Grants:PEG/Proposal Guidelines

Proposal Guidelines

Tips and guidelines for writing a great grant proposal.

You're welcome to submit a proposal in any language. If you're planning to submit in a language other than English, we encourage submission as early as possible to ensure time for translation. If you have questions about submitting a grant request in a language other than English, please contact us to discuss.

Start

• Check the eligibility criteria to understand what kinds of proposals are eligible for review.
• Understand and notify the community you aim to serve right away. We select for proposals with as much community input as possible, and early notification gives you lots of time to have discussions with and demonstrate support from the community.
• Familiarize yourself with prior grants that are similar to your proposed project, to get a sense of what we've funded in the past: PEG Grants.
• Think experimentally. At the same time, we like to fund new ideas so don't feel constrained by past funding.
• Align your work to a strategic priority. We’re looking for projects that build community, add content, improve quality, increase diversity, or otherwise ultimately improve the strength of the Wikimedia movement and wiki projects.
• Share your idea at the IdeaLab as early as possible. This will allow you to get early feedback from past and current grantees. The IdeaLab is a great place to get an early start.
• Discuss your project idea and/or draft proposal with grantmaking staff as early as possible. We're here to help! Please email us at grantswikimediaorg.

Plan

• Plan ahead so that you submit your grant request with ample time for review and revision. The grant start-date should be well in the future – not a date that is before the grant request has been submitted.
• Focus your project’s scope on a project or event that you'll be able to accomplish with your volunteer community to achieve measurable impact.
• Time your project wisely. Make sure you're aware of public holidays or other events that would compete for the same audience. Be sure to include enough time at the end of your activities for evaluation.
• Include the details. For workshops, include a draft agenda and draft list of invitees. Link to any appropriate project pages, past grants, and other relevant information. Explain the division of roles and responsibilities (who will track finances, who will draft the report). Provide a timeline for activities.
• Have solid goals and measures of success. Be clear about what you’re trying to do and how you’ll know if you did it. Check out the Program resources for sample metrics. You can also visit the Evaluation Portal for additional advice and tools on measurement and evaluation. We look for both qualitative and quantitative measures of success. Please don't include things that are a given, such as completing the activities or writing the report.
• Spell out your budget in clear line-items. We want to know what this money will be used for, as precisely as you can. See the budget guidelines for more tips.
• Submit your grant request as early as possible. This allows ample time for feedback and to ensure your project is set up for success. Most requests take 3–4 weeks to approve, and getting payment may take a few weeks more.

Engage

• Engage in discussion with the committee, community, and grantmaking staff. Others may have seen what has worked or not worked with past projects, and can help save you time and energy.
• Revise based on feedback when you feel it is appropriate. Your proposal is a living document.
• If you’re not sure, ask! You can get help in the IdeaLab, the talk page of your proposal, and from the WMF grantmaking staff directly. Feel free to email us at grantswikimediaorg.

Ready to submit a proposal? Create your project proposal here!