Grants:Processing

This page documents a process common to all or most of WMF's grants programs. Please don't edit this page, but please do create a discussion page instead.


If you have never received a grant before (or even if you have!), you probably will have many questions about what happens if your grant is approved. We know that completing these steps is not easy for every grantee, so we are here to help with anything that is difficult. We encourage feedback about this process from grantees so that we may continue to improve.

Stages in the grant process

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  1. Application: You submit a funding request to one of WMF's grant programs[1], following the application process for that grant program.
      Request for information: At the time of application and during the review period, applicants are asked to submit needed information and documents in order to determine eligibility for funding from a regulatory compliance perspective. These information/documents would also be necessary to issue an agreement and pay the grant, if your request is approved for funding. Required information and documents are slightly different depending on the type of grantee receiving a grant.
  2. Decision: Your program officer notifies you. If your grant request is approved for funding, you may also receive a Grantee Portal system-generated award notification email (for some grant programs[1]).
  3. Agreement: Once all of the requested information and documents are received, reviewed, and there are no pending items, the Grants Administrator issues a grant agreement and requests for your signature through DocuSign[2], an electronic signature[3] service. Once the grant agreement is signed by both you and a WMF representative, your grant is finalized and ready for payment.
  4. Payment: Once the grant agreement is signed both by you and a WMF representative, and the Grants Administrator provides you with the details of your funds transfer/grant payment[4]. Some grant programs[5] require more than one installment to pay the grant. This information will be provided by your program officer anytime during the proposal review period or when you receive notification that your grant request has been approved for funding.
  5. Reporting: After your grant end date has passed, your grant report and expense documentation (i.e. list of paid expenses and scanned receipts) are due. Each grant program has its own set of instructions for its reporting requirements.
  6. Underspend: If there are unused grant funds at the end of your grant term, return the unused funds to WMF following the instructions at Grants:Return unused funds to WMF. You may also contact your grant's Program Officer[6] to suggest another way to make use of the remaining funds.
  7. Completion: Once all open items have been settled (e.g. reporting requirements met, underspend settled, etc.), your grant can be marked "completed" in our records, and your grant is officially closed.

Reference

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  1. a b As of 1 July 2021, the Wikimedia Foundation funding programs include: Other funding programs may be found at Grants:Start#Other funding programs
  2. If you are unsure if DocuSign is enforceable in your country, you may sign the agreement electronically in any method that is convenient for you (e.g. print, sign, scan, email to WMF; sign using another e-signature service and email your signed document to WMF for the countersignature, etc.).
  3. If you require signing paper originals of the agreement, you will receive instructions for signing and returning signed paper originals of the agreement to WMF.
  4. If your newly approved grant is partially funded by another grant's underspend (unused grant funds), the underspend will be deducted from your new grant's payment. If your newly approved grant is fully funded by another grant's underspend, there will not be a payment made to your newly approved grant. However, a grant agreement will still need to be signed by all parties to validate the grant award.
  5. Multiple installment payments are common for Project and Annual Plan Grants.
  6. Contact list: by Region for Community Resources (CR) grant programs: Non CR grant programs Grant administrators (for all grant programs): grantsadmin wikimedia.org