Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Art+Feminism 2022
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Applicant details
[edit]Wikimedia username(s):
- Kiraface, 13ab37, Masssly, Nyeboah, Yhhue91
Organization:
- Art+Feminism
Have you received grants from the Wikimedia Foundation before?
- Applied previously and did receive a grant
Have you received grants from any non-wiki organization before?
- Yes
Which organization(s) did you receive grants from?
- Ford Foundation
Organization details
[edit]What is your organization or group's mission?
- Art+Feminism builds a community of activists that is committed to closing information gaps related to gender, feminism, and the arts, beginning with Wikipedia.
If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has. (optional)
- N/A
Grant proposal
[edit]Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page.
- Art+Feminism 2022
Where will this proposal be implemented?
- United States of America
Indicate if it is a local, international, or regional proposal and if it involves several countries? (optional)
- International
If you have answered regional or international, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.
What are the main challenges you are trying to solve and your proposed solution?
- Art+Feminism is an international community of information activists committed since 2013 to closing information gaps related to gender, feminism, and the arts, beginning with Wikipedia. We are dismantling systems of oppression and creating pathways for communities historically written out of history to participate in writing (and righting) our stories.
According to the strategic plan we developed beginning in early 2020, one of the biggest challenges we face is to make Art+Feminism a fully cross-regional organization in an equitable and accessible way.
Our action plan to address these challenges consists of: a) recruiting board members from regions other than North America, b) building the infrastructure to sustain and nurture our community in an increasingly equitable and ethical way, c) establishing pathways and support for new leadership within the organization; d) optimizing our regional ambassador program to support the personal and professional development of our regional ambassadors, e) improving our communications strategies, and f) increasing our administrative capacity to sustain organizational growth.
What is the main objective of your proposal?
- Between 2013 and 2019, we achieved exponential growth in participation within our annual campaign. Our priority since 2020 has been to deepen relationships with our community by making our materials more accessible (i.e., improved visual design, translation, and transcription during virtual meetings), encouraging autonomy and stimulating new initiatives. Our main objective is to enhance our capacity for community sustaining and building with these ongoing improvements.
Describe your main strategies to achieve this objective and the main activities you will be developing as part of these strategies.
- Diversity and equity in content and participation in Wikimedia Projects
- Generating diverse content through our Annual Campaign
- Welcome new editors and organizers into the Wikipedia community and empower them to mentor and collaborate with one another
- Technical training (i.e., editing topics) and thematic (arts and feminism) conversations via our Community Hours series.
- Dispersing funds equitably to event organizers
- Continue to grow our reach in communities that we currently have a presence within.
Commitment to internal institution building
- As we think about our work regarding different systems of oppression, we are also taking a critical look at our internal operations to ensure our values are consistently reflected in how we do our work. In August 2021, the A+F leadership team began creating anti-oppression policies and mechanisms that include a commitment to an ongoing process of learning, maintaining and creating equitable practices, and encouraging transparent communication within the organization.
- Staffing: The role of Lead Co-Organizer, a contract position that originally shaped the annual campaign, has evolved to being deeply engaged in the day-to-day of the organization. However it is neither sustainable nor appropriate to rely on this role for that type of labor. We are redefining this role to maintain some of its unique qualities (i.e., that the role is held by non-US team members to appropriately engage the diversity of our community) while also ensuring our expectations of labor are truly fair and equitable. Also in the past year, the Program Administrator grew to Program Manager and is a critical role in our goals of building community and relationships and leaves less capacity for administrative work. Thus, increasing administrative capacity is a key objective in our sustainability. We’re grateful for funding from the Ford Foundation that will enable us to hire a full time Administrative Associate in 2022.
- Fundraising: We have created a pathway for individual giving (which thus far has generated over $12,000 in donations). Our grant writing efforts led us to the New Media Leadership Cohort at the Ford Foundation with an unrestricted 16-month grant.
Wikimedia Advocacy:
- Continue taking part in initiatives aimed at promoting a healthier and safer Wikimedia community, such as the Universal Code of Conduct and 2030 Strategy.
- Conduct research that pushes the Wikimedia Movement further to address diversity and equity.
Please state if you will be carrying out any of these activities within your programs? Select all that apply.
- Organizing Meet-up online, Workshops, Edit-A-Thons, Train-the-Trainer, Photowalk, Central organizing for movement campaign
Are you running any in-person events or activities?
- No
Please state if your proposal aims to work on any of the identified content knowledge gaps?
- Content Gender gap, Geography, Language, Socioeconomic Status, Sexual Orientation, Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context), Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial
Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or thematic focus.
- Advocacy, Culture, heritage or GLAM , Diversity
Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select all categories that apply.
- Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Geographic , Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background, Disabilities, Linguistic / Language, Socioeconomic status, Digital Access
Please tell us more about your target participants.
