Grants:Simple/Applications/Black Lunch Table/2021/annualplan

Introduction

For our sAPG 2021 Annual Plan, we have modified and made notations of where we still have progress to make or were delayed in meeting our 2020 goals. No one could have anticipated the kinds of disruptions that we would have faced in 2020 with the dual crises of COVID-19 and The Movement for Black Lives.

Black Lunch Table adapted and has attempted to operate with as much empathy as possible in all aspects as we move through this time. Our programming was reorganized to meet the new challenges presented by 2020 and continued to meet the goals we set out for sAPG 2020 granting year.

Our focus for the 2021 granting cycle remains in three areas: Nonprofit operations, Team, and Events/Editors/Photobooth. We have broken the year out in thirds and listed our goals in each of the areas accordingly.

sAPG 2020 Goals

Briefly, the main goals and objectives for each nonprofit operations, team, and events are listed below as written for 2020. Alterations to the plan have been noted in the month to month progress below.

Nonprofit Operations

Developing a new board of advisors and expanding the board of directors
Increase BLT partnerships with cultural and academic institutions
Increase organizational sponsors for BLT activities

Team

Increase the stability of the team and retain effective team members including
Project managers and assistants
Regional Proxies
Bookkeepers, lawyers, strategists
Coders, digital specialists, consultants

Redistribute operations from Leads to team
Leads should shift focus to strategy and vision.
Improve all of our staffing, training, hiring systems where each team member is operating more effectively, sustainably and the BLT project is becoming more stable overall.

Events

Events encompass our goals as it relates to edit-a-thons, editors, and our photobooth
Increase access to training and participation in marginalized communities
Host 20 in-person Wiki events over approximately months
Develop and initiate a survey and assessment protocol within 6 months
Adopt GLAM and Wiki Education into our initiative
Develop contests that focus on our growing task list as well as ways to familiarize editors with Wikipedia’s many platforms and concerns.
Language and Translation (interpretation) initiatives and collaborations that connect Wikidata to Wikidata to our oral history database, and continuing to focus on events and methods that support thoughtful approaches to the multilingual space of Wiki and our project’s communities.

Yearly objectives 2021

Below are objectives for each of the three focus areas, nonprofit operations, team, and edit-a-thons which will serve as a guide by which we enact our priorities within those categories over the next year.

Nonprofit Operations

Having hired an NFP strategist and completed an assessment of the organization BLT has formed its initial board and scheduled and begun a strategy for fundraising and long-term solvency.

Jan/Feb/March/April

Grant writing/fundraising calendar drafted
Begin writing a strategic plan for institutional engagement
Begin writing a strategic plan for community engagement
Write linked data relationship potential statement
Identify and target sponsorship (fiscal, corporate, promotional)
Develop long and short term project goals with the lead organizers
Implement the long-running strategic plan outlined, including fundraising and budget advisement for planned project expansion and sustainability
Grant writing/fundraising as needed
Begin rewrite of bylaws with assistance from strategist and board
Strategize what audience outcomes are desired
Identify appropriate institutions to share linked data with BLT + Wikidata

May/June/July/August

Consultation with strategist, plan implementation contd
Grant writing/fundraising as needed
Complete rewrite of bylaws with assistance from strategist and board
Select non profit insurance with help from strategist and board
Complete a strategic plan for institutional engagement
Complete a strategic plan for community engagement
Complete a strategic plan for academic engagement
Set 12 month audience outcome goals
Outreach and pitch to 2 institutions with linked data potential
End of year appeal campaign, fundraising planning

Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec

Consultation with strategist, plan implementation contd
End of year appeal campaign, fundraising planning
Grant writing/fundraising as needed
End of year appeal campaign
Plan implementation contd, preparation for the next yearly cycle
Have developed 2 new partnerships with cultural institutions
Have developed 2 new partnerships with community institutions
Have developed 2 new partnerships with academic institutions
Develop and beta test 2 new database relationship partners

Team

During the 2020 granting year we were able to retain team members familiar with the project. A more consistent team structure has resulted in more flow and less friction overall. BLT continues to shift day to day operations away from the Lead Organizers to the Exec Director, BLT operations Manager, and the Project Assistant. An important step that BLT is taking in the 2021 cycle is moving two team members to full-time. This will account, at least in part, for work that we anticipate as the pandemic continues, we work to meet WMF goals of prioritization and to reach the goals we have set out for ourselves.

Jan/Feb/March/April

Migrate to full-time, payroll, benefits
Search/hire new staff roles (communications specialist/proxies)
Refine communication habits between co-leads and project manager re NFP strategist, lawyers, accountant, etc. as the team becomes more stable with full-time staff.
Assess what is needed/updated/incomplete after this staffing/structure shift
Preparing for regional proxy engagements, GLAM engagements, and classroom/students esp with photos
Connecting with accountant, bookkeeper, lawyer at beginning of new grant cycle/year
Punch list for yearly event outline, what is scheduled? Who will we partner with? Where can we be of service?
Regional proxies begin engagement

May/Jun/July/August

Continuing engagements, COVID-19 dependent
Wikimania 2021 and team retreat planning and event, evaluation of team effectiveness overall, informing the retreat content
Regional proxies engagements, contd

Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec

Team retreat review follow-up, lead into the end of year review
Regional proxies engagements, contd
Annual review, goals met/missed, accommodations for the upcoming year
Regional proxies engagements completed
Grant reporting

Edit-a-thon, editors, photobooth

After amending our events for largely digital engagement we have found some stride. We hope that we can return to some in-person events with our Regional Proxies as well as some engagements throughout the states. In general, we are on track and plan to maintain and grow our edit-a-thons, collaborations, and initiatives.

Jan/Feb/March/Apr

Prospective list of edit-a-thon sites/collaborations/partners for the year, consider outreach internationally and away from home regions
Continued BLT Branded Digital events series from 2020
Compile list of available photographers for booths
Online meetup/social media/PR strategies implemented
Devise methods for post-event engagement, i.e. automated surveys, information collection
Planning for any additional contests/collaborations,i.e. Black History Month, Juneteenth, and women's history month
CAA edit-a-thon, New York, NY,
Legacy and New regional proxy edit-a-thons begin
Assessing scheduled calendar of events based on COVID-19 pandemic progress
Regional proxy edit-a-thons, contd

May/June/July/Aug

In-person events commence if possible, working towards six total in person edit-a-thons, four total photobooths, in addition to proxy events.
Continued BLT Branded Digital events series from 2020

Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec

Regional proxy edit-a-thons, in-person events, contd if possible
Complete edit-a-thons to reach goals
Complete photobooths to reach goals
Final metrics and assessments of goals met, grant reporting