Grants talk:Simple/Applications/AfroCROWD/2020-2021

Questions from WMF

We are excited to consider your application to the Simple Annual Plan Grant. As part of our review we have a few questions for you:

• In your staffing plan you indicate that the Executive Director will be responsible for partnerships and programs as well as all reports to funders unless someone is hired for either of those roles. Given that you have not budgeted for either role in the budget, we wanted to inquire if you were planning on recruiting interns for these roles or planning to fund these positions through a different funding source?

We would consider both. If it is possible to contract ad hoc administrative assistance, we could favor that.Shanluan (talk)

• In your goal for holding 10 online events and editathons you indicate that your efforts will bring attention and awareness to various African and African diaspora languages on wikipedia. What type of metrics will you be using to show that your efforts have increased exposure of the various language wikipedias you’ve listed?

we would use attendance to the events and track editorship by survey.Shanluan (talk)

• Can you let us know how your goal to hold 10 online events and editathons is different from your goal for AfroCROWD to continue growth on wiki languages of Africa and African diaspora? Would it be possible to combine these two goals as they hold similar activities?

You are right, it would be best to combine them.Shanluan (talk)

Please let us know your response to these questions as we continue to review your grant application. Best regards, WJifar (WMF) (talk) 05:59, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

Simple APG Committee recommendation

We recommend that AfroCROWD receive a grant in the amount of $61,517.75 USD for one year. We understand that AfroCROWD is making a change in Fiscal Sponsorship this year which might take some getting used to in getting regular operations up and running. This can potentially affect scheduled programming and target metrics. In addition, we’re mindful of adjustments the group has indicated regarding COVID-19. As we all know we will need to continue to make changes to our programs and plans as we learn new developments around COVID-19.

We’re excited to see that AfroCROWD continues to engage in different parts of the world bringing in partnerships from Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. This has been a great strength of the group and we are glad to see how the work is going to expand in this new annual plan. While it is great to learn about the achievable goals in the strategic plan the committee would have enjoyed seeing more detailed long term strategies for AfroCROWD.

Thank you for providing some additional insight into your annual plan by answering questions on the discussion page. In regards to the metrics tracking for your online events the committee would like to encourage you to use either Grant metrics tool or Outreach dashboard that would allow you to track your participants much more easily than a separate survey might. Overall, we’re looking forward to seeing AfroCROWD’s continued reach throughout the Wikimedia movement.

For the committee, Islahaddow (talk) 12:50, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

AfroCROWD’s grant is approved in the amount of $61,517.75 USD for 12 months

Congratulations! This grant is approved in the amount of $61,517.75 USD, with the grant term starting on July 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2021.

We commend AfroCROWD for the great work the group is doing with partners in Africa, Europe and the Carribean. Over the last couple of years there has been a variety of activities AfroCROWD has engaged in that has bridged communities unlike any other affiliate we have in the movement. In this annual plan AfroCROWD has goals to reach a plethora of language communities both in Africa and African diaspora and along the way will be increasing the content on Wikimedia Commons. In this year's annual plan AfroCROWD is strengthening partnerships in Africa and Europe and adding a stronger focus in the Caribbean community by focusing on training videos in creole and Spanish.

During this pandemic we’ve all been forced to go virtual with all our activities; however, we recognize that AfroCROWD is especially positioned to take on this challenge as the group has been organizing virtual edit-a-thons and campaigns between groups in Africa and the US or Caribbean and Europe. We’re excited to see the program stories that will emerge at the end of this annual plan.

On March 12, 2020, the grants team shared a message from Katherine Maher, our Executive Director, regarding grant-funded programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. As you know we’ve asked all grantees to cancel or postpone all offline (in-person) public events funded by WMF. We will continue to monitor this situation and connect with you over the course of your grant to work on any adjustments you might need to make. We appreciate your hard work during this time especially and look forward to tackling this challenge together. Best regards, WJifar (WMF) (talk) 22:26, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Request

AfroCROWD requests reallocation of $2,000 from budget line item 1.1.4 to 2.2.1 for accounting as space rental is not expected.

@Shanluan: This reallocation request is approved, and thank you for allocating resources to a dedicated and important aspect of capacity for your organization. Accounting needs and staff will be something we will want to continue to support for AfroCROWD in future grant applications. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 17:48, 1 October 2020 (UTC).

Request: We would like to request to reallocate $1,000 from 1.4 to 1.2.1 for our local area community organizer. We also want to also reallocate 1.1.2 to 1.2.2 and for our speakers, partners and dedicated volunteers. During this difficult year, we want to acknowledge the dedication and effort as well as thank those going above and beyond in the community.

@Shanluan: Thanks for this reallocation request for your community organizers, speakers, partners, and other volunteers. This request is formally approved! I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 18:36, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Request: We would like to request to reallocate $1,000 from 1.4 to 1.2.1 for our creative communications specialist for work in this cycle.

Request: We want to reallocate funds from line 2.3.5 to 2.3.6. The amount for 2.3.5 was placed in the wrong cell. The full amount from 2.35 should be moved to 2.36 below it. The amount for 2.3.5 should be empty. Thank you.