Grants:Project/Rapid/Amy/Binghamton Art+Feminism Wikipedia Editathon/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2017-18 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/Amy/Binghamton Art+Feminism Wikipedia Editathon.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?

Overall, yes. We had 14 editors for this event, plus additional people who stopped by to show support. Since this was our first time putting on a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, we were not sure how it would go. We now have a better idea of how to handle future events. We had mostly new editors--next year we would like to try and draw in people who are existing editors as well. We are considering adding workshops for Wikipedia Editing in the future as well.

Outcome

Please report on your original project targets.

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
Number of Events: 1	Number of Events: 1	Since this is our first time hosting a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, we felt it best to only plan for one. However, we are planning for more in the future, on this same topic and others.
Number of participants: 25	Number of participants: 14	Our numbers were a little lower than target, but for our first event I am happy with 14 editors participating. There were some factors that we will take into consideration for planning events in the next academic year, including planning further in advance, being mindful of other events in the community and on campus that could effect our turnout, and other possible locations with similar interior qualities to the Zurack Center.
Number of new editors: 20	Number of new editors: 12	Numbers here also lower, since number of participants were lower. However, 12 out of 14 of our editors were new to editing. Although that can slow down how much we can edit during the event itself, we still now have new editors for Wikipedia who expressed in their event feedback that great impact and value this had on their understanding of the information and interest in continuing. Each participant listed they are interested in editing with us at future events and virtually.
Number of articles created or improved: 50	Number of articles created or improved: 17 (+3 to 5 new articles created pending approval)	My original target was based on 25 people attending and editing 2 articles a piece. However, some of the articles listed in need of editing were more difficult than expected to find information on. This also opened our eyes to gaps within our own collections and where we can improve. Also, there were multiple new articles created where it said it takes a number of weeks for them to be approved for addition. Also, most of our editors were editing for their first time so spent much of their focus on one article instead of trying multiple. For next events, we may include a virtual attendance component as well as a live component and see if it draws in more experienced editors (this will also possibly draw in some of our distance learning students who cannot come to site).
Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events): 15	cannot answer until next event	Since we had 14 participants at this event, my goal would be to have at least half of them participate in our next planned event.

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

What worked well?

   *The space, Zurack Collaboration Center, is a good space for events like this (for the most part). Attendees liked the inviting atmosphere with refreshments, pillows and more comfortable furniture to sit on, and having people on-site to help those who were editing for their first time. 
   *Our planning committee / on-site volunteers were prepared and able to help with various aspects. 
   *Internet was reliable day-of, no technical issues I can recall
   *We had a lot of support from our Library administration, especially our Library Dean.
   *Our publicity efforts included hanging posters around campus, distributing postcards to faculty and staff, and posting about the event on social media.  We believe this publicity helped attract attendees to the event.

What did not work so well?

   *The only issue with the space is that it is not the most visible area. Since it was a nice day and there were quite a few things happening on campus, having a more openly seen space would have been better.
   *Timing - More events happening in the area and on campus than we realized (chose this date due to placement of breaks and finals week) - next year we will be able to have it in March.

What would you do differently next time?

   *Start planning earlier than we did - there was a lot more that went into each aspect of the event than we originally thought.
   *Have workshops on Wikipedia editing leading up to the event

Finances

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

We purchased refreshments, including water and other beverages, fruit and vegetable platter, and additional individually packed snack items.
We purchased supplies for the refreshments, including napkins, plates, bowls, cleaning wipes, and plastic silverware. (Refreshments and supplies $150.92)
The 10% overhead fee required by the university was covered through this grant. ($45)
For swag, we purchased t-shirts for all attendees and volunteer / assistance staff for this event. (this will in itself help with outreach for future events) ($257)

Remaining funds

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

No, we have no grant funds remaining.

Anything else

Anything else you want to share about your project?

Outreach Dashboard Link
We have already had people at the University reach out to us to collaborate on additional Wikipedia Edit-a-thon events during the upcoming academic year. This, in itself, is a win in my book.
This was a great learning experience for us and we know what we can do better for future events and workshops.
One student responded with this as her greatest takeaway: "These are important efforts that have dramatic effects on perceptions of women and their accomplishments/endeavors." As future changes, another student stated that we should try "a more central location."
Two other students followed up with: "Thank you for hosting it. It is good important work to be done and teaching a group of people how is the first step in spreading the cause." and "Thank you so much for hosting this event! It is encouraging to know that these events exist on campus."