Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/WMAT Multi-Year-Plan Grant 2025-2027

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Applicant information

Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required): Wikimedia Österreich

Do you have any approved General Support Fund requests? (required): Yes, I have already applied and received a General Support Fund

You are applying as a(n). (required): Wikimedia Affiliate (chapter, thematic org., or user group)

Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required): Yes

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?: No

Fiscal organization name.: N/A

Please provide links to the following documents if they are available

These documentation can be provided in your local language(s), no translations required.

Organizational website
Detailed financial reporting and/or audits
Documentation of the governance structure, board list, governance processes
Documentation of the general assembly decision on your plan

www.wikimedia.at

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Österreich https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Archiv https://wikimedia.at/ueber-uns/gremien/ https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Good_Governance_Kodex https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Expert*innengruppen https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Projekte/Planungswerkstatt_2024

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required): WMAT Multi-Year-Plan Grant 2025-2027

2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year base funding for 3 years? (required) (only for returning applicants): Yes

2.1. Provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan? (required)

WMAT currently operates within a multi-year strategy that will expire in 2025: https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Projekte/Roadmap_2025_en

The new strategy will be informed by the 2030 Movement Strategy implementation which is still ongoing. However, it holds many uncertainties as the ratification of the Movement Charter failed, and the funding for implementing other strategy recommendations has been suspended. Another layer of strategic influence comes from the DE:WP future process that we started with Wikimedia Deutschland a year ago. We are still in the early stages regarding concrete projects and programs but our planned youth strategy (see below) will most probably be a big part of these efforts.

In addition, WMAT is submitting this 3-year plan ahead of a new WMAT strategy. As a result, our leadership distilled the essence of the current strategy with new challenges (that became more obvious or pressing in the past three years) into a an updated set of strategic themes for our three Programs - Community Support, Free Content and Awareness and Change.

An overview of our activities for the next three years in relation to these strategic themes can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A1FT2JpPKITSVg30y-edvE6q2Li9gDjsc3QLRXdsXvc/edit#heading=h.yz7mfv2s877s

3. Proposed start date. (required): 2025-01-01

4. Proposed end date. (required): 2027-12-31

5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): Yes; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A1FT2JpPKITSVg30y-edvE6q2Li9gDjsc3QLRXdsXvc/edit#heading=h.yz7mfv2s877s

https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Projekte/Planungswerkstatt_2024/Metriken_2025

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2025-27_International_Coordination_and_Prizes

6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): Yes; https://mitglieder.wikimedia.at/Projekte/Roadmap_2025_en

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required): Austria

8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)

Wikimedia Österreich’s annual plan consists of three programs: Community Support, Free Content and Awareness and Change. We outlined the strategic themes for each program in question 2.1. As of 2025 we will have a fourth program “Wiki Loves Monuments” as a result of a new phase in the cooperation between WMAT and WLM International - WMAT integrated the WML-i budget into our proposed budget. This can be a model for new and less bureaucratic fiscal sponsorships benefitting international, unaffiliated volunteer teams. The WLM-i team will be independent in their programmatic and budgetary planning. The terms of the cooperation have been agreed upon in a Memorandum of Understanding: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments/Memorandum_of_Understanding_between_Wikimedia_%C3%96sterreich_and_the_WLM-i_Organizing_Team_2024 The details of the WLM-i plan are not subject of this proposal but can be found on Meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2025-27_International_Coordination_and_Prizes

WMAT is applying innovative resource development approaches to resiliently meet the challenges for multi-year planning that come from the volatile, uncertain and fast changing world we are operating in. (As an example: Three years ago, AI was not a major topic for most affiliates and the Wikimedia movement, now the issue is omnipresent.) In response, WMAT therefore established a mix of standardgoal-oriented strategic planning, for the well-established parts of our work on the one hand, combined with a resource driven approach known as effectuation on the other hand. This approach is is inspired by entrepreneurial practices (www.effectuation.org), and is applied to new, unexpected challenges and innovative pilot projects. It also helps WMAT to increase resources by pooling with partners and networks in times where Wikimedia funding is becoming more scarce in the region.

