Dear Wikimedians,

The report created by my colleagues in the Advancement Team is useful for providing aggregated data on the distribution of grants since 2016 and has helped the Community Resources team understand where we stand today in terms of equity. The current grants have seen an increase in access from emerging Wikimedia communities. However, the distribution of funds to those communities is still lagging far behind. With the relaunch of the Grants strategy we will work towards overcoming this challenge and shape an equitable future for the distribution of grants resources across the movement. 

The information from this report has been analyzed and already incorporated into the current grants strategy relaunch process. In the newly proposed grants strategy a priority is to substantially increase funding in emerging communities also taking into account the need for peer learning and knowledge sharing. The feedback period is still open, please help the grants relaunch process by letting us know how to adapt and improve the strategy. 

The new grants strategy is aligned with the strategic direction of the movement and is founded on the principles of Subsidiarity & Self management, Equity & Empowerment, Collaboration & Cooperation, and People Centeredness, as well as efficient data and  iterative practices. This has grounded our approach in the values identified by the movement. 

We are grateful to all the community members who have already helped to enrich this strategy relaunch. Please come to the grants meta page to engage, learn more about the proposed changes, and to provide your feedback.The month of feedback on the new grants strategy proposal will come to a close Monday April 5th, 2021. 

All the best,
Kassia Echavarri-Queen

On Behalf of the CR team

[1] Grants Relaunch Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Resources/Grants_Strategy_Relaunch_2020-2021