Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund

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1. Read about what we fund and who can apply below.
2. Required step: Contact the Regional Program Officer as you start to think about your application. They will help to understand what round to apply for and will support you in the process.
   • For new applicants: In the upcoming round 2 of fiscal year 2023-24, we only accept applications from new grantees in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Middle East & North Africa (MENA), East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific (ESEAP) and North America (NA) regions.
   • For returning applicants: Please note that we may not be able to guarantee requested budget increases, and advise having a conversation with your Program Officer to establish what budget range may be feasible.
3. Go to Wikimedia Foundation Grantee Portal (Fluxx) and log in.
   • If you do not have an account, click Register Now and provide the requested information. You will receive confirmation of your registration within one working day.
4. Select the Apply for General Support Fund button on the main page. Click Save and Continue or Save and Close to save the application.
5. Follow the instructions on the application form. Click Submit to submit the application for review.

• We accept applications in any language. We will support translation for applications and discussions as needed.
• Applications will be published to Meta-Wiki automatically within two days. This is done for community review and feedback.
• You can prepare the application offline. Make a copy of the application form, answer the questions and copy the text to Fluxx.

General Support Fund Application Form (Google Docs)

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• Arabic
• French
• Spanish
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Indonesian
• Portuguese

General Support Fund Budget Template (Google Sheets)

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• Annual, multi-year and strategic plans of groups, Wikimedia affiliates and organisations
• Larger projects and programs of individuals, groups, Wikimedia affiliates and organisations
• Proposals supporting the achievement of Wikimedia’s mission and strategic direction

Regional Fund Committees have flexibility to fund projects and expenses that applicants identify based on their specific context and situational needs, and may support additional requests not described here.

Any General Support Fund applicant must be in contact with their Program Officer at least one month before the deadline for application. If you have not had a conversation with your Program Officer about applying for General Support Funding, you will need to apply in the subsequent rounds of funding.

The following are basic criteria that must be met by all Wikimedia Community Fund applicants in order for a proposal to be reviewed:

• Proposed programs and activities are aligned with the mission of the Wikimedia Foundation.
• Works and contributions must be able to be published under ethical, open access agreements
• Applications must be for future, planned work
• Applicants that are organisations must be designated as a Wikimedia affiliate, or must be an organisation with a demonstrable history and primary focus related to the mission of the Wikimedia Foundation, such as improving Wikimedia projects and supporting its volunteer contributors.

All eligibility requirements of Wikimedia Foundation

We work together to be strategic thought partners with applicants. The funding decisions are based on eligibility and committee deliberation.

Here's the summary of the application and review process:

• Applicant submission: Applicants submit their proposal.
• Due diligence: Program Officers and Grant Administrators organise the proposals and supporting documents for committee review.
• Regional Fund Committee review: Committee members review the proposals and supporting documents individually based on a series of criteria and questions.
• Initial feedback: Committees may publish questions to clarify any aspects of the proposal. Community members may also be posting comments, questions or feedback that applicants should respond to.
• Structured feedback from Regional Committee: The whole committee meets to discuss each project to consolidate a unified feedback document that will be sent to applicants.
• Staff feedback shared with committee: Program Officers share their review of each proposal with Committee members.
• Committee/Applicant meetings: In certain cases, committee members may request a live session with the applicants to discuss this feedback and ask questions. Program Officers may also organise these spaces to provide applicants with support to review this feedback.
• Applicant responses and revisions: Applicants have a set time to make necessary adjustments or clarifications.
• Deliberations: Committee members hold a second round of formal deliberation sessions to make their final decisions on the funding. In this stage they take into consideration all the recommendations and adjustments, as well as the overall budget for the region.
• Committee funding decision and remarks: Applicants are informed of the funding decision via email, Fluxx and Meta-Wiki. If approved, grant administration process begins.

