Dear All, Below is the first edition of our *STRENGTHENing Grantmaking in Wikimedia newsletter*, with some grants related to Wikimedia that we found during the last month(s). If you would like the next newsletters, we ask that you sign up for those emails here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD52JQYhYp84H5Id73JCvxHSqpKenC2xHuDlxOkMZTUfePCA/viewform?usp=dialog>, since we do not want to flood the general list-servs with emails.
*If you know of a grant that you think could be related or good for the Wikimedia community, please add it here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeccc1XP_ZLEGtAycj9e-M0d2YdotVyEWMlmvPyK9njxMumUg/viewform> and we can send it around in future editions.* These are only a few of the many grants that were put into the grant database created by the above form, available here <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_XMQPYAs9objraaxd7fBOdq-uiz8pzT9huZHphiO8d4/edit?resourcekey=&gid=824187221#gid=824187221>. I encourage you to look there, but it is not as well formatted. If you would like to apply for any of these calls, and *especially if you get one*, it would be greatly appreciated if you could let us know. This way we can track our impact to make this activity sustainable and also e.g., help you find potential partners, alert you to competing with other Wikimedians, or you can present your idea in the colloquium or informal sessions. Finally, I would like to remind you that *we are having monthly colloquiums on grant making, the first Friday of each month*, and that you can sign up for the next one here <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN3>. Sincerely, Brett Buttliere & Matthew Vetter STRENGTHENing grants for Wiki team ------------------------ GLAM & Cultural Heritage *Grants for libraries, archives, museums, digitization, and preserving underrepresented cultural knowledge.* 1. Mellon Foundation — Public Knowledge - *Max Grant Amount:* High / Uncapped (Past grants up to millions) - *Summary:* Supports organizations that preserve, document, organize, and expand public access to cultural and scholarly knowledge. It funds libraries, archives, community knowledge projects, and collaborative digital infrastructure, including work addressing gaps in the historical record and improving access to underrepresented voices. - *Who Can Apply:* Nonprofit organizations, libraries, archives, cultural institutions, and collaborative knowledge-infrastructure projects (primarily US, with some international eligibility). - *Deadline:* No general open-call deadline (invitation-based). 2. CLIR — Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices - *Max Grant Amount:* US$300,000 - *Summary:* Funds projects that digitize rare and unique archival and cultural materials documenting communities whose histories and experiences have been underrepresented. Grants support digitization, metadata creation, and public access to collections, with an emphasis on community partnerships and sustainable digital infrastructure. - *Who Can Apply:* Eligible US nonprofit collecting organizations or qualifying government/tribal units. - *Deadline:* October 20, 2026 (Initial application). 3. ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants - *Max Grant Amount:* US$100,000 - *Summary:* Supports established digital humanities and social-science projects that use digital tools to address inequities affecting historically marginalized communities. Funding can support expanding an existing digital resource, building community partnerships, improving access to underrepresented knowledge, and developing sustainable digital infrastructure. Purely pedagogical projects and textbook production are excluded. - *Who Can Apply:* Award funds must be administered by a US higher education institution; at least one PI must be a humanities/interpretive social-science scholar. - *Deadline:* November 3, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Higher Education & Pedagogy *Grants for curriculum development, classroom engagement, teacher training, and undergraduate STEM education.* 1. US National Science Foundation — IUSE: EDU - *Max Grant Amount:* High / Varies by track (~US$61M total annual program budget) - *Summary:* Supports research and innovation that improves undergraduate STEM education. A university team could study whether having students write and improve Wikipedia articles enhances scientific literacy, source evaluation, or learning outcomes; this is an education-research grant, not a general Wikimedia community grant. - *Who Can Apply:* Main country is the US; proposals must meet NSF institutional and investigator eligibility rules. - *Deadline:* January 20, 2027 (Level 1 & capacity-building); July 21, 2027 (Level 2 & 3). 2. Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships - *Max Grant Amount:* €400,000 (~US$435,000) - *Summary:* Supports cross-country collaboration among education institutions and other organizations to develop, test, and share innovative educational practices. Well suited to a consortium creating multilingual Wikipedia/Wikidata curricula, teacher training, and reusable educational resources across European countries. - *Who Can Apply:* EU Member States and other Erasmus+ Programme Countries (additional partners may participate under applicable rules). - *Deadline:* 2027 call date not yet confirmed. Academic Research & Data Science *Grants for evaluating Wikidata completeness, open science, knowledge graphs, and data ecosystem impact.* 1. US National Science Foundation — FAIROS - *Max Grant Amount:* US$600,000 - *Summary:* Supports collaborative research on open-science infrastructure and research data management, including making scientific outputs more accessible and reusable. A Wikimedia-related project could explore structured scientific knowledge, Wikidata, or public access to research information while meeting the programme's research objectives. - *Who Can Apply:* Main country is the US; eligible US higher-education institutions are the principal applicants. - *Deadline:* April 14, 2027. 2. Wikimedia Research Fund - *Max Grant Amount:* US$150,000 - *Summary:* A strong option for research about Wikidata: for example, measuring data completeness and provenance, studying how Wikidata is used by AI systems, analyzing knowledge gaps, or evaluating the effects of linking institutional datasets to Wikidata. - *Who Can Apply:* Individuals, groups, and organizations worldwide with research expertise or interests in Wikimedia. - *Deadline:* 2026 round has closed; monitor page for the next call. Open-Source Software & Infrastructure *Grants for developer tooling, technical integrations, open web tech, and system development.* 1. NLnet Restack - *Max Grant Amount:* €50,000 (~US$54,000) - *Summary:* NLnet's Restack programme funds open-source technologies and shared internet infrastructure. It suits technically substantial Wikimedia projects (e.g., developing reusable software or infrastructure that integrates Wikipedia into learning management systems), but standard classroom or workshop activities are not eligible. - *Who Can Apply:* International applicants are permitted, with a strong European/internet-infrastructure focus. - *Deadline:* November 3, 2026, at 12:00 CET. Public Science Communication & Outreach *Grants aimed at connecting academic research with broad public audiences or pre-college classrooms.* 1. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions — MSCA & Citizens - *Max Grant Amount:* Dependent on call conditions (~€15.71M total annual program budget) - *Summary:* Funds activities that connect research and society, including public engagement and Researchers at Schools. A Wikimedia project could bring researchers into classrooms and have students communicate scientific findings through Wikipedia, combining science communication with educational outreach. - *Who Can Apply:* European Union and countries associated with Horizon Europe, subject to call rules. - *Deadline:* June 8, 2027 (Opens March 9, 2027). 2. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation — Public Understanding of Science & Technology - *Max Grant Amount:* ~US$60,000+ - *Summary:* Supports projects that improve public understanding of science and technology through books, film, television, radio, theatre, and new media. Intended for public-facing work that communicates science to broad audiences rather than primary academic research or general educational activities. - *Who Can Apply:* Primarily US applicants. Generally does not fund individuals (except Books programme) or pre-college projects outside NYC. - *Deadline:* January 1, 2027 (Books programme); rolling letter of inquiry for New Media. Broad Wikimedia Movement & General Grants *Flexible funding streams covering multi-purpose community initiatives, partnerships, workshops, and affiliate activities.* 1. Wikimedia General Support Fund - *Max Grant Amount:* Varies by region & proposal (Can range into hundreds of thousands for large/multiyear proposals) - *Summary:* Supports broader, ongoing Wikimedia programs rather than a single isolated activity. A Wikidata community could build a proposal around sustained data curation, partnerships with universities and cultural institutions, multilingual coverage, or a dedicated Wikidata program. - *Who Can Apply:* Wikimedia affiliates and eligible movement-aligned applicants worldwide. - *Deadline:* Check current regional schedule. 2. Wikimedia Rapid Fund - *Max Grant Amount:* US$5,000 - *Summary:* Funds short-term Wikimedia projects, including Wikidata workshops, data-improvement campaigns, tool development, community partnerships, and pilot projects. This is the most direct route for a relatively small project. - *Who Can Apply:* Individuals, groups, affiliates, and eligible organizations worldwide. - *Deadline:* November 1, 2026. This work is LLM assisted, including e.g., formatting, summarizing, and date checking. There can be mistakes. _______________________________________________ Wiki-research-l mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
