I hope this mail finds you well. My name is Mariel, I am a Junior Program Officer temporarily working on the Rapid Grants Program, and I will be the primary point of contact in the office for the WLM submissions and approvals period. Don't hesitate to email me questions or concerns about your Rapid Grants submissions. 

We have the following information to share with all of you intending to submit a Rapid Grants application for this contest:

- First and foremost, the Rapid Grants program has updated its funding guidelines. You can find the new ones here. Please read through them before and as you write your application. You'll see that we are no longer funding certain items like T-shirts, human resources expenses, or long-distance travel.

- If you are a returning grantee, please ensure you are up to date in your reporting requirements from previous grants. We will not review WLM applications of grantees pending completion on past initiatives. If your group has an APG, you are not eligible for Rapid Grants support for WLM.

- We will take close looks at the incentives offered by each contest. DO NOT announce WLM prizes before you receive a grant approval, as we are likely to adjust the prizes you suggest originally depending on demand. 

- If you need a venue, please try to find a free venue in your community. This will cut down on cost and will help you long-term in your partnership building.

- Don't rely on social media advertising for the contest; we encourage you to think of partnerships with photo clubs and local institutions to reach relevant potential participants.

- For WLM purposes, please do not rely on the WMF Merchandise Store for prizes. We had some complications with this for WLE; your Rapid Grant budget should cover any monetary support you need from WMF for your contest.

- People who have their grant requests approved will be asked to send in paperwork. You can anticipate this by reading through the relevant sections for you on this page. 

- Bonus: Here is an example of a WLM report that we thought was fantastic, in case you're in need of some inspiration. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/Nirmal_Dulal/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017_in_Nepal/Report

If you have questions or WLM things you want to discuss over a call, I will be holding the following WLM Conversation hours on Google Hangout:

Friday August 9th -- 3pm UTC (8am SF, 12pm Sao Paulo, 6pm Nairobi, 11pm Manila)

If you want to join the conversation but are unable to meet this Friday, please message me privately with times that would work for you on Monday, August 12. I'll send a follow up message to this list if a second hangout is organized. 

Wishing you all a successful WLM,