For the upcoming three years, we propose a comprehensive effectuation approach focussing on Wikipedia 25 and young people in the German-speaking Wikiverse. Starting with pooled resources from the Austrian Climate Ministry, the University of Innsbruck, and parts of the donation to WMAT from Marlene Engelhorn (https://www.theguardian.com/news/article/2024/jun/18/green-and-social-groups-to-benefit-from-25m-fortune-of-austrian-heiress-marlene-engelhorn) we would like to develop a youth strategy for DE:WP, starting with young people from the climate movement. We believe that the momentum that comes with Wikipedia’s anniversary in 2026 will also provide ample opportunities for new audiences and new volunteers and possibilities to expand these efforts beyond climate activists. We already coopeted an under 30 board member with experience in mobilizing young activists after our elections this year. As a next step we would like to grow our staff team with a young communication specialist to develop and implement the strategy with us. We ask the Wikimedia Movement to contribute to these efforts with a budget growth that enables us to hire a part-time communications position. To further join forces, we also plan to support the CEE youth initiatives, particularly the planned youth conference in Prague next year. We believe that there is also opportunity for more European Fundraising (e.g. Erasmus+ where WMAT already has a very good track record as a grantee through the Wikipedia4Peace Camps) as a result of this intensified cooperation around the topic.

In 2024 we successfully used the effectuation approach to expand our resources for a data project with the Austrian UNESCO commission and a joint grant from the Austrian ministry of culture, as well as for a smaller cooperation with a GLAM institution in Lower Austria around photographing and documenting Renaissance cultural heritage in the region. For 2025 WMAT already secured resources around climate data and content for Austria with the University of Innsbruck and other partners.

For our core work with and support of Wikimedia volunteers however, external funding and pooling resources is usually not viable or effective, as a result, we continue to allocate the biggest share of the unrestricted Wikimedia movement funds for these activities.

Over the past 10+ years the work with quantitative metrics in the movement has been quite frustrating. Despite repeated calls for help and action the relevant tools (see also our mid-term conversation 2024) have not been properly maintained by the WMF. We waste a lot of precious staff time on manually counting peas. If the system doesn't change, perhaps we do need a radically different approach. In a first step, WMAT reduced the number of their metrics to reduce the workload. We also only plan our standardgoal-oriented work with metrics and not our effectuation pilots and innovation projects. In 2025 we plan to develop and pilot a customized approach to measure the success of our work, that is not heavily reliant on tools anymore.

In alignment with movement strategy recommendations, WMAT is of course committed to increasing the sustainability of our movement, to exploring new fundraising opportunities and diversifying revenue sources. With WMEU we are actively supporting a new collaborative body that will be well positioned to build fundraising capacity for itself and its members. This applies particularly to European Commission funds, as well as other EU-based institutional and private funders.

We believe that the separation of chapters from the donor landscape in their respective countries leaves significant potential financial resources untapped. We are experiencing times when small individual donors are becoming more deliberate with their donations. Regularly, we help donors who are frustrated with unforeseen costs of their donations as they think they can’t donate to an Austrian account, or they were mistakenly under the impression that they could get a tax refund. As free and open knowledge is increasingly consumed through non Wikimedia portals, fewer donations may come through the traditional banner campaigns. In these times, the ability of chapters to develop donor and member relationships becomes all the more crucial. We therefore commend the recent efforts of WMF and WMNL to allow banner donors to be connected to their chapter for follow up and plan a similar campaign in Austria in 2025.

9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)


Category	Yes/No
Education	No
Culture, heritage or GLAM	Yes
Gender and diversity	No
Community support and engagement	Yes
Participation in campaigns and contests	Yes
Public policy advocacy	No
Other	No

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required): Introducing new approaches to underrepresented culture and heritage, e.g. decolonising or reparative work; oral and visual knowledge; outreach to communities of origin, indigenous and first nations self-determination, Supporting institutions to open up their collections, data, metadata, and research, Supporting GLAM professionals to incorporate use of Wikimedia in their work, through documentation, training, or Wikimedian in Residence programs, Partnering with institutions, professional associations, and allied organizations to raise awareness of open culture, ethical sharing, and related issues; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Community support and engagement

9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.: On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Supporting community members' participation in events and conferences, Offering micro-funding and other financial support to community members , Offering non financial support and services to community members (equipment, space, books, etc.); Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Participation in campaigns and contests

9.5. Select all campaigns that apply. (required): CEE Spring, Wiki Loves Monuments, Wikipedia Birthday or Anniversary, Other; Other programs and activities if any: Coordinate Me! https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/07/12/coordinate-me-free-data-in-competition/

WikiDaheim: https://www.wikidaheim.at/ We also plan a new campaign aimed at climate justice in 2025.

