Grants:Project/Rapid/UG LK/Global Voices Conference 2017/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2017-18 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/UG LK/Global Voices Conference 2017.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?

Yes. The raised funds were used for creating usergroup-themed assets (i.e. tshirts and banners) and distributing of Wikimedia accessories (i.e. pens and stickers) to participants and attendees of the sessions conducted by Wikimedians at the Global Voices Summit held in Colombo. The project was a success.

Further details of the outcome is provided below.

Outcome

Please report on your original project targets.

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
Encourage participation from UG-LK at the invited sessions at Global Voices Summit in Colombo.	Two sessions were conducted by members of the usergroup. The first 1hr session Creating and sharing Free Knowledge through Wikipedia Tamil was conducted by User:Mayooranathan and User:Sivakosaran, while the second 1.5hr session Getting Started: Editing Wikipedia in Your Language was conducted together with User:Rehman and User:Azeez.	A total of at least 6 Wikimedians attended the summit, including 4 UG-LK members, User:Barrioflores from Global Voices (who helped us secure our session slots in the first place), and User:Psubhashish from India. Printed Wikimedia tshirts were distributed to the four UG-LK members, while the balance were given to User:Sivakosaran, for distribution to members in Jaffna as Jaffna is approximately 400KM away. Wikimedia accessories were handed over to members and session participants. The two banners were utilized during the sessions, and has been packed safely for future use, as planned.

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

What worked well? We were able to save nearly half of the grant funds, by finding a more economical supplier for the materials. Sessions were also conducted in above average quality, thanks to the UG-LK theme we maintained.
What did not work so well? Participation from the usergroup could have been higher. We have informed about the event on various channels, but low interest could have been due to the conference being held during the local holiday season.
What would you do differently next time? The grant request and printing of tshirts/banners was quite last-minute. Getting those done earlier would have saved some hassle.

Finances

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

Below figures in LKR:

Grant amount credited to account (after bank charges): 43,350.00
Previous grant balance + required bank account min balance: 1,055.76
TOTAL USABLE FUNDS: 44,405.76

Used funds (breakdown listed below): 21,002.63
Amount saved as required bank account min balance (LKR 1,000): 1,403.13
TOTAL UNUSED FUNDS (round-down after required bank account min balance): 22,000.00


Date	Expense	Cost in LKR
2017-11-27	Printing of tshirts and banners - Advance payment	8,680.00
2017-12-02	Purchase two banner x-stands	1,700.00
2017-12-02	Pickup banner x-stand and travel to venue	898.26
2017-12-02	Travel from venue	431.39
2017-12-03	Travel to venue	267.61
2017-12-03	Travel from venue	345.37
2017-12-03	Printing of tshirts and banners - Balance payment	8,680.00

Remaining funds

Remaining funds have been used or will be used for other approved mission-aligned activities. This use has been requested in writing and approved by WMF.

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

Yes. As stated above, approximately half of the grant funds (LKR 22,000) was saved. The funds can definitely be used for a future project (i.e. photowalk or workshop), but we don't have a fixed plan on the date as yet.

Returning of funds is possible, but is expensive in relation to the available funds. Approximately LKR 4,000 will be lost as outward bank charges, with an unknown figure that will be charged as inward bank charges. Hence at least 20% will be wasted if funds are returned. Hence, we will wait for advice from WMF with regards to the next action on the remaining funds.

Anything else

Anything else you want to share about your project?

The initial batch of 10 tshirts had some printing defects. The printing company agreed to reprint the tshirts for free, which will be delivered to us post-conference. Hence, those extra tshirts will be kept safe, and will be used for a future project.

Photos of the two sessions can be found here.