Multi-year grant funding is available for returning applicants if appropriate to the goals and objectives of the applicant for a 2- to 3-year grant period and if approved by the Regional Funds Committee. For multi-year applications, the Regional Funds Committee will evaluate potential increases for years 2 and 3 on a case-by-case basis once the budgets for the upcoming fiscal years are known.

Learn more about multi-year funding process

Details about renewal process and other upcoming changes are published at: Wikimedia Community Fund/Proposed changes to General Support Fund in 2023-24.

General Support timeline is different based on the applicant's funding region. See below for the regional calendar. If you don't know your funding region, look for it at find your region page.

The principles that are foundational and underline the Wikimedia Foundation Funds' strategy are based directly on the Movement Strategy Principles:

• Subsidiarity & Self Management
• Equity & Empowerment
• Collaboration & Cooperation
• People Centeredness - listening and reflection
• Efficient Data & Iterative Practices - promoting innovation and learning

There are two types of required reports if your General Support Fund request is approved: Final report (written) and Conversation report (online meeting).

Final learning report

This is a written report to submit within 30 days after the grant end date.

1. Go to Wikimedia Foundation Grantee Portal (Fluxx) and log in.
2. Find the Reports section on the left sidebar. Select the Upcoming link and you will see all upcoming reports.
3. Select the report and click Edit. Answer the questions in the form. You can write it in any preferred language.
4. When the report is complete, click Submit to send it for review. The report will be published on Meta-Wiki within two working days.

You can prepare the report offline. Make a copy of the report form, answer the questions and copy the text to Fluxx.

Final or Yearly Report Form (Google Docs)

• English
• Arabic
• Spanish
• Chinese
• Portuguese
• French
• Indonesian
• Japanese

Conversation reports

There are two conversation reports. You will meet the Program Officer online two times in the middle of the grant implementation and after completing the grant. They will ask questions and complete the forms.

You can review the questions before the online meeting. You do not need to fill out these forms.

Midterm Conversation Questions (Google Docs)

• Arabic
• English
• Chinese
• French
• Indonesian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Final or Yearly Conversation Questions (Google Docs)

• Arabic
• Chinese
• English
• French
• Indonesian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Multi-year funding reports

If you have a multi-year funding, the required reports are slightly different.

• Yearly learning report: The same form as final learning report but submitted yearly.

Final or Yearly Report Form (Google Docs)

• English
• Arabic
• Spanish
• Chinese
• Portuguese
• French
• Indonesian
• Japanese

• Yearly conversation between PO-grantee partners: The same meeting as final conversation meeting but organised yearly.

Final or Yearly Conversation Questions (Google Docs)

• Arabic
• Chinese
• English
• French
• Indonesian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

• Review submissions and reports
• Find your funding region
• Grantee Portal (Fluxx) video tutorials
• Budget of Wikimedia Foundation Funds
• Application and Reporting Forms and Guides
• Recommendations for developing fund proposals
  • Editing Events, Writing Contests and Content Campaigns
  • GLAM
  • Education Projects

October 15, 2024: General Support Fund (GSF) recipients will no longer required to submit any affiliate reporting information to the Wikimedia Affiliate Data. All affiliate reporting requirements will be met by the final GSF report in Fluxx. (archive)

If you have any questions about the General Support Fund, please reach out to your Regional Program Officer via email:

Region	Regional Program Officer	Email address
Middle East & North Africa	Farida El-Gueretly	mena_fundwikimedia.org
Sub-Saharan Africa	Veronica Thamaini	ssa_fundwikimedia.org
South Asia	Jacqueline Chen	sa_fundwikimedia.org
East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific	Jacqueline Chen	eseap_fundwikimedia.org
Latin America & Caribbean	Mercedes Caso	lac_fundwikimedia.org
North America	Chris Schilling	na_fundwikimedia.org
Northern & Western Europe	Agnes Bruszik	nwe_fundwikimedia.org
Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia	Chris Schilling	ceeca_fundwikimedia.org