Wikimedia Foundation/Advancement/Community Growth
Community Growth
Our work is organized into four main areas: funding, collaborative grantmaking and partnership development (Community Resources and Partnerships), campaigns and programmatic work (Community Programs), and capacity development and peer learning (Community Development).
The team
Yael Weissburg
Vice President of Community Growth
Jorge Vargas
Director of Community Resources and Partnerships
Simona Ramkisson
Director of Community Development
Fiona Romeo
Director of Community Programs
Ben Vershbow
Principal Strategist, Community Growth
How we work
[edit]We organize our work around regional and thematic priorities. We also collect data and produce metrics and learnings that help Foundation teams plan and support our volunteers and Affiliates in coordinated ways.
Regional Grants Program Officers and Regional Partnerships Managers are based around the world, with a priority on those regions that have historically been underrepresented in our Movement. We work closely with the 8 Regional Fund Committees to review proposals, provide guidance to grant applicants, and make funding decisions. We seek to ensure that Affiliates have access to external partners and that partners deepen their understanding of and become advocates for the Wikimedia Movement.
Community Programs provides practical assistance, capacity building, facilitation, and co-creation to volunteers, Affiliates and other groups working on movement-prioritized themes like Culture and Heritage, Education, and closing the Gender Gap.
Community Development designs tools, experiences and programs that enhance the resilience and capacity of volunteers and support community governance and leadership.
Check the pages of these teams for more information and ways to contact us. You can also share any questions or feedback on our Talk page.
Sub-teams
[edit]The Community Resources subteam supports the Affiliates and contributors of the Wikimedia Movement by offering institutional and individual funding to help achieve the Movement’s goals.
The Partnerships subteam supports the Wikimedia Foundation and the Affiliates of the Wikimedia Movement to develop and maintain strategic relationships with external partners.
We support major global organizing and outreach themes of the Wikimedia movement, including Culture & Heritage, Education, and Gender.
We support resilient and growing communities by helping volunteers build the capacities and skills needed to grow their contributions and communities.
We support the strategic work of Community Growth with impactful, accessible, and ethical data and insights.
Selected projects
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