Scholarships

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This page is a draft. Much of it is placeholders, nothing on this is final.


WikiConference North America 2018 will take place in Columbus, Ohio, on October 18-21! We're pleased to be able to offer $500 scholarships to offset the travel and/or lodging expenses of select attendees to this conference.


Eligibility: Any Wikimedian who lives in North America and actively contributes to a Wikimedia project.

Applications Open: July 13, 2018
Application Deadline: August 15, 2018
Notification of awards: August 31, 2018
Notification of acceptance from recipient: Due September 7, 2018

Evaluation process

Scholarship committee

Phase One: Eligibility

Applications will fail Phase One if any of the following apply:

  1. The candidate is currently banned by any Wikimedia project and does not have significant contributions to other Wikimedia projects.
  2. The candidate has been globally banned from Wikimedia projects.
  3. The candidate has been banned from any Wikimedia event under the Safe Space Policy.
  4. The application entirely or primarily consists of content which is off-topic or abusive.
  5. The application fails the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) requirement, a provision in the fiscal sponsorship agreement with the WMF for anyone potentially receiving funds from this grant.
  6. The applicant has failed to make a reasonable effort to answer the questions on the application form.
  7. The applicant has failed to demonstrate any significant Wikimedia contributions or activities which may merit the awarding of a scholarship.

Examples of "significant Wikimedia contributions or activities" are as follows:

  • Active contributor to a Wikimedia project (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons, or Wikisource), with at least 500 contributions (edits)
  • Organizer of Wikimedia events (e.g. Wiki Loves Monuments, edit-a-thons, etc.)
  • Mediawiki code contributor, gadget or other tool-builder for Wikimedia projects
  • Wikimedia Foundation Grantee or Researcher
  • Wikimedia Administrator, CheckUser, Bureaucrat, Steward, or OTRS volunteer

Phase Two: In-depth

Each reviewer will grade the applicants on a scale of 0 to 10 based on value addition regarding Collaboration, Leadership, Impact, and Potential. These will cover many aspects of one's activity as noted below:

  • Contributions to Wikimedia projects
  • Demonstrated collaborative activities (either online and offline) related to Wikimedia projects
  • Offline work related to Wikimedia projects, including contests, weekly collaborations, etc.
  • Blog posts, reports, social media management, etc., that demonstrate a valuable contribution to the community.
  • Event participation (paper, talk, workshop, hackathon, panel, discussion, poster, etc.)
  • Role within most active Wikimedia community (editor, administrator, bureaucrat, etc.)