- The Art+Feminism campaign is an international call to individuals, communities, institutions, and grassroots organizations. Art+Feminism's audience is broad and diverse. We have established solid ties with GLAM institutions, universities, academics, non-profits and NGOS, artists, feminist and information activists, cultural leaders, and others. We articulate collaboration between these actors and Wikimedian communities in editing and awareness-raising activities around the existing gaps in Wikimedia projects.
There are no restrictions to participate in our campaign, nor is previous experience editing on Wikimedia projects required. The only requirement to participate is to adhere to our Safe and Brave Space Policy (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Art%2BFeminism_User_Group/Safe,_Brave_Space_Policy) and to work to ensure an event free of any form of harassment or discrimination.
Our strategies for retaining new contributors include:
- Emphasis on partnerships with GLAM institutions, which have great potential to integrate the use of Wikimedia projects into their regular programming.
- Providing regular training opportunities and support resources to our international network of supporters. We have identified that some Art+Feminism event organizers (individual Wikimedians, activists, artists, as well as institutions) act as catalysts within their communities and encourage others to continue editing. We allocate a considerable proportion of our resources to support them.
- Continue with the "Network organizers" program, composed of experienced and active A+F event organizers, who continue organizing Art+Feminism-related activities within geographic and non-geographic communities. They have community building and organizing skills and are interested in feminism and information activism.
- Work in collaboration with other Wikimedia projects and organizations, especially those with an equity focus. We currently collaborate at different levels with the projects Women in Red, Whose Knowledge?, AfroCrowd, Black Lunch Table, Wikimedia Norge, among others.
- Build and improve our digital communication strategy to be more consistently active year-round (currently mostly active around International Women’s Day) and more representative of the international Art+Feminism community.
Do you have plans to work with other Wikimedia communities, groups or affiliates in your country, or in other countries, to implement this proposal?
- Yes
Please tell us about these connections online and offline and how you have let Wikimedia communities know about this proposal.
- Our work is highly collaborative. We hope to continue to work with other Wiki organizations, affiliates, and User Groups like Black Lunch Table, WikiNorge, AfroCROWD, Wikimedia LGBT+. Our global organizers continue to partner with local libraries, universities, and museums around the world. We remain open to collaborating with folx who share and align with our vision and values.
The internal timeline we created around this proposal includes at least a two week period for our grant officer, board and community members at large to review on Meta (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Art%2BFeminism_User_Group/2022_2023GrantApplication(Draft)) and on Google Docs. This was linked on our user group page, circulated on the internal mailing list and sent specifically to key stakeholders.
Will you be working with other external, non-Wikimedian partners to implement this proposal?
- Yes
Please describe these partnerships.
- On our constant journey and value that centers (un)learning we often seek third party facilitators and experts to conduct and lead training and workshops. Further, we are excited to be part of the current Ford Foundation New Media CoHort which comes with funding and regular meetings with fellow cohort members doing exciting things with technology and art in the United States.
How do you hope to sustain or expand the work carried out in this proposal after the grant?
- The pandemic allowed us the space to rethink our signature event and the opportunity to assess if it was still as impactful as it was when it began. Historically, Art+Feminism has organized what we named a signature event in New York City, which became consistently the largest in-person edit-a-thon within the Wikimedia Movement, starting at Eyebeam in 2014 and subsequently held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from 2015-2019. In both 2020 and 2021, we did not hold a signature event due to COVID-19. During this time, we also did deep and important work around our mission, vision and values and found ourselves asking questions around the purpose of the main event. After conversations with both the board and the Art+Feminism leadership team, that included reflecting on staff capacity, we are going to continue the trajectory of moving away from the organization hosting a marquee event. This will enable us to more intentionally provide more resources, such as microgranting, tools, guides, and translated materials to our global organizers. By continuing on this path, it enables for more impactful and long-term sustainability globally. We expect this to be an ongoing conversation and will continue to seek feedback from our community. By spreading our workload more evenly across geographic and temporal frameworks we will limit burnout of volunteers and high-value contributors. We will continue to constantly support and amplify new voices, encouraging expansion in our networks.
Do you have the team that is needed to implement this proposal?
- Name: Kira Wisniewski
Title: Executive Director Wikimedia username: kiraface
Name: Nina Yeboah Title: Program Manager Wikimedia username: Nyeboah
Name: [Vacant] Title: Administrative Associate Wikimedia username: [Vacant]
Responsibilities: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Art%2BFeminism_User_Group/Planning/Staffing2022-2023
In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select a maximum of three options that most apply.
- Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Improve User Experience, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Ensure Equity in Decision-making
Please state if your organization or group has a Strategic Plan that can help us further understand your proposal. You can also upload it here. (optional)
- Upload Strategic Plan
Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation
[edit]What do you hope to learn from your work in this fund proposal?
- -How can we support a global community, across cultural and language barriers in an equitable manner?
- What strategies help our communities feel safe on Wikipedia and at Art+Feminism?
