| Individual Engagement Grants | Project and Event Grants | Annual Plan Grants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | Comprehensive support for individual and small team projects focused on online impact. | Funds for organizations, groups, and individuals organizing events and running primarily offline projects that benefit the Wikimedia movement. | Funding the annual budgets and mission objectives of Wikimedia affiliate organizations. The only WMF grants program designed to fund full time, permanent staff. |
| Committee Name | IEG Committee (IEG Com) | Grant Advisory Committee (GAC) | Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) |
| Target Market | Funds for individual or team of up to four individuals | Individuals, groups, organizations | Organizations |
| Proposals accepted | Proposals accepted twice annually. | Proposals accepted at any time. | Proposals accepted twice annually. |
| Project timeline | Up to six months, with potential to renew for six more if need is shown. | Grant periods should not exceed twelve months, as a rule. Exceptions will be considered when a justified context can be shown. | Annual – 12 months. |
| Number of Committee Members | 17 | 28 | 9 |
| Who has final decision? | Staff with recommendation of Committee | Staff with recommendation of Committee | Board approved recommendation of Committee |
| Maximum Request | $30,000 | None; most requests are under $50,000 | None |
| Minimum Request | None | $500; exceptions may be considered | None |
As this chart demonstrates, WMF grantmaking has three primary programs which make grants in a range of sizes to a diverse spectrum of individuals, groups, and organizations. Each grantmaking program has a committee of volunteers who advise the grantmaking process. In the case of the Individual Engagement Grants and Project and Event Grants, the staff has final decision.
IEG and PEG applicants create a proposal page on-wiki using either a Form Wizard[1] or standard wikimarkup. Proposers also have the option to start their pages as smaller ideas in an incubation space called IdeaLab[2], and collaboratively grow them into full proposals over time. Once opened for review, the entire Wikimedia community is invited to endorse proposals or discuss any concerns or questions they have on the "discussion pages" of the proposals. Next, the Committees review proposals, provide feedback, and recommend a shortlist of proposals for WMF to fund. Finally, WMF staff complete due diligence on the committee's recommended shortlist, including interviews of the applicants by the program officer. WMF finalizes the selection of grantees in discussion with the committee.
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