Annual report (2013–2014)

This report describes the activities of Wikimedia District of Columbia during Fiscal Year 2013–14, covering the period from October 2013 through September 2014.

President's message
''During the past year, we challenged ourselves to build an organization that would improve the content of Wikimedia projects and its underlying technology while fostering a community that is enthusiastic and empowered to embark on this mission. We set out to accomplish a set of specific, measurable goals that would increase our reach as a Washington-based organization, and in most respects, we have either achieved or exceeded our initial goals. We carried out several programs not anticipated by our annual plan, such as Wikipedia Summer of Monuments and the Workshop Facilitator Training. Our work during the past year has built our community and our infrastructure, and we are heading into 2014–15 with a strong sense of purpose.'' —James Hare, President

Programs
At the beginning of the 2013–14 fiscal year, Wikimedia DC realigned its program structure to reflect the three interconnected factors that make the Wikimedia movement a success: content, technology, and community. As described in Wikimedia DC's annual plan:"The aim of Wikimedia DC is to make free content available to the world. The development and promotion of technology gives us tools to distribute free content. Most importantly, building a vibrant community makes all of this possible."

Content Over the course of the fiscal year, Wikimedia DC supported a total of 21 edit-a-thons in partnership with 13 separate cultural, academic, and professional institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress, the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, George Washington University, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Phillips Collection, the Laurel Historical Society, the D.C. Historical Society, the American Statistical Association, the American Chemical Society, and Frederick County Public Libraries. Several of these edit-a-thons were organized with the assistance of Andrew Lih, professor of journalism at American University and longtime Wikipedia editor, who teaches a graduate-level course on Wikipedia and public knowledge.

The edit-a-thons were attended by a total of 137 volunteer participants, who collectively made 1019 edits to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, adding a total of 290,453 bytes of content. Of these, 276 edits, corresponding to 64,599 bytes of content content, were made by newcomers, while 743 edits, corresponding to 225,854 bytes of added content, were made by experienced editors.

In August, Wikimedia DC hosted its first Workshop Facilitator Training. The event brought together 12 active Wikimedians from across the United States and taught them personalized techniques for executing projects in their existing communities. Early feedback from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive.

Wikimedia DC also hosted several meetups throughout the year, including WikiSalons during the week and dinner meetups on the weekends.

Public policy
During the 2013–14 fiscal year, Wikimedia DC established a Public Policy Committee to present the unique perspectives and needs of Wikimedians to the various government agencies that make decisions on issues affecting the Wikimedia movement. The committee's first initiative was to participate in a roundtable panel on orphan works convened by the US Copyright Office. Wikimedia DC submitted [[Media:Comment_on_Orphan_Works_and_Mass_Digitization.pdf|official written comments]] on legislative proposals to handle these orphan works, marking the first time the organization has offered official advice to a government agency.

In addition, the Public Policy Committee pursued activities related to fostering good relations between the Wikimedia movement and Congress and its staff. Wikimedia DC volunteers met with House and Senate staffers on Capitol Hill for briefings on subjects of mutual interest, including copyright rules and support for making cultural content freely available online. More recently, Wikimedia DC and the Cato Institute hosted a panel on Wikipedia editing for Congressional staff. The event received significant press coverage in light of recent controversies surrounding Congressional editing, and Wikimedia DC later published a blog post supporting Congressional staff making edits to Wikimedia.

Committee members attended a Supreme Court case on software patents, Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, and wrote most of the English Wikipedia article on the subject.

Organizational development
Membership At the end of Fiscal Year 2013–14, Wikimedia DC had 72 members, corresponding to a 18% increase from the beginning of the year.

Governance During Fiscal Year 2013–14, Wikimedia DC continued to develop its governance practices as a key element of its organizational growth strategy. Over the course of the year, Wikimedia DC adopted several new policies, including an Advisory Committee Policy, an Ethics Policy, a Fiscal Control Policy, a Technology Access Policy, a Travel Policy, a Volunteer Policy, and a Whistleblower Policy, as well as amending a number of existing policy in light of the organization's changing circumstances.

In addition, the Wikimedia DC Board created two new standing committees, the Executive Committee and the Safe Space Committee, as well as four additional advisory committees, the Communications Committee, the Content Programs Committee, the Public Policy Committee, and the Technology Programs Committee.

Grantmaking
Wikimedia DC provides small grants to individuals, community groups, and nonprofit organizations to fund activities aligned with our mission to advance general knowledge and to collect, develop, and disseminate educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

In Fiscal Year 2013–14, Wikimedia DC received six grant applications with a total value of $1,753.72 from individuals and organizations across the United States. Based on these applications, five grants (corresponding to 83.3% of the submitted applications) with a total value of $1,403.72 (corresponding to 80.0% of the total amount requested) were approved and funded. The grants provided by Wikimedia DC were used to fund activities and events in Laurel, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Brooklyn, New York; and Portland, Oregon.

Measures of success
As part of its 2013–14 annual plan, Wikimedia DC identified 11 key metrics and goals for its programs. Over the course of the fiscal year, Wikimedia DC met or exceeded its goals for 9 of these metrics.

Benefactors
Wikimedia DC programs are made possible in part by the generous contributions of our members. Member contributions are collected through a tiered sponsor membership program, which allows members to donate additional funds to support Wikimedia DC activities when establishing or renewing their memberships. Wikimedia DC expresses its sincere gratitude towards these sponsor members for their contributions:


 * Gold Sponsors: James Hare, Kirill Lokshin, Peter Meyer, John Sadowski
 * Silver Sponsors: Georgina Bath, Vijay Goswami, Christopher Maloney, Elaine Meyer, Diane Shaw, Sarah Stierch
 * Bronze Sponsors: Christopher Alhambra, Jim Carpenter, Meghan Ferriter, Peter Hess, Stephen Katsurinis, Christopher Licciardi, Scott Miller, Jake Orlowitz, Nicholas Papacostas, John Rogers, Sage Ross, Misty Sweet, Jacqueline Taylor, Joshua Westgard