Grants:Committees
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Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees committees
Staff committees Community-wide committees Movement governance committees Movement-wide preparation committees Resources allocation committees |
The primary role of the Regional Fund Committees (RFC, also Regional Funds Committees, Regional Grants Committees) is strategic thought partnership to help understand the complexities of Wikimedia Foundation Funding regions and to make funding decisions for grant applications in the regions, providing knowledge and expertise to applicants to support successful movement activities.
An important aspect of the Wikimedia Foundation’s funding programs is the role that volunteer committees have in providing both guidance and support to applicants as well as making decisions about how movement funds should be distributed. Based on the movement strategy recommendations, we maintain committees that enable communities in each region and thematic experts to have a central role in setting priorities and allocating funds for specific types of initiatives. Each of these processes benefits greatly from existing expertise, new ideas, and awareness of required skills and circumstances for local communities.
Current members
We have seven regional committees leading our participatory processes.
- Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia
- Northern & Western Europe
- North America
- Latin America & Caribbean
- East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific
- South Asia
- Sub-Saharan Africa · Middle East & North Africa
| Username | Regional Fund Committee | Term started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FocalPoint | CEECA | October 2021 | |
| MikyM | CEECA | October 2021 | |
| Reda Kerbouche | CEECA | October 2021 | |
| Красный | CEECA | August 2021 | |
| Nataev | CEECA | February 2022 | |
| Justine.toms | CEECA | June 2022 | |
| Nina1009 | CEECA | April 2023 | |
| BKlen-CEEhub | CEECA | May 2024 | non-voting member, CEE Hub |
| Aotfs2013 | ESEAP | August 2021 | |
| Chipmunkdavis | ESEAP | August 2021 | |
| Exec8 | ESEAP | August 2021 | |
| Kunokuno | ESEAP | August 2021 | |
| Alphama | ESEAP | October 2022 | |
| 22Kartika | ESEAP | September 2022 | |
| GhoziSeptiandri | ESEAP | September 2022 | |
| Kunirasem | ESEAP | September 2022 | |
| taweetham | ESEAP | September 2022 | |
| IvomarDos | LAC | January 2023 | |
| marsebu | LAC | January 2023 | |
| Superzerocool | LAC | January 2023 | |
| Onica aguilar | LAC | September 2023 | |
| PilarSaenz | LAC | September 2023 | |
| Vanett Graneros | LAC | September 2023 | |
| Fjmustak | MEA (MENA) | August 2021 | |
| NANöR | MEA (MENA) | September 2021 | |
| Ibrahim.ID | MEA (MENA) | September 2023 | |
| Nehaoua | MEA (MENA) | September 2023 | |
| Reda benkhadra | MEA (MENA) | September 2023 | |
| Aristidek5maya | MEA (SSA) | August 2021 | |
| Azogbonon | MEA (SSA) | August 2021 | |
| Aimeabibis | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| capitainAfrika | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| Dnshitobu | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| Gilbert Ndihokubwayo | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| Iwuala Lucy | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| Pellagia Njau | MEA (SSA) | September 2023 | |
| Effeietsanders | NA | August 2021 | |
| Emjackson42 | NA | August 2021 | |
| AbhiSuryawanshi | NA | August 2021 | |
| Matthewvetter | NA | August 2021 | |
| Redwidgeon | NA | August 2021 | |
| Wugapodes | NA | August 2021 | |
| Antiqueight | NWE | August 2021 | |
| mmo | NWE | August 2021 | |
| NickK | NWE | August 2021 | |
| Camelia.boban | NWE | October 2022 | |
| trondtr | NWE | October 2022 | |
| Yger | NWE | October 2022 | |
| Josiefraser | NWE | October 2023 | |
| Abraham Taherivand | NWE | October 2024 | |
| Astrid Carlsen | NWE | October 2024 | |
| Quelet | NWE | October 2024 | |
| Balajijagadesh | SA | August 2021 | |
| medhavigandhi | SA | August 2021 | |
| Nawaraj Ghimire | SA | August 2021 | |
| Tarunno | SA | August 2021 | |
| आर्या जोशी | SA | December 2023 | |
| Nabin K. Sapkota | SA | August 2024 | |
| Ravidreams | SA | August 2024 |
Inactive and past committee members
Roles and responsibilities
- Contribute and provide feedback on the regional budget distribution across regions – how much goes into each regional budget.
- Review proposals and make decisions on the funding amount grantees receive based on proposal evaluation. Committees are responsible for the decision-making process of the General Support Fund. Some committees, based on their capacity, are also involved in the decision-making of the Rapid Fund program.
- Support the committee work by sharing knowledge, expertise and regional context with Community Resources and within committees to build needed capacities around resourcing, representation, and power sharing.
- Other roles committee members may take
- Offer mentorship to grantees and support to newcomers in Wikimedia Foundation Funds.
- Play a role in conflict resolution.
- Support the Program Officer in communication with grantees, different movement bodies, and the Wikimedia community. Write Diff posts about projects funded by the committee.
- Identifying regional opportunities and challenges and aligning them with the funding decisions.
- Make recommendations about funding practices to the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Recruitment of other RFC members.
For the Conference Fund program, there is a separate committee consisting of different regional representatives. This committee is engaged in the decision-making process for the Conference Funds proposals and provides support to Conference organizers.
Term and tenure
Committee members commit to a minimum two-year service period and a maximum term limit of four years (with an option to extend if there is a shortage of new or experienced committee members). A rolling membership system is implemented to ensure that some experienced people are always on the committee. An additional two-year extension is possible in case continuity is required.
