Dear all:

Here are two announcements and one request from the Participation Support Program Committee (formerly the Participation Grants Committee) and the WMF regarding the Participation Support Program (formerly the Participation Grants Program).

==A note from the Participation Support Program Committee regarding the Participation Support Program's name change==

In order to better comply with US tax regulations that affect the Wikimedia Foundation, we must change the name of the "Participation Grants Program" to "Participation Support Program" to more consistently reflect the nature of these transactions as reimbursements rather than grants. This will allow WMF and WMDE to continue to administer this program without imposing additional burdensome technical requirements on recipients of these funds, while still keeping us in compliance with US regulations. We will not be changing this program substantially or procedurally: we are only naming it more accurately.

To read more about this program, see [1].

If you'd like to discuss the name change, see [2].

==A related note from the WMF grants team regarding funding participation in Wikimedia-organized events==

The Participation Support Program (a partnership between WMF and WMDE distinct from the WMF Grants Program) will not fund individual participation in "Wikimedia-organized events" (defined as events organized by Wikimedia chapters, the WMF, or other Wikimedian groups). However, WMF is likely to fund participation in Wikimedia-organized events when the event organizers apply for funding through the WMF grants program. Therefore, individuals seeking funds for participation in Wikimedia-organized events should apply through the event organizers during the planning stages of the event so that the organizers can budget appropriately to cover these costs.

This note applies especially to event organizers and to individuals who may apply for funding to participate in Wikimedia-organized events. Our hope is that these guidelines will streamline this process for event organizers and attendees alike and that we might avoid duplication of efforts and excessive administrative burdens for all.

For more details on this policy how may affect participants and event organizers, see the Q&A[3].

==Please help make this accessible to all==

We need your help in bringing the news about the availability of this program to our non-English-speaking colleagues. Please help translate the program information page by clicking the "Translate this page" in [1]. Please relay this message to your local chapter/community mailing lists to help us find volunteer translators to make this program as accessible as possible.

Thanks,

Asaf Bartov (WMF) Johannes Rohr (WMDE)

[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support/Program_Name [3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support/Guidelines_on_funding_p...