Wikimedian in Residence program, which will take place at the Dolj County Library, home to The Museum of Romanian Book and Exile. We intend to publicize this initiative and organize another edition as part of this grant.
A16.Education and Higher Education Programs: We have continued our engagements with lecturers, professors, and librarians from universities across Romania. Presentations have been delivered to students, and several professors have expressed interest in integrating our Editing Wikipedia courses into their curriculum. We are committed to sustaining and enhancing these partnerships, aiming for more effective communication with professors keen on involving their students in Wikipedia-related activities. We will also update the online courses and create dedicated intro courses/explanation pages for professors and teachers.
Our efforts to structure our activities and distribute tasks among team members have resulted in improved outcomes in our endeavors to recruit new editors and establish partnerships. It is important to continue our efforts to increase the capacity of our group in managing multiple activities simultaneously.
- 9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)
| Category | Yes/No |
|---|---|
| Education | Yes |
| Culture, heritage or GLAM | Yes |
| Gender and diversity | Yes |
| Community support and engagement | Yes |
| Participation in campaigns and contests | Yes |
| Public policy advocacy | No |
| Other | No |
Education
- 9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required)
- Editing Wikipedia Training, Translation, Wikimedia Commons programs
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
- 9.1.2. Select all relevant audience groups for Education. (required)
- Vocational, tertiary, or higher education, Teachers or professors
- Other groups if any: N/A
Culture, heritage or GLAM
- 9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required)
- Supporting institutions to open up their collections, data, metadata, and research, Supporting GLAM professionals to incorporate use of Wikimedia in their work, through documentation, training, or Wikimedian in Residence programs, Partnering with institutions, professional associations, and allied organizations to raise awareness of open culture, ethical sharing, and related issues
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
Gender and diversity
- 9.3. Select all your programs and activities for Gender and diversity.
- Bringing in women and/or gender diverse participants and editors, Focusing on creating content about women and/or gender diverse groups, including biographies, intersectional topic areas and/or adding images, Focusing on creating content about marginalized (underrepresented) communities and their knowledge, Focusing on knowledge equity by bringing in contributors from underrepresented communities, Building organizer skills in women and diversity groups
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
Community support and engagement
- 9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.
- On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Supporting community members' participation in events and conferences
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
Participation in campaigns and contests
- 9.5. Select all campaigns that apply. (required)
- 1Lib1Ref, CEE Spring, Wiki Loves Monuments, WikiGap
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
- 10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required)
- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rs0sQG1IJZcEH9X75qsjxQ7FZ-b0owIaixC5AFNeEfg/edit?usp=sharing
- 11. Describe your team. (required)
Claudia Serbanuta is acting as the manager of this project (1/5 salaried). She is also organizing campaigns, workshops and courses (as a volunteer) and creating new training materials (as a contractor).
Străinu is organizing campaigns, workshops and courses (as a volunteer) and creating new training materials (as a contractor).
Giku is organizing campaigns, workshops and courses (as a volunteer) and creating materials and engagement activities (as a contractor).
We plan to collaborate with a few communication contractors to assist us in creating and disseminating communication materials on social media, regional newsletters, and international blogs. Additionally, where budget permits, we intend to hire editors who actively participate in organizing campaigns and events as contractors. This approach will enable them to enhance their communication and reporting skills.
- 12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)
We started to work more closely with CEE Hub and we plan to continue. We had a face to face meeting and a couple of online meetings with Wikimedia Hungary and we are planning for a shared community meeting in July (A15). We had a pilot project with Tyap Wikimedians User Group and we hope to find ways to continue our collaboration. We organized an event for Romanian living in the Netherlands in partnership with Carti pentru Matei - an NGO promoting Romanian language learning. This inspired us to look for similar partners and Romanian Communities across the world. We are partners with Giurgiu County library, Brașov County Library, Seneca Anticafe Bookstore for organizing events and we aim at increasing the active partnership with Universities and some Museums. We started a startegic cooperation with an NGO from Republic of Moldova (Friends of the Library in Chisinau) and we will continue our cooperation to better support volunteers.
- 13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required)
- Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Improve User Experience, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Manage Internal Knowledge, Evaluate, Iterate, and Adapt
Metrics edit
Wikimedia Metrics edit
- 14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)
- 14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.
All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.
| Metrics name | Target | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of all participants | 400 | N/A |
| Number of all editors | 300 | N/A |
| Number of new editors | 150 | |
| Number of retained editors | 30 | |
| Number of all organizers | 30 | We aim at having 2/3 organizers per event/campaign and at least one of them to be a new or less experienced volunteer. |
| Number of new organizers | 5 |
- 14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)
| Wikimedia project | Created | Edited or improved |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 | 3000 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 8000 | 100 |
| Wikidata | ||
| Wiktionary | ||
| Wikisource | ||
| Wikimedia Incubator | ||
| Translatewiki | ||
| MediaWiki | ||
| Wikiquote | ||
| Wikivoyage | ||
| Wikibooks | ||
| Wikiversity | ||
| Wikinews | ||
| Wikispecies | ||
| Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia |
- Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)
Other Metrics edit
- 15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required)
- No
| Other Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Budget edit
- 16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required)
- No
- 16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)
N/A
- 16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required)
- N/A
- 17. Your local currency. (required)
- RON
- 18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required)
- 101250 RON
| Year | Amount (local currency) |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | N/A RON |
| Year 2 | N/A RON |
| Year 3 | N/A RON |
- Requested amount in USD
- 22341.83 USD [note 1]
| Year | Amount USD [note 1] |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | N/A USD |
| Year 2 | N/A USD |
| Year 3 | N/A USD |
- ↑ a b c The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.
- 19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required)
- Yes
- 19.1. How many paid staff members do you plan to have? (required)
Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms.
- We have 1 part time staff as the manager of the project (1/5)
4 contractors (communication, accounting, managing campaigns)
- 19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total? (required)
Include the total FTE of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include their FTEs with the terms separately.
- 0.4FTE
- 19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees)
- N/A
- 20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Fund (required).
| Budget category | Amount in local currency |
|---|---|
| Staff and contractor costs | 60700 RON |
| Operational costs | 10650 RON |
| Programmatic costs | 29900 RON |
- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
Additional information edit
- 22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)
In Operational costs we did not include the staff costs. In Total programmatic costs we did not include the contractors costs
By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.
We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
- Yes
Feedback edit
- Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.