Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Wikimedia Czech Republic 24-25
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Question about Wikisource
[edit]Hello, Klára! How are you? I am writing to you as a member of the Regional Committee for CEE & Central Asia. I hope that my question might be of some assistance to achieve your goals. Do you have any project activities in Wikisource, that might help deliver your target numbers in Wikipedia? Best wishes,--W (talk) 13:31, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
- Hello, the Czech Wikisource community has only a few editors, so we focus our activities on other Wikimedia projects where the likelihood of a hit is higher - logically Wikipedia, Wikidata and Commons.
- The impact of our activities here would most likely be zero and the effect on the target numbers would probably be similar. We are also applying this strategy in consultation with active members of our community. Klára Joklová (WMCZ) (talk) 09:25, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
General Support Fund proposal approved in the amount of 9,898,000 CZK
[edit]Congratulations! Your proposal is approved for partial funding over a period of two years in the amount of 9,898,000 CZK with a grant term starting 1 January 2024 and ending 31 December 2025. This total is distributed over two years in the following manner:
Year 1: 4,900,000 CZK
Year 2: 4,998,000 CZK
This multiyear grant incorporates a 2% budget increase between Year 1 and Year 2. You will continue to be able to submit a different budget for Year 2 when your annual plan and other changes are submitted, but please keep in mind limitations on the budget for the General Support Fund.
The committee noted several strengths in their review of Wikimedia Czech Republic’s proposal this round. First, the committee recognizes that Wikimedia CZ has a healthy and productive community of organizers and contributors engaged through its programs. Second, the chapter provides support throughout this region for other Wikimedia initiatives, and also provides important technical guidance related to Wikimedia Commons. Third, the committee appreciates efforts made by the chapter to begin working through recent internal conflicts within its organization by seeking outside mediation, and requesting guidance from relevant staff in the Wikimedia Foundation. Finally, the committee appreciates the approach to presenting your budget in both a summary manner and a more detailed explanation, and that this represents strong transparency in your financial planning.
The committee also notes some concerns around the rate at which the chapter expects to grow relying primarily on funding from the Wikimedia Foundation, especially because larger increases have been awarded to the chapter recently. The current proposal represents an approximate 30% increase in budget from the previous year. While we understand that this request is partly based on increases in inflation, and that inflation is an eligible rationale for requesting an increase, the overall budget for funding in the region has grown only about 8.5% overall, and funding growth next year is expected to be even smaller. We also lack sufficient funds to fully cover the effects of inflation in the region. Consequently, the committee stresses the need to 1) prioritize your current budget, 2) prepare subsequent funding requests that are more modest in growth, and 3) invest time into seeking other funding sources to stabilize your organization because the General Support Fund is currently not able to support significant financial growth for affiliates, and will not be able to do so in the near future.
The committee acknowledges and accepts that budgetary prioritization may require adjusting your programs, programmatic outcomes, and adjusting or consolidating roles. For example, the proposed lecturer positions may need to be done voluntarily, or consolidated into existing managerial roles. Alternatively, certain proposed contractual positions may not be possible to support at this time. However, as this funding is unrestricted, you have discretion on how best to make these changes, and your program officer is available to discuss possible approaches if this would be supportive.
FInally, the committee also encourages Wikimedia CZ to focus more on local community needs, and encourages you to think about how to best mobilize and utilize your robust base of organizers. The committee is curious to learn if organizers are interested in or could be supported to pursue independent projects or what more specific outcomes on different Wikimedia projects organizers can produce (such as around quality content, as opposed to supporting the improvements of many articles).
We appreciate your chapter’s stewardship in the region and overall impact in the Czech Republic to support open knowledge needs.
On behalf of the Regional Committee, W (talk) 15:46, 28 November 2023 (UTC)