Hi Mariel, I understand from the guidelines that t-shirts can still be provided as prizes. Is this correct? Strainu

Thank you for your question (and to Nicolas for chiming in). The answer is *it depends*. And here is what it depends on: If you are providing vouchers or large prizes as part of your competition and T-shirts (or stationery) are a secondary prize for the same individuals who would receive these large prizes, then we would ask you to remove them from the budget. However, if you are printing a small number of T-shirts (or stationery) as the only prizes for a small number of people, then we would not take them off your budget. The general rationale is that, in Rapid Grants experience, T-shirts and stationery end up being high-cost items in most grant proposals, and, unless they are given out strategically, they will add to a pile of things that people don't use. We don't think the world needs more of that! Now, more specifically about T-shirts. Let's say that you are considering T-shirts as the main prizes in your competition. We will not say no, but we will encourage people to consider other gifts, such as notebooks or mugs, for the following reasons: - When you are designing and printing T-shirts, you generally go with a set shape or size that might not fit the people who will receive it in the end. So T-shirts can end up excluding people who do not fit in this average because they are too big or too small… You can read what others have said about this issue (for example, on this blog post <https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/05/no-more-conference-t-shirts-please/>).

- How many people do you know that actually wear all the T-shirts they receive from similar initiatives? Wiki volunteers might be expected to wear and re-wear these T-shirts in different events, but people with loose affiliations to the movement most likely won't. A mug, a notebook, socks, have more use potential than a T-shirt.

Again, if you decide that, in your context, T-shirts are the best possible incentive and that's the prize you choose, we will accept it. But in the meantime, please consider more inclusive and useful alternatives. On Thu, Aug 8, 2019 at 12:57 PM Nicolas VIGNERON < vigneron.nicolas(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: -- Mariel García-Montes Junior Program Officer, Rapid Grants Community Resources Pronouns: she/her/hers Wikimedia Foundation User: MMontes (WMF)

I agree with you about the visibility of t-shirts, but we have found in Ireland that reusable cotton shopping bags are very popular as gifts, and have the same benefit of being seen. On Thu, 8 Aug 2019 at 19:27, Strainu &lt;strainu10(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: -- PhD in Digital Media Project Coordinator Wikimedia Community Ireland <http://wikimedia.ie> _______________________________________________ Wiki Loves Monuments mailing list WikiLovesMonuments(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikilovesmonuments http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org

Hi, Based on my personal experience, it depends a lot on the quality of the T-shirts. I (and many participants or other volunteers, who worked on organizing the contest) wear these T-shirts frequently, especially on Wiki-occasions, which have a good quality and good design. (For example I use my blue Wikipedia T-shirt, Wikimania Montreal or Wikipedia 10 T-shirt often, and I saw others do the same.) On the other hand, there are T-shirt, which I received other times, and they do not fit well or has a low quality: these T-shirts I don't use often, and most of the time they are only in the wardrobe. A T-shirt which fits and looks nice has a good value for the organizers (this is the only "payment" and physical memory) and for the participants as well, and reminds later for the event. We never gave high prizes (the top prices has a value around 50 euro or less), but a T-shirt or a mug has a practical and symbolic value as well. Best, Samat (unfortunately WM-HU could not participate in WLM in the previous years, but this is a general observation about competitions and contests I organized over the last more than a decade.) On Thu, 8 Aug 2019 at 20:27, Strainu &lt;strainu10(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > Pe joi, 8 august 2019, Mariel Garcia Montes &lt;mmontes-ctr(a)wikimedia.org&gt; > a scris: > >> Thank you for your question (and to Nicolas for chiming in). The answer >> is *it depends*. And here is what it depends on: >> >> If you are providing vouchers or large prizes as part of your >> competition and T-shirts (or stationery) are a secondary prize for the same >> individuals who would receive these large prizes, then we would ask you to >> remove them from the budget. >> However, if you are printing a small number of T-shirts (or stationery) >> as the only prizes for a small number of people, then we would not take >> them off your budget. >> >> The general rationale is that, in Rapid Grants experience, T-shirts and >> stationery end up being high-cost items in most grant proposals, and, >> unless they are given out strategically, they will add to a pile of things >> that people don't use. We don't think the world needs more of that! >> >> Now, more specifically about T-shirts. Let's say that you are >> considering T-shirts as the main prizes in your competition. We will not >> say no, but we will encourage people to consider other gifts, such as >> notebooks or mugs, for the following reasons: >> >> - When you are designing and printing T-shirts, you generally go with a >> set shape or size that might not fit the people who will receive it in the >> end. So T-shirts can end up excluding people who do not fit in this average >> because they are too big or too small… You can read what others have said >> about this issue (for example, on this blog post >> <https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2018/05/no-more-conference-t-shirts-please/> >> ). >> > > Hmm, is that the general way to go? We always printed the t-shirts based > on requests from the winners. > >> >> - How many people do you know that actually wear all the T-shirts they >> receive from similar initiatives? Wiki volunteers might be expected to wear >> and re-wear these T-shirts in different events, but people with loose >> affiliations to the movement most likely won't. A mug, a notebook, socks, >> have more use potential than a T-shirt. >> > > I do know quite a lot of people who wear the swag they receive, but I > realize that this is dependent on local context and habits. Specifically, > in Romania it is not uncommon for photographers to work in t-shirts (as > opposed to shirts or a more formal attire). > > That being said, compared to the other stuff you mentioned, t-shirts have > the advantage of lasting much longer AND being far more visible. Mugs and > socks are mostly visible to their owners, while t-shirts visible to anyone > who happens to be near the owner. > > >> Again, if you decide that, in your context, T-shirts are the best >> possible incentive and that's the prize you choose, we will accept it. But >> in the meantime, please consider more inclusive and useful alternatives. >> >> On Thu, Aug 8, 2019 at 12:57 PM Nicolas VIGNERON < >> vigneron.nicolas(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Le jeu. 8 août 2019 à 18:49, Strainu &lt;strainu10(a)gmail.com&gt; a écrit : >>> >>>> Hi Mariel, >>>> >>>> I understand from the guidelines that t-shirts can still be provided >>>> as prizes. Is this correct? >>>> >>>> Strainu >>>> >>> >>> Well... It's unclear but it's also what I understand from >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/Learn#Facilities,_equi… >>> >>>