Grants:Wikimedia Hub Fund

Wikimedia Hub Fund

Examples of projects we fund

• Pre-pilot: North America Hub Research, Arabic-speaking Hub Research
• Pilot: CEE Hub Pilot
• Operation: CEE Hub Year 2

Examples of expenses we support

• Operational expenses: Working space, services, materials, legal fees.
• Programmatic expenses: Program-related staff and volunteer travel, community support (e.g. microgrants, scholarships, etc.), program-related direct costs (e.g. specific websites, tool development, materials, meeting costs incl. rent and meals, publication costs, etc.), and subcontracting costs of specific experts to deliver programs.
• Staff expenses: Compensation for well-defined roles that do not replace volunteer activities, including (but not limited to) project or organization management, communication, community building, training, evaluation, facilitation, fundraising, and partnership management.

FAQs

• What is the minimum or maximum that can be applied for?
  • While there is no minimum or maximum amount that can be applied for in the Hub Fund, hub drivers aiming to pilot should know that funding for hubs is constrained and there are a limited number of hub initiatives that can sustainably receive support from Wikimedia Funds this year. A total of 700,000 USD is available for the June 2024 - June 2025 period.
  • As a reference, past research initiatives were funded at approximately 25,000 USD. The first year of piloting depends on the scope and local operating costs but has been between the range of 50-110,000 USD.
• Who decides how much funding is distributed to hubs?
  • The Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees makes decisions about the overall budget allocated to hubs, and the Community Development team makes funding decisions for specific hub initiatives. In the future, we aim to align this funding program with movement structures established for resource distribution, as defined by the pilots proposed by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in July 2024.
• How are funds distributed across regions and themes? How do we ensure equitable distribution of funds?
  • Currently, funding decisions depend on community dynamics and the readiness for research and piloting, taking into consideration the criteria established in the Hub Guidelines and what we hope to learn about hubs. There is no predetermined distribution per region or theme for this fiscal year.
  • Future funding and distribution will depend on learnings from hub pilots and operations in the next 2 fiscal years and the outcomes of the new resource distribution process that is defined in the pilots recommended by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
  • Here is a list of hub initiatives and their stages, including which ones have received funding [link incoming]
• Is it possible to reallocate funding once the project begins?
  • The Hub Fund offers unrestricted funding. Unrestricted funding means that grantees can reallocate funding in their budget to new or existing mission-aligned activities or expenses at their own discretion during the funding period. Grantees do not need to obtain permission from the Wikimedia Foundation for the reallocation of these changes in their budget if the amount is less than 20% of their budget. In line with the Grant Agreement, financial variations of 20% or more from any budget-item in the Grantee’s unrestricted project proposal require a notification and approval by the grant officer.
• Does the funding for hubs come from the same budget as the funding for affiliates? In other words, are hubs and affiliates in competition for funding?
  • No. Currently, the Hub Fund comes from a separate budget from affiliates receiving funding through the General Support Fund. If this changes in the future, it will be part of the wider discussion about resource distribution in the movement.

Basic requirements

The following are basic criteria that must be met by all Wikimedia Community Fund applicants for a proposal to be eligible:

• Proposed programs and activities are aligned with the mission of the Wikimedia Foundation.
• Works and contributions must be able to be published under ethical, open-access agreements.
• Applications must be for future, planned hubs work.
• Applicants are a group or organization with no outstanding reports.

Behavioral and legal requirements

Primary and secondary contacts, agreement signatories, bank account signatories, and any individuals in roles that direct the implementation of grant activities, must:

• Follow the Universal Code of Conduct and Friendly Space Policies.
• Comply with all requirements and be in good standing for any current activities funded through the Wikimedia Foundation.
• Be in good standing in regard to ethical behavior within the community (e.g. social behavior, financial behavior, legal behavior, etc.), as determined through the due diligence process of the grant program.
• Have no recent or recurring violations:
  • Must not be blocked on any Wikimedia project, even if the proposed work is unrelated to that project.
  • Within the past year, must not have been blocked, banned, or flagged by Wikimedia Foundation staff or affiliates for violations of the Universal Code of Conduct, Friendly Space Policies, or other conduct issues.
  • Must not have been repeatedly blocked or flagged for the same issue on a Wikimedia project.
  • If prior issues or blocks have occurred, must demonstrate learning and understanding in regard to the cause for the issue, such that they are ready to serve as a role model for others as a grantee.
• Not appear on the United States Department of Treasury Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN).
• Be located in a a country that can legally receive funding for the described activities and expenses in accordance with the laws governing the sending and receiving of funds in the United States and their respective country.
• Not be Wikimedia Foundation staff members or contractors working more than part time (over 20 hours per week).
• Provide all information and documentation needed to receive the funding from the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikimedia Hub Fund Form (Fluxx)

Selection criteria

Your application will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• For all applications:
  • Feasibility of the proposed work:
    • The scale and significance of the planned activities are realistic.
    • The timeline of the delivery demonstrates feasibility.
    • There are no duplications of effort or overlap with similar projects, for instance with other hubs or affiliates.
    • The team implementing the hub initiative (hub drivers) has the necessary expertise to execute the planned activities and this is explicitly described in the proposal.
    • The budget and planned implementation of revenues and expenses are reasonable, justified, and reflect sustainability.
  • Ability to answer the learning questions that guide the Hub Fund’s approach this fiscal year.
• For applications in the pre-pilot or pilot stage: Meeting the principles in the Hub Guidelines
• For applications in the operations stage: Demonstrating positive outcomes through previous hub activities.

1. Receive and engage with initial feedback: Applicant reviews feedback and makes adjustments to the proposal where needed.
2. Decision: The application is reviewed again for a final decision. In this stage, we take into consideration all the recommendations and adjustments, as well as the overall budget for hub funding. Applicants are informed of the funding decision via email, Fluxx and Meta-Wiki. If approved, the grant administration process begins.
3. Project start: The grant period officially begins!
4. Periodic conversations & community of practice: Periodic check-in calls will be scheduled with the Wikimedia Foundation Hub team. Grantees will also be invited to a hub community of practice to exchange and learn from other hub initiatives.
5. Final reporting: Read about the reporting requirements.

Round 1

Final report

• This is a written report to submit within 30 days after the grant end date.

1. Go to Wikimedia Foundation Grantee Portal (Fluxx) and log in.
2. Find the Reports section on the left sidebar. Select the Upcoming link and you will see all upcoming reports.
3. Select the report and click Edit. Answer the questions in the form. You can write it in any preferred language.
4. When the report is complete, click Submit to send it for review. The report will be published on Meta-Wiki within two working days.

• You can prepare the report offline. Make a copy of the report form, answer the questions and copy the text to Fluxx.

Periodic conversations

We ask to meet with you periodically (e.g., every two months) to discuss your progress.

This is an opportunity for us to discuss milestones, challenges, and needs for support.