Dear members of the FDC Advisory Group,
I'm happy to inform you that in a few hours, I will be sending out a message to the larger Wikimedia community, announcing the launch of the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) portalhttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal!The FDC Proposal formhttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:FDC_proposal_form_v1will then be available for all eligible entities to use immediately. I ask that you don't share this information with the wider community till I make the announcement.
As all of you know, the Eligibility Statushttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/2012_Round_1_Eligibility_Statusand Eligibility Checklisthttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/2012_Round_1_Eligibility_Checklisttables - laying out current eligibility and compliance requirements for the FDC process - were shared with the community last week.
As we work through the teething stages of the portal - and the FDC process over the next few weeks - I would very much appreciate your continued guidance on our process. Please let me know what you feel about the content and structure of the portal, and any suggestions you have for possible changes. So that we minimise confusion for applying entities/chapters, I've proposed that we collate everyone's comments/suggestions in one place ( Questionshttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Questions_for_FDC_staffto FDC support staff), or on related Talk/Discussion pages.In addition, we've set up an email address - FDCsupport@wikimedia.org - that can be used to email all FDC related staff. At this moment, it comprises Asaf, Winifred and I, but in the future I will be supported by the Senior Program Officer, FDC and the Grants Administrator, two new positions to be filled soon. Of course, I'm happy to hear from you at my individual email address as well.
Thank you again for all your support throughout this complex process of setting up a complex mechanism! I look forward to hearing from you.
Warmly, Anasuya (Director of Global Learning and Grantmaking, WMF; lead for the FDC support team)