Grants:Project/Rapid/Ohio Wikimedians User Group/2019 Activities

statusdraft

Rapid Grants

Ohio Wikimedians User Group 2019 Activities

Funding to support Wikimedia activities throughout Ohio through the end of 2019.

targetEnglish Wikipedia (primary)
Wikimedia Commons
Spanish and Portuguese Wikipedias

start dateApril 19

end dateDecember 31

budget (USD)$1,669

grant typeOrganization

grantee• SuperHamster

contact(s)• Kevin Payravi (User:SuperHamster - kevinpayravigmail.com)• Maria Rimmel (Rimmel.Edits - marialrimmelgmail.com)

organization (if applicable)• Ohio Wikimedians User Group

website (if applicable)• ohiowikimedians.org

friendly space expectations

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Project Goal

Wikipedia Connection's United Nations Day 2017 Edit-a-thon group photo

Wikipedia Connection's Wikipedia Day 2018 celebration.

Spanish and Portuguese Edit-a-Thon 2018 group photo.

The purpose of this grant is to enable the Ohio Wikimedians User Group to support various Wikimedia activities in the state of Ohio through the end of 2019. These activities involve recruiting and training editors, adding quality and diverse content, and continuing to maintain and build up a healthy Wikimedia community throughout the state.

The first goal of this project is to support our existing organizers and events. Ohio Wikimedian User Group members regularly host edit-a-thons throughout the year, primarily through our Wikipedia Connection student group at the Ohio State University (which has successfully held over 10 edit-a-thons since its inception). These edit-a-thons have included Art+Feminism (see Lantern article from last month), Wikipedia Asian Month, and translate-a-thon events, often held in coordination with other organizations or university departments. Other events have been held by Wikipedia Connection as well, such as their weekly workshops, #1Lib1Ref training, and photo walks for Wiki Loves Monuments. Previously, Wikipedia Connection's events have been funded through their own rapid grants every semester, but we now hope to integrate that funding into this broader Ohio Wikimedians rapid grant to have it under a single statewide effort, as well as due to the grantee's grant experience.

The second goal of this project is to be prepared to support events hosted by non-user group members, and to tie their communities with the Ohio Wikimedians User Group. As we've seen in the past, institutions will sometimes plan independent edit-a-thons and will seek out our help, which we absolutely want to be able to support. For example, so far through 2019, organizers of two non-user group events (NIOSH's Hear in Cincinnati Edit-a-thon and Ohio University's Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon) contacted our user group to seek assistance. In cases like these, being able to reimburse organizer travel to help facilitate these events and provide experienced mentorship and/or to provide catering and supplies to events that lack funding would benefit the success and outcomes of these events. As part of these outreach efforts, we will seek to bring new members to our User Group to increase statewide collaboration and support.

The third goal of this project, which ties into the last two goals, is to maintain and grow our Ohio Wikimedian community. This includes expanding our active membership, as well as helping foster Wikimedia culture in various institutions through the state. WikiConference North America 2018, which took place at the Ohio State University at October, opened up new networks and awareness of the Wikimedia movement, with attendees from over 20 academic institutions and over a dozen other organizations. We hope to leverage some of these connections to bring on new user group members and events.

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Our group's annual reports provide a more complete view of the edit-a-thons and events we have both hosted and supported:

• 2016-17 (includes hosting and supporting 8 edit-a-thons, 1 #1Lib1Ref, and 1 Wikipedia Day)
• 2017-18 (includes hosting and supporting 4 edit-a-thons and 1 Wikipedia Day)

Wikipedia Connection's annual reports also have more details on their activities at Ohio State:

• 2015-16
• 2016-17

Project Plan

Activities

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing?

• Wikipedia Connection students will continue to host their edit-a-thons and weekly workshops at the Ohio State University.
  • The next scheduled edit-a-thon at Ohio State is the Spanish & Portuguese Edit-A-Thon on April 19.
• We will contact and attempt to organize or support new events with various institutions, particularly those who have held events in the past (Ohio University and Oberlin College) or had a presence at WikiConference North America 2018 in Columbus.
• We will support any other Wikimedia events occurring in the state as they are held.

How will you let others in your community know about your project (please provide links to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions)? Why are you targeting a specific audience?

Members of the Ohio Wikimedians User Group have been notified of this proposal through our monthly newsletter.

We have several ways to communicate our activities and events:

• The Ohio Wikimedians User Group newsletter and talk page
• Facebook and Twitter followings
• Utilizing local resources for events.
  • Example: For events hosted at universities, we will try targeting university social media, mailing lists, calendars, etc.

What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?

At the end of our project, we will have supported multiple Wikimedia events through the state of Ohio by building our Wikimedia community capacity, teaching newcomers about the Wikimedia movement and how to edit, and creating partnerships with like-minded organizations.

Attendees of our events may be asked to join our User Group, and encouraged to follow our social media to keep up to date on happenings. Attendees of Wikipedia Connection events are asked if they would like to be added to the Wikipedia Connection mailing list, to continue receiving updates.

Impact

How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets and feel free to add more specific to your project:

1. Number of total participants: 150
2. Number of articles created or improved (if applicable): 100 articles

Resources

What resources do you have? Include information on who is the organizing the project, what they will do, and if you will receive support from anywhere else (in-kind donations or additional funding).

• An active membership including several Wikimedians who support events (SuperHamster, Rimmel.Edits, Blervis).
• Wikipedia Connection has three student officers, one official faculty advisor, and the support of several other Ohio State University Libraries employees. Working with Ohio State faculty, the officers organize the student groups' events. Wikipedia Connection will also work with other organizations where possible to reduce costs and expand knowledge about Wikipedia connection and Wikimedia projects.

What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense:

• $800 for edit-a-thons, #1Lib1Ref, and other singular events throughout the year.
  • Based on past experience, we typically spend between $50 and $200 on edit-a-thons depending on the number of attendees and length of the event.
  • Used for catering, office supplies, and signage.
• $350 for Wikipedia Connection's weekly workshops at the Ohio State University.
  • Since 2016, Wikipedia Connection has hosted near-weekly workshops at Ohio State, teaching attendees about Wikimedia and editing, and helping to maintain an active membership base. These meetings have proven to be a unique yet crucial element of maintaining a Wikipedia club on campus.
  • For the remainder of this Spring semester and the upcoming Fall semester.
  • Funding covers food, drink, and supplies, averaging ~$25 per meeting.
• $300 for organizer travel
  • Used to reimburse travel for Wikimedians attending an event explicitly to help facilitate and mentor participants.
• $50 for business cards for user group members
  • Business cards are currently used by group members for networking at conferences (including Wikimedia events), as well as with local institutions.
• $39 for organization name registration in Ohio
• $30 for shipping costs
  • To be used to send merchandise and supplies to events.
• $100 for unforeseen costs
  • As this is a broad grant for multiple activities, it is important to be able to cover unforeseen expenses that support our mission and activities.

TOTAL: $1,669

Endorsements

• The Ohio Wikimedians User Group has successfully extended the reach of the Wikimedia movement to new people and places across Ohio and the nation. The requests seem reasonable and in-line with the Movement and the Strategic Direction. Rimmel.Edits (talk) 03:39, 16 April 2019 (UTC)