Wiki In Africa/Fiscal Sponsorship

Wiki in Africa Fiscal agreements guidelines edit

If you are interested in asking Wiki in Africa to be your fiscal sponsor, please read our guidelines below.

What is fiscal sponsorship edit

A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit organization that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management, and other administrative services to help build the capacity of charitable projects. In Wikimedia context, it is mostly an organization that will be a go-between you and the Wikimedia Foundation, when the WMF can not directly fund you (for technical or legal reasons). It is quite common and perfectly acceptable for the fiscal sponsor to charge an administrative fee for its services, which is usually a percentage of the budget of the sponsored organization or program. Fiscal sponsorship is often used by newly formed nonprofits or by individuals.

What to Expect: Fiscal Sponsorship edit

You submit your application to WMF – your application is approved. Congratulations!
For whatever reason, you find out you require a fiscal sponsor.
If you are based in Africa, you can approach WIA for fiscal sponsorship.
We set up a time to meet and discuss with you (and your team)
An agreement reached (see below for more details on expectations)
A round of contracts are agreed on, shared and signed
An invoice from the Grantee is sent to the Fiscal Sponsor
The WMF sends the money to the Fiscal Sponsor
The Fiscal Sponsor sends the agreed grant money to the Grantee
The grantee sends an image/scan of the receipt when the monies are received
The Fiscal Sponsor will provide documentation to track the monies for WMF and the grantee
The grantee does amazing Wikimedia events and fun activities – if, for any reason, the project is delayed or suspended, the grantee must let both WMF and Fiscal Sponsor know
Once the project is complete, as per the WMF application, the grantee fills out and submits their report
The Fiscal Sponsor will follow up the report provided by the Grantee with a final report on the process from the Fiscal Sponsor side.

Please note the following

Funding will not be sent by WIA until the money from the WMF has arrived in its bank account.
Cost of fiscal sponsorship: 5% to 10% of the total grant request for requests up to 5000 USD.^[1] If you ask for fiscal sponsorship and all parties agree to it, then it will be automatically added to your request by the WMF.^[2]

Expectations of Fiscal Sponsorship in Detail edit

Agreement

When you ask for fiscal sponsorship, the contract you sign with WMF will be a contract between three parties : the Wikimedia Foundation, Wiki in Africa and yourself. The contract will be proposed by WMF and you will need to sign it using DocuSign. The requirements below outline how the relationship between you (grantee) and Wiki in Africa (fiscal sponsor) will be implemented.

Requirements prior to agreement signed

the organization or individual (Grantee) making the request should directly contact WIA at hello@wikiinafrica.org, copy fdevouard@anthere.org and isla@wikiinafrica.org to officially ask that WIA be their fiscal sponsor.
- Remember to include the link to the application and why Fiscal Sponsorship is required:
Prior to final signatures of the WMF agreement, WIA will need the Grantee(s)’s contact name (first name, last name, email) for internal checks
Prior to final signatures of the WMF agreement, the Grantee will be invited to an online meeting with one WIA team member
Prior to final signatures of the WMF agreement, WIA will give the Grantee a list of what will be expected from them and the different processes possible to give them access to money (by email).
- The Grantee will need to tell WIA their full contact information (first name, last name, email, phone number, copy of identity card)
- After signature, the Grantee will have to give WIA the following information : bank account info (after agreement)
- They will need to tell us when the project starts
- They will need to tell us when the project is over and warn us when it is delayed or late
- They will need to inform us when the final report is submitted to WMF on Meta
- WIA will ask them to provide proof of 1-3 expenses records (receipts) after the grant is over.

Requirements after the agreement is signed

WIA will create of a WhatsApp/Telegram Group that the Grantee will join to facilitate discussions and updates with the Grantee (s)
Soon after they signed the WMF agreement, the Grantee will have to provide WIA with the following information:
- They will need to agree with WIA to a transfer process (when, how etc.) (by email, phone, telegram…)
- They need to confirm the Grantee contact (username, first name, last name, email, phone number, copy of identity card) (mandatory by email)
- They need to confirm the selected transfer process (mandatory by email)
- They need to provide bank account and/or personal information (eg, IBAN, cellphone banking, etc) (mandatory by email)
- If relevant (different from Grantee contact), they need to provide the bank account owner information (first name, last name, email, phone number, copy of identity card) (mandatory by email)

The Grantee will need to provide an invoice for the amounts to be transfered
They need to inform WIA when the project precisely start (by email)

After receipt of the funds,
- The Grantee must provide scanned/photographic receipts of all monies received
- If there is a delay to the project, the Grantee must inform WMF and WIA as soon as they realise
- They need to inform WIA when the project is over. And, if it is beyond the deadline, they must include WIA in the email when they apply to the WMF to request an extension.
- They need to inform WIA when the final report is submitted to WMF on Meta.
- WIA and the Grantee need to agree on how to refund the excess money, if relevant.
- The Grantee will be asked for proof of 1-3 expenses records (receipts) after the grant is completed.

Notes edit

↑ Typically the maximum amount requested during a rapid grant request. For different cases, contact WIA.
↑ This amount will be added to the final grant amount you are applying for and that has been approved by the WMF. It does not decrease your share. We nevertheless warn you about exchange rate fluctuations. If there has been a big swing in exchange rates from the time of the money leaving WMF bank and the amount arriving in your country, it will have gone through at least 3 fiscal systems, and the amount you receive might not be exactly the amount the WMF sent … the sooner the bank information is sent to us from your side, the better the outcome.

• • • •

[1] Typically the maximum amount requested during a rapid grant request. For different cases, contact WIA.

[2] This amount will be added to the final grant amount you are applying for and that has been approved by the WMF. It does not decrease your share. We nevertheless warn you about exchange rate fluctuations. If there has been a big swing in exchange rates from the time of the money leaving WMF bank and the amount arriving in your country, it will have gone through at least 3 fiscal systems, and the amount you receive might not be exactly the amount the WMF sent … the sooner the bank information is sent to us from your side, the better the outcome.

[1]

[2]