Selection and expertise
New Regional Fund Committee members are co-selected by the existing Regional Fund Committee and the Community Resources Team.
Selection criteria
- Eligible
- Members of the Wikimedia community
- Volunteer board members of Wikimedia affiliates. Previous Executive Directors and Board Members of Wikimedia affiliates.
- Members of mission-aligned organisations, partner institutions (EDU, Culture and Heritage, gender, etc.)
- Individuals working or having expertise in regions of interest
- Not eligible
- Anyone receiving compensation as a staff through a Wikimedia affiliate or current General Support Fund, Wikimedia Alliances Fund, or Research Fund grant project. (This excludes grantee partners requesting Rapid Funds, Events and Conference Funds, and Movement Strategy Funds.)
- Staff connected to projects funded by the Wikimedia Foundation within allied organisations.
- Anyone receiving compensation for a paid role with the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Anyone who is not compliant with the behavioral requirements for applicants to our funding programs.
Expertise desired
- Understanding of Wikimedia programs, in addition to contributions to the online projects.
- Strong ability to contribute and participate effectively in collaborative decision-making.
- Effective communication and conflict resolution skills.
- Expertise and insights related to the region of the RFC.
- Alignment with the values of the 2030 strategic direction and the movement strategy recommendations.
- Understanding of or willingness to learn about participatory grantmaking.
- A demonstrated commitment to sharing skills and experience, and helping others grow.
- Professional and/or volunteer experience and skills related to funds committee review work, such as budget management and application review skills, experience with governance of non-governmental organizations, background in common programmatic areas like culture and heritage, education, etc.
- Expertise, including lived experience, related to diversity, equity and inclusion to help promote and support knowledge equity, and the increasing of geographic, gender, or age diversity.
Diversity criteria
Committee members understand and value diversity, including cultural, linguistic, and gender differences. We aim to support Regional Committees that represent and serve the needs of many communities in the movement, including those based on gender, language, ethnicity, age, and geography, amongst other characteristics.
Committee Open Calls
- Conference Fund Committee Open Call in 2023–2024
- Committee Open Call in South Asia 2023–2024
- Committee Open Call in Latin America & Caribbean, North America, and Northern & Western Europe 2023–2024
- Committee Open Call in Middle East and Africa 2022–2023
- Committee Open Call in Latin America & Caribbean 2022–2023
- Committee Open Call in Northern & Western Europe 2022–2023
- First Committee Open Call in all regions 2020–2021
Composition
Size: The size of the committees varies in different funding regions with 5-10 members as of 2024.
Stakeholder Representation: Regional stakeholders can also be involved in some committees. For example, the CEECA Regional Fund Committee has a non voting representative from the CEE Hub. The committees with Community Resources can involve other stakeholders to ensure inclusion and representation.
Deliberations and decision-making
- Frequency of deliberations or meetings
Committees communicate through online meetings, mailing lists, and Telegram groups. Some regional committee mailing lists also accept external communication. The work of the committee will vary from month to month. At the beginning, time for training will be required as well as during application review in the two rounds per year. Other moments would require less time focused on communication and mentorship.
- Working language
Working language varies across regions. For example, the working language for the North American Committee is English, the Latin American and Caribbean committee works in Spanish, Portuguese, and French with interpretation and translation services, and the ESEAP Committee works in English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Indonesian. If the submitted application is in another language, committees can receive translation support.
- Format of review and deliberations
For more details about the review process and review framework used, see: How are General Support Fund proposals reviewed for Wikimedia Community Fund?
- Quorum and consensus
Committees use the gradients of the agreement scale for consensus building towards making inclusive funding decisions. Some committees use the 1-2-4-All approach for proposals reviews and deliberations. This means that there are 3-4 stages that an application undergoes that includes proposal review and deliberations. During the deliberations, Program Officers act as facilitators and provide Committees with requested additional information.
- Program Officer's role
The Regional Program Officer from the Community Resources team support in administration, documentation, facilitation, coordination, communication, and serves in an advisory role.
Policies and transparency
Committee members are committed to the following policies and principles to support constructive dialogue with applicants and grantees:
- Universal Code of Conduct (UCOC)
- Conflict of Interest (COI) guidelines for Regional Fund Committees (Google Docs version)
- Friendly space expectations
Committee decisions and recommendations are published on grant talk pages. After every funding round, Committees have a meeting with their Program Officer to evaluate the completed work and identify areas of improvement.
Inactivity in the committee or not following the eligibility criteria and behavioral expectations can result in removal from the committee.
- Committee surveys and feedback
- 2021–2022 Round 2 Application and Committee Feedback: Regional Fund Committee (RFC) Perspectives
- 2021–2022 Round 1 Application and Committee Feedback: Regional Fund Committees perspectives and recommendations
Support and resources
- Stipend: The regional committee members may receive a stipend of $100 every 2 months to offset costs of participation. Stipends can be used to pay for childcare, internet, transportation and other costs that make volunteering possible
- Skill development opportunities: Training is provided to the committee members to support DEI, review, discussion, and decision-making. Committee members have access to skill building opportunities, including training on topics such as conflict transformation and nonviolent communication. Through their work on the tasks, members also learn by doing.
Other Fund Committees
See also
The Community Resources team at Wikimedia Foundation supports the Wikimedia Foundation Funds. We offer funding opportunities, guidance, and other resources to the Wikimedia Movement.