- What can we do to continuously create safer and braver spaces that are caring, equitable, pro-Black, queer and trans-affirming, intentional about accessibility and all-around anti-oppressive. What does this mean in a community context and what does this mean in an employment context?
- What can we do to embrace our own learning and unlearning of knowledge so that we may dream of new ways of being and doing, individually and collectively?
Core Metrics
[edit]Enter a description of the metric and a number in the target field. If the metric does not apply to you, enter N/A for not applicable.
| Core metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | ||
| Number of editors | ||
| Number of organizers |
| Wikimedia Project | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
If for some reason your proposal will not measure these core metrics please provide an explanation.
- Since 2014, over 20,000 people at more than 1,560 events around the world have participated in our edit-a-thons, resulting in the creation and improvement of more than 100,000 articles on Wikipedia and its sister projects. We are able to track these metrics thanks to reports from events organizers and the use of the Programs & Events Dashboard.
We will continue tracking these metrics; however, we do not wish to add more quantitative metrics at this time. Instead, as we continue on the trajectory of community care and support, we are developing ways to capture qualitative data. We’ve been intentional in having more conversations with event organizers and working to capture narratives of how they’re reinventing and reimagining their work, including what a traditional edit-a-thon can look like in the midst of a pandemic.
Additional Metrics
[edit]Enter a description of the metric and a number in the target field. If the metric does not apply to you, enter N/A for not applicable.
| Additional Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of editors that continue to participate/retained after activities | N/A | |
| Number of organizers that continue to participate/retained after activities | N/A | N/A |
| Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability | N/A | N/A |
| Feedback from participants on effective strategies for attracting and retaining contributors | N/A | N/A |
| Diversity of participants brought in by grantees | N/A | N/A |
| Number of people reached through social media publications | N/A | N/A |
| Number of activities developed | N/A | N/A |
| Number of volunteer hours | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | (continuation of response for 27a.)
In tandem, we’re conscious that we’re still in a global pandemic and do not wish to add additional pressure to our organizers to have a certain number of events, attendees, or articles to help us demonstrate metrics. We’re celebrating the fact that they’re organizing and find any contribution worth celebration and praise. |
N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
What other information will you be collecting to learn about the impact of your work? (optional)
- N/A
What tools would you use to measure each metric selected?
- We use the Programs & Events Dashboard to track the number of events, editors, and their contributions to our annual campaigns. In 2019, we introduced a map as part of our final reporting. Using Template:Location map+ we are able to generate a composite image consisting of a map and a location mark, and optionally add labels and captions to each point. In 2020, we went added our metrics data to Wikidata. This will allow us to answer more robust demographic questions about our campaign.
How do you hope to share these results so that others can learn from them?
- Share results on social media, Share results with our communities, Develop learning material for other users, Share it on Meta-Wiki, I would like to receive support from the Foundation to discover how I can share my learning
Financial Proposal
[edit]What is the amount you are requesting from WMF? Please provide this amount in your local currency. If you are thinking about a multi-year fund, please provide the amount for the first year.
- 335275 USD
What is this amount in US Currency (to the best of your knowledge)?
- 335275 USD
Do you want to apply for multi-year funding?
- Yes
If you have calculated it, please provide an estimate of the year 2 or year 3 request.
- $399,222.25
We’ve used the general formula of 3% COLA to calculate overall budget line projections, but the biggest change in year 2 from year 1, is that in year 1 (2022) we’ve already secured funding for a new staff position. Whereas, we’ll continue to look for other support for the work of the organization. We're including that position’s salary in our proposed year 2 budget; still keeping the overall request under 15% increase from year 1.
Please share your budget for this proposal.
- Please see budget attached. (We're having a hard time linking the google doc, so uploaded a PDF, but here is the URL to the google doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UCyyDKqv2TvQgBTx9QwCCue7VVlk4Acery3cHwXNEQI/edit#gid=186697886)
What do you do to make sure there is a good management of funds?
- We are building general accounting policies and procedures in partnership with our bookkeeper Viva Yeboah (who also consults with Black Lunch Table). Once complete, these operational documents will be reviewed by our leadership team and board.
How will you contribute towards creating a supportive environment for participants using the UCOC and Friendly Space Policy?
- We’ve been advocates of the development of the UCoC by holding our own town halls for our community and drafting feedback for the development committees [also available here: https://artandfeminism.org/initiatives/current-initiatives/wikimedia-advocacy/]. Further, we have our own Safe Brave Space policy [1] that we encourage all Art+Feminism organizers to share at their events. In 2021, we’ve migrated this agreement to Meta [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Art%2BFeminism_User_Group/Safe,_Brave_Space_Policy so that it can easily be translated into other languages to increase the accessibility of our work and values. We champion initiatives aimed at promoting a healthier and safer Wikimedia community.
Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.
- Staffing plan or organogram:
- Other public document(s):
Final Message
[edit]By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.
We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
- Yes
Feedback
[edit]- Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.