Community Resources Announces ​​New Funding Strategy

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The Community Resources team at the Wikimedia Foundation is excited to announce a new approach for our funding strategy, aimed at decentralizing decision-making, working with regional committees, and reaching underrepresented communities. 

Over the last 10 months, we have collaborated together with Wikimedia communities to discuss, understand, and develop an approach that addresses their needs and moves us towards the implementation of our 2030 strategic direction. Thank you for all of your participation to make this a reality. 

The three new funding programs are: 

The Wikimedia Community Fund

  • The Community Fund is a unified program with flexible support and funding for Wikimedians working on knowledge equity aligned with the movement’s strategic direction. 

The Wikimedia Alliances Fund 

  • The Alliances Fund, for mission-aligned organizations in underrepresented communities who want to collaborate and amplify our work. 

The Wikimedia Research and Technology Fund 

  • The Research and Technology Fund for improving technology, tools, and research to nurture a more responsive and accessible environment for contributions. 

Our team has also adapted based on discussions with communities to provide consistent regional support and the establishment of a learning mindset for our funding approach. We know this is just the beginning and it will be an iterative process. As we implement and learn, we will adapt. We also understand the worldwide impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and our first priority is to be in solidarity and have flexibility with communities around the world. 

The three programs will be introduced in a phased approach throughout the year. We will first launch with the Wikimedia Community Fund now in July. We invite you to learn more about the programs on our Meta page. 

We are also hosting a series of office hours for volunteers to learn more about the programs throughout June and July. Please join us there, or on our talk page, to ask questions and learn more. Each program officer is also reaching out and answering questions with individual grantees as part of the transition process. 

Office Hours:

  • 03:00 UTC – 2021-07-23 (Asia-Pacific friendly time)
  • 18:00 UTC – 2021-07-23 (Europe-Africa-Americas friendly time)

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