Case Study:
Wikimedia Grant Database
Development and modernization of Wikimedia Deutschland's Django-based grant management database
Customer
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. is the German chapter of the global Wikimedia movement and supports volunteer engagement around Wikipedia and related projects. As part of its volunteer grant program, Wikimedia Deutschland provides project funding and services managed through a central digital system.
Project
The grant database is the central tool for managing project funding and services within the volunteer grant program. Through a public grant request portal, volunteers can independently apply for support via online forms. The existing Django-based system needed to be functionally extended and technically modernized – including new application forms for project funding, improved email workflows, and an update of the tech stack. Additionally, the frontend required an overhaul with regard to accessibility and code quality.
Implementation
CosmoCode developed new forms for project funding applications and adapted the existing email notifications, including configurable file attachments.
On the frontend, the HTML was semantically restructured with a focus on accessibility, the CSS was rebuilt on top of a minimal framework, and the jQuery dependency was replaced with vanilla JavaScript. On the backend, the database schema was normalized, migrations were consolidated, and the admin interface was reorganized into logical field groups.
Django and all dependencies were updated to current versions, and the unit test suite was expanded to ensure stability for future updates. Deliveries were provided as patches on the existing codebase under the GNU AGPL v3.
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