Grants:Project/Rapid/Bay Area WikiSalon Series II

Socialize with community members
Yes. We provide 2.5-3.0 hours as an opportunity to socialize with each attendee deciding on their own how much time to devote to socializing, editing, learning, presenting, etc.
Recruit new editors
Yes. We encourage new editors to attend. We promise to have experienced editors on hand to mentor them.
Increase skills for existing editors
Yes. We offer opportunities for existing editors to increase their skills.
Add or improve content
Yes. Attendees are always welcome to improve content at any time during the event. Due to the flexible nature of the venue, attendees can choose to add or improve content even during presentations or when everybody else is socializing. Free Wi-Fi is available at all times. There are booths, couches, cubbies, chairs, coffee tables, counters, and stools for everybody to create their own space.

Project Plan

Activities

What is the purpose of the meeting and why is it important to your community?
Please see our planning page at Bay Area WikiSalon for some of the design and collaborative discussion around the idea.

We launched in April of 2016.

The San Francisco Bay Area has a natural connection to Wikimedia given that the Wikimedia Foundation headquarters are here. It is widely recognized as a cultural and intellectual hub for the United States. Thus, there is a lot of latent interest in Wikipedia, and particularly from people with special talents, resources, or notoriety who could be helpful in unusual ways. However, there is no chapter and until we started this monthly meetup there was no regularly scheduled gathering of Wikimedians.

This series of events serves as a foundation to strengthen and grow the volunteer community in the Bay Area. We plan to have a healthy mix of interesting speakers (especially to draw in newcomers) and a healthy mix of downtime for socializing and Wiki editing.
If applicable, what benefits have you seen from doing this kind of meeting in the past?
At our inaugural WikiSalon we attracted an eclectic and even mix of cisgender, transgender, and non-binary folks; editors and non-editors; newbies and experienced.
How will you let participants know about the meeting?
We are advertising through locally targeted geonotices on the English Wikipedia and on Commons, two meetup groups (Wikimedia Tech by the WMF and Bay Area Wikipedia), Facebook events, mass messaging to user talk pages, WMF email groups, linkedin posts, via our growing mailing list, and by word of mouth.
How will you keep participants engaged after the meeting is over?
We are collecting names and various contact methods (user name, email address, cell phone number). Since these meetings are every other month, we will have the opportunity to see engagement from repeat attendance. At an individual level, further engagement is possible but the organizers limit themselves to these events as far as funding is concerned.
Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?
The plan was originally conceived by Ben Creasy (talk · contribs) and Peteforsyth (talk · contribs). Checkingfax (talk · contribs) has since done a lot of the heavy lifting in organizing, much of the content was organized by nikikana (talk · contribs), and WMF employees Slaporte (talk · contribs) and others have hosted or helped us at the Foundation headquarters by providing their gracious support. We have some new co-organizers who have come onboard in the past year.

Impact

Note: In addition to your project-specific measures of success, you will also be asked to report on some Global Metrics at the end of your final report. Please keep this in mind as you plan, and we'll support you as you begin your project. The Wikimedia Foundation office and ___location has a certain cache' that is attracting a full house.

We are tracking attendance and reporting on the events at the Wikipedia page en:Wikipedia:Bay Area WikiSalon

Number of total participants
First event with two brief presentations had 40, second with no presentation had 15. A typical WikiSalon will have some kind of introduction program such as a presentation or workshop. We expect our average monthly attendance to be 33.
Number of people who will help organize the event
Five main people are committed: Ben Creasy (User:Ben Creasy), Wayne Calhoon (User:Checkingfax), Stephen LaPorte (User:Slaporte), Lodewijk Gelauff (User:Effeietsanders), and Avik Dutt (User:Quantumavik).

Budget

The funds are managed in a dedicated bank account. $303 remain in the account, with $298 available to spend. These remaining funds from the previous grant will be substantially depleted by the time a September 1, 2018 grant kicks in.
We do not want anybody to feel discouraged from coming because of an obligation to help cover the food and drink, or their own transportation costs (including parking).
The Wikimedia Foundation headquarters at 120 Kearny Street in San Francisco is providing their 16th floor Chip Deubner Lounge space for free. Our only anticipated expenses are food, beverages, ice, and transportation/parking scholarships.
For our first couple of events, we solicited funds from the organizers and spent at least $125 to $300 on food and beverages. We are asking for $2,000 for an average of $285 per event. On a per person basis, this is a tremendous bargain when compared to the cost of a Wikiconference, Boot Camp, etc.
We requested donations at the first two events and we will continue to explore financial independence through donations and sponsorship.

Food & beverage = $7/meetup x 33 people x 7 meetups annually = US$1,617
Bus/train scholarship tickets to reimburse needy participants for travel to/from meeting = $8 x 5 people x 7 = US$350
Contingency = $33

Total amount needed for 12 months: US$2,000

Endorsements

Support - as co-organizer. Checkingfax (talk) 10:29, 10 July 2018 (UTC)
Support - the BAWS are very important to the Bay Area Wiki scene Nikikana (talk) 00:34, 11 July 2018 (UTC)