Funding Applications

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Wikimedia Australia offers financial support through the Volunteer Support Programme to members of the Wikimedia community to assist them with their work on Wikimedia projects or other activities directly related to Wikimedia Australia's mission. Up to $200 per application is available to assist with funding activities which members may otherwise be unable to undertake.

Please note that under Rules no. 37, no monies can be distributed to members except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation – if you're unsure as to whether or not your idea falls within this remit, please do apply, or raise the matter, and further advice will be forthcoming.

The Volunteer Support Programme began its life as the Small Grants Programme, which was developed at the January 2010 Operational planning meeting, announced at the end of March 2010, and which was extended and expanded by a number of committee resolutions. In September 2012, due to concerns about the use of the word ‘grant’ in the programme title of what was essentially a reimbursement scheme, the Small Grants Programme was concluded and the Volunteer Support Programme enacted in its place. The change in name was also used as an opportunity to clarify and streamline some aspects of the programme.

How to apply

  1. The program is open to applications until further notice.
  2. Applications for reimbursement should be made by email to the committee. The committee email address is committee-at-wikimedia.org.au. Applications should be made in advance of the actual expenditure.
  3. Your application email should contain:
    • Your contact details and the title of your proposed project.
    • A brief description of your proposed project or purchase.
    • A brief explanation of how your proposed project fits with the chapter's wmau:Statement of Purpose.
    • A brief description of your project goals and how the success of your project will be measured.
    • Which items of the chapter's wmau:Strategic Plan your idea will contribute towards
    • The amount of money you would like
    • Details of the bank account that the reimbursement should be paid to (BSB, account number and account name), or details of to whom the cheque should be made out.
    • The application need not be long – a couple of paragraphs is sufficient.
  4. Receipt of your application will be confirmed by the Secretary. The committee may request further clarification or an alteration or adjustment to the proposed project.
  5. Once the committee has reached a decision, the secretary will notify you of the result of your application.

If you have any questions or need assistance with any aspects of your application, please contact us at committee-at-wikimedia.org.au.

Example projects

Some examples of expenses that might be reimbursed are:

  • Venue hire or catering to host a local Wikimedians meetup in a city or town that has not been able to successfully organise a meetup before.
  • Access fees for a non-public library or academic journal to enable better sourcing of Wikipedia articles.
  • Digitisation fees for significant public domain items in an archive.
  • Printing information sheets or stickers for use in an "introduction to Wikipedia" presentation.
  • Attendance fees for a short course in the use of software or learning a skill related to your Wikimedia work.
  • Transport expenses for travel to different locations to create new freely available materials.
  • Purchase of reference materials or textbooks to assist with the creation of new free content.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and new and innovative ideas are welcomed.

Result of Application

The Secretary will confirm receipt of applications and applicants will be advised of the status of their proposal after the management committee meeting following their application. Meetings are held on the third Sunday of each month. Please advise us in your application if you will require a decision before the next regularly scheduled committee meeting; all effort will be made to address the matter before that date but no guarantees will be made.

The name and/or username of the recipient, the amount of money, and the nature of the request will be published in the minutes of the committee meeting and publicly announced where the application was successful. The details of unsuccessful applications will be kept confidential.

Receiving the reimbursement

Payments are generally made via a direct deposit into the recipients account. If EFT is not suitable for whatever reason, a cheque will instead be issued upon request. Please note that as a reimbursement scheme, payments will only be issued after the receipt of invoices or receipts for the expense. In some cases, if this is not appropriate, the committee may be able to purchase some items like travel tickets on behalf of the applicant and provide them in the place of reimbursement. Exceptions to this rule will be very rare, and must be approved on a case-by-case basis by the management committee.

Completion of the project

Once the project is completed, the recipient will be asked to write a brief report for the members, explaining what their project was, how successful it was, any problems they encountered, and anything else that might be useful or interesting to members of the community. If the purpose of the project was to create new content (for instance, a project to take new photographs), then a link to the content created should also be included. The report does not need to be long and will be published on the chapter’s website.

This report should be submitted within 30 days of receiving reimbursement, if more time is required please contact the committee to advise of the reasons for the delay. New support will not be issued to any individual or group under this scheme where reports for previously issued support are overdue.

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