Grants:Project/Rapid/Bay Area WikiSalon/Bay Area WikiSalon

Socialize with community members
Yes. We provide 2.5-3.0 hours as an opportunity to socialize with each attendee deciding on their own how much time to devote to socializing, editing, learning, presenting, etc.
Recruit new editors
Yes. We encourage new editors to attend. We promise to have experienced editors on hand to mentor them.
Increase skills for existing editors
Yes. We offer opportunities for existing editors to increase their skills.
Add or improve content
Yes. Attendees are always welcome to improve content at any time during the event. Due to the flexible nature of the venue, attendees can choose to add or improve content even during presentations or when everybody else is socializing. Free Wi-Fi is available at all times. There are booths, couches, cubbies, chairs, coffee tables, counters, and stools for everybody to create their own space.

Project Plan edit

Activities edit

What is the purpose of the meeting and why is it important to your community?
Please see our planning page at Bay Area WikiSalon for some of the design and collaborative discussion around the idea.

We have already had three main events and the fourth will happen next month. We've been funding the food and beverages out of our own pockets but none of us are rich and this makes us somewhat reluctant to advertise as much as we could since we would have to cover additional costs.

The San Francisco Bay Area has a natural connection to Wikimedia given that the Wikimedia Foundation headquarters are here. It is widely recognized as a cultural and intellectual hub for the United States. Thus, there is a lot of latent interest in Wikipedia, and particularly from people with special talents, resources, or notoriety who could be helpful in unusual ways. However, there is no chapter and until we started this monthly meetup there was no regularly scheduled gathering of Wikimedians.

We hope that this event will serve as a foundation to strengthen and grow the volunteer community in the Bay Area. We plan to have a healthy mix of interesting speakers (especially to draw in newcomers) and a healthy mix of downtime for socializing and Wiki editing.
If applicable, what benefits have you seen from doing this kind of meeting in the past?
At our inaugural WikiSalon we attracted an eclectic and even mix of cisgender, transgender, and non-binary folks; editors and non-editors; newbies and experienced.
How will you let participants know about the meeting?
We are advertising through a locally targeted geonotice on the English Wikipedia, two meetup groups (Wikimedia Tech by the WMF and Bay Area Wikipedia, funded by Pete Forsyth of Wiki Strategies), Facebook events, mass messaging, WMF email groups, linkedin posts and by word of mouth.
How will you keep participants engaged after the meeting is over?
We are collecting names and various contact methods (user name, email address, cell phone number). Since these meetings are every month, we will have the opportunity to see engagement from repeat attendance.
Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?
The plan was originally conceived by Ben Creasy (talk · contribs) (English Wikipedia editor since 2007 under an anonymous pseudonym - feel free to email me to learn my Wikipedia pseudonym) and Peteforsyth (talk · contribs). Checkingfax (talk · contribs) has since done a lot of the heavy lifting in organizing, and WMF employees Slaporte (talk · contribs), Juliet Barbara Jbarbara (WMF) (talk · contribs), Janet Renteria JRenteria (WMF) (talk · contribs) and others have hosted or helped us at the Foundation HQ by providing their gracious support.

Impact edit

Note: In addition to your project-specific measures of success, you will also be asked to report on some Global Metrics at the end of your final report. Please keep this in mind as you plan, and we'll support you as you begin your project.

We are tracking attendance and reporting on the events at the Wikipedia page en:Wikipedia:Bay Area WikiSalon

Number of total participants
First event with 2 brief presentations had 40, second with no presentation had 15. We plan to have a presentation every other month and we expect our peak attendance at those WikiSalons. We expect our average monthly attendance to be 25.
Number of people who will help organize the event
Four main committed (Ben Creasy, Wayne Calhoon (Checkingfax), Stephen LaPorte (Slaporte (WMF)), and Pete Forsyth (Peteforsyth)). However Pete Forsyth will be moving to Portland, Oregon full time in a few months.

Budget edit

We do not want anybody to feel discouraged from coming because of an obligation to help cover the food and drink costs
The Wikimedia Foundation headquarters is providing their 5th floor space for free. Our only anticipated expense is food, beverages and ice.
For our first couple events, we solicited funds from the organizers and spent at least $125 to $168 on food and beverages. We are not sure but anticipate that attendance may increase over time, so we are asking for $2,000 for an average of $166 per event (per month).
We requested donations at the first two events and we will continue to explore financial independence through donations, sponsorship and potluck.
Total amount needed for 12 months: $2000

Endorsements edit

Community members, please add your names below:

Support - Ben Creasy (talk · contribs) - as requester and co-organizer
Support - Checkingfax (talk · contribs) - as co-organizer
Support - Slaporte (talk · contribs) - I think there is a tremendous amount of potential in the bay area for a regular meetup. (Full disclosure, I'm on Wikimedia Foundation staff and helping open up the office as a venue when needed, but I'm supporting this in my volunteer capacity!)
Support - The request seems in order. If there is bureaucracy about negotiating the terms of funding then I am at hand to help the conversation in the community go smoothly. I live in New York, but I care about this SF event because Wikipedians collaborate nationally in the United States. Blue Rasberry (talk) 20:11, 6 July 2016 (UTC)