CWG 2026-06-25
Communications Working Group (CWG) — Meeting Minutes
Date: 25 June 2026
Acting Chair: Dani
Present: Dani, Mila, Donitar, Mikel, Dorothea, Brazil, Craig, Héctor.
Apologies: No apologies
1. Introductions
New and returning members introduced themselves. Mila joined as a new volunteer, offering graphic design support. Donitar offered to contribute consistent posting. Brazil, as a board member, confirmed he can support with graphics via Canva but cannot take a leadership role in the group while on the board.
2. Fundraising Campaign
Dani presented the fundraising strategy for CWG's input, seeking a view on whether the group wishes to lead or support the campaign.
- Target: £500,000 by year end.
- Progress as of 31 May: corporate donations £111,301.49, individual donations £38,632. Dani rounded the combined total to about £150K when presenting.
- Proposal to use a "thermometer" visual to show progress, following a model Dani had seen work well for OpenStreetMap US.
- Mikel raised a past idea of a filling-in world map as a more OSM-specific alternative to a thermometer, noting the extra design/build effort involved, and floated whether an AI-built progress visualisation tool might now be feasible.
- Discussion on communicating impact: the importance of linking specific donation amounts to specific uses (e.g., the planned second systems administrator hire) so donors can see where money goes, rather than only general appeals.
- Vanessa suggested highlighting corporate donors willing to be publicly named, to encourage other organisations to contribute.
- Mila suggested an initial post explaining that OSMF is a not-for-profit reliant on donations, ahead of the campaign proper, and separately suggested a post recognising organisations that have already supported OSMF (e.g. ESRI), to reinforce OSMF's legitimacy as an organisation.
3. Posting Cadence
Agreed guidance read out from Craig's notes from teh Madrid F2F meeting:
- Avoid AI-generated visuals.
- At least one social media post per week.
- At least one blog post per month.
Known issue raised: the blogging platform is outdated and has drawn complaints; agreed this needs addressing within the year but not immediately actioned.
4. Social Media Access and Tools
- Brazil currently holds Meta Business Suite access (Facebook and Instagram). Dani noted a preference that access not rest solely with Brazil, given his board role.
- Donitar confirmed access to Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn/Twitter(X) via Business Suite, but noted LinkedIn and Twitter could not be verified within Buffer, so cross-posting has only been functioning for Instagram and Facebook. Buffer was effectively paused as a result.
- Uncertainty remains over current administrator access for Instagram and LinkedIn specifically — flagged as needing to be re-established.
- GitLab was identified as holding some existing documentation on access and past decisions, including a ticket ("Take stock of social media," referenced as item 12, dated ambiguously — possibly January of the current year, possibly older). Mikel noted he currently cannot log into GitLab and does not know why.
- Dorothea confirmed individual tickets exist covering access to LinkedIn and other social accounts.
5. Leadership of CWG
- Discussion on the group's need for a consistent lead, informed by Mikel's experience with how the Engineering Working Group sustains momentum through a dedicated organiser (Adam).
- Mila was identified, with support already indicated by Héctor and Brazil, as a candidate to lead or co-lead the group's meetings. Mila did not decline but asked for guidance and documentation to be able to do so effectively, including: existing design/branding guidance, campaign documentation, a sense of current organisational priorities and messaging, and clarity on who to coordinate with.
- Dani offered to co-lead in the interim, without overstepping given her board position.
- Craig offered to write and prepare explanatory and communications material for CWG, and specifically flagged Dorothea as a resource for CWG with long institutional history with the group.
6. Design Guidance
- Mikel noted no formal design manual exists, though some material was produced for past fundraising mini-sites (referenced as hosted at supporting.osmfoundation.org, name to confirm) with design guidance from that work.
- Mila and the group indicated openness to refreshing the graphic style (more colour, more illustrative) but not the logo itself.
- Craig confirmed the logo is not open for change; design direction otherwise sits with the CWG itself.
7. Communication Channel
- Element identified as the CWG's current communication channel; Dani has set up a new one (#OSM-CWG2.0:matrix.org) and shared it in the meeting chat, currently private, to be made public with administration handed to a CWG member. The old channel (#_oftc_#osm-cwg:matrix.org) should not be used.
Action Items
Kept deliberately small and independently actionable, even where items overlap in subject matter, so that one stalled task doesn't block the others.
| # | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Send follow-up email to CWG: welcome Mila, introduce campaign, request help updating access records | Dani | 25 Jun 2026 Completed |
| 2 | Confirm/restore administrator access for OSMF Instagram account | Board - unasssigned | not set |
| 3 | Confirm/restore administrator access for OSMF LinkedIn account | Board - unassigned | not set |
| 4 | Investigate and resolve Mikel's GitLab access issue | Board - unassigned | not set |
| 5 | Reconcile fundraising figures (£140K vs. actual sum of components) before external use | Dani | not set |
| 6 | Clear up ambiguous blog post cadence (monthly vs. fortnightly) | Board - unassigned | not set |
| 7 | Clarify the "avoid AI" rule as it applies to AI-assisted tools (e.g. a progress-mapping feature), distinct from AI-generated visuals | Board - unassigned | not set |
| 8 | Make CWG Element channel public and assign administrator | Dani | not set |
| 9 | Confirm Mila's (and/or the group's) decision on leading/co-leading CWG meetings | Mila to lead, with Dani as interim co-lead | not set |
| 10 | Co-lead CWG meetings in the interim | Dani | not set |
| 10 | Provide Mila with guidance on who to contact for social media coordination | Dani | not set |
| 12 | Provide Mila with existing design manual / documentation (mini-site work, logo guidance) | Craig | not set |
| 13 | Provide Mila with clarity on who to coordinate with to call a CWG meeting | Dani | not set |
| 14 | Provide Mila with existing campaign materials and documentation of "what the foundation needs" | Dani / Craig | not set |
| 15 | Establish a calendar of key dates, events, and deadlines relevant to campaigns and posting, for Mila's use | Board - unassigned | not set |
| 16 | Provide Mila with a briefing on OSMF's current strategic direction and priorities, to inform a marketing plan | Craig | not set |
| 17 | Write and prepare explanatory/communications material to support CWG | Craig | not set |
| 18 | Dorothea's provide an institutional-history resource for CWG | Dorothea | not set |
| 19 | Review the blogging platform which is reported to be out-dated. | Craig | not set |
| 20 | Share access to the Meta Business Suite with CWG Chair | Brazil | not set |