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 <strainu10@gmail.com> wrote:


Pe joi, 8 august 2019, Mariel Garcia Montes <mmontes-ctr@wikimedia.org> 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). 

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@gmail.com> wrote:


Le jeu. 8 août 2019 à 18:49, Strainu <strainu10@gmail.com> a écrit :
Hi Mariel, 

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

Strainu


Cdlt, ~nicolas


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Mariel García-Montes
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Community Resources
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Wikimedia Foundation
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PhD in Digital Media
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