Hello Everyone,
My name is Kassia Echavarri-Queen and I became the Director of the
Community Resources team in June. I am so excited and inspired to be a part
of this movement. Lisa covered the overall intention and background of the
Equity Fund and Tides Advocacy. I want to address the specific questions
about Tides Advocacy and its impact on the Annual Plan Grants.
Tides Advocacy is disbursing funds for the Annual Plan Grants that were
managed under the FDC. Simple Annual Plan Grants and all other existing
grant programs remain under the direct administration of WMF.
As mentioned the FDC was paused to focus on strategy. As the Community
Resources team is currently reviewing its strategy to align with the
movement strategic direction the FDC remains paused. During this time, the
Community Resources team continues to renew eligible APG grants with a
streamlined process. The process for applying and reviewing the APG remains
the same as the last two years and under the management of the Community
Resources team. Upon the recommendation of the Community Resources Team,
Tides Advocacy will distribute the funds. We have hosted conversations with
all of the affiliates directly impacted by the changes.
Thank you for the questions. I wish everyone well and can't wait for the
moment we have opportunities to meet in person.
All the best,
Kassia
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*Kassia Echavarri-Queen* (She/Her)
Director Community Investment
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
kechavarriqueen(a)wikimedia.org