10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FNGdku22JnQILPzX1ofdG7kYyFCJNXHatSHhB1D_bJw/edit?gid=525397561#gid=525397561

11. Describe your team. (required)

WMAT's philosophy is a close and equitable cooperation between the stakeholders in the organisation. The roles and responsibilities that we defined and refined over the years are outlined here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_%C3%96sterreich/Internal_Rules_of_Procedure

The staff currently consists of an Executive Director and a Head of Programs who do mainly the strategic and conceptual work. For the execution and implementation we do have two project managers and sometimes project related contractors for specific tasks (tech, outreach etc). Volunteers are involved both in the conceptual and strategic work (mainly board members), as well as in the project execution.

For the future and resilience of our organisation, we believe that the inclusion of younger people (Gen Z) is crucial. We started by proactively recognising this need in the composition of our new board and would like to expand that to our staff by adding a new communications role, that is ideally filled by a younger person with the expertise and network to help grow the number of younger members and volunteers across the organisation.

12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)

Over the years we realized that the key to successful cooperation are strategic partnerships. As a small affilate with a shared DE:WP we need partners to create impact and widen the scope of our work. As many Wikimedia affiliates, WMAT is confronted with a broad range of potential partners, but with limited staff and financial resources we needed to develop the "art of saying no" and develop a system that helps us to assess the potential partnerships which fit our own goals best and create the most impact. For us, these are partnerships that go beyond one off events or projects and create more sustainable results and change (e.g. change to open practices within the organisation, contribution of resources for strategic areas of effectuation, access to new networks etc).

WMAT has strategic partnerships within the Wikimedia Movement (e.g. Wikimedia Europe, CEE Hub, Volunteer Supporters Network, WMDE) where we collaborate mainly on effective ways to support the communities and to build capacity among Wikimedians. WMAT also entertains partnerships in the wider open movement and with like-minded communities regarding advocacy, skills exchange and effectuation on relevant topics of common interest (e.g. NGI Commons Task Force, Netpolitical Evenings AT, CC Austria, epicenter.works and NOYB, Cultural Broadcasting Archive and Free Radios in Austria). And we do strategic partnerships with organisation that are not necessarily part of the open movement, with a focus on cultural heritage institutions, as this is in line with our strategic direction (e.g. UNESCO Austria, Federal Monuments Office, Belvedere Museum, Museum for Applied Arts MAK).

Links to illustrate some of our work with partners: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/02/28/bringing-communities-together-with-intangible-heritage/ https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/09/08/celebrating-100-guest-speakers-and-their-audience/ https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/08/wikicon-2023-in-austria-3-days-75-sessions-and-more-than-300-wikipedians/

13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required): Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Ensure Equity in Decision-making, Coordinate Across Stakeholders, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development

Metrics

Wikimedia Metrics

14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)

14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.

All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.

Participants, editors, and organizers
Metrics name	Target	Description
Number of all participants	4500	N/A
Number of all editors	N/A	N/A
Number of new editors	N/A
Number of retained editors	N/A
Number of all organizers	340	N/A
Number of new organizers	N/A	N/A

14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)

Contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia	17000
Wikimedia Commons	60000
Wikidata	50000
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

Other Metrics

15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required): Yes


Other Metrics	Description	Target
Newly registered users	N/A	300
Community Motivation	in %	80
Free content beyond Wikimedia projects	Mainly our own project RegioWiki	1000
Quality content	N/A	5200
Strategic partnerships	N/A	60

Budget

16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required): Yes

16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)

Membership fees, donations, third party funding (direct and indirect), in-kind donations

16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required): 44000

17. Your local currency. (required): EUR

18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required): 1347553 EUR

Multi-year funding request summary
Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	436000 EUR
Year 2	449000 EUR
Year 3	462553 EUR

Requested amount in USD: 1465356.08 USD ^{[note 1]}

Multi-year funding request summary in USD
Year	Amount USD ^{[note 1]}
Year 1	N/A USD
Year 2	N/A USD
Year 3	N/A USD

↑ ^a ^b ^c The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.

19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required): Yes

19.1. How many paid staff members do you plan to have? (required)

Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms.

5 staff members

1 or 2 short term contractors

19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total? (required)

Include the total FTE of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include their FTEs with the terms separately.

4,5 FTE staff members

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees): Please see question 11 with the team description

20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Fund (required).


Budget category	Amount in local currency
Staff and contractor costs	264219 EUR
Operational costs	51500 EUR
Programmatic costs	164281 EUR

21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GoZhSm46Jh2Iudlwknd4zND4Aei3tR0wFr8xw14CcgI/edit?gid=569488355#gid=569488355

Additional information

22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)

By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Feedback

Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.

[fixedrate-1] The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is funded, the funding will be sent in the recipient’s local currency.

[note 1]