Greetings,

I am pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the
2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections. This year the Board and the FDC Staff
are looking for a diverse set of candidates from regions and projects that
are traditionally under-represented on the board and in the movement as
well as candidates with experience in technology, product or finance. To
this end they have published letters
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015/Call_for_candidates>
describing
what they think is needed and, recognizing that those who know the
community the best are the community themselves, the election
committee is accepting
nominations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015#Information_for_nominators>
for
community members you think should run and will reach out to those
nominated to provide them with information about the job and the election
process.

This year, elections are being held for the following roles:

*Board of Trustees*
The Board of Trustees is the decision-making body that is ultimately
responsible for the long term sustainability of the Foundation, so we value
wide input into its selection.  There are three positions being filled.
More information about this role can be found at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015/Board_elections/2015.


*Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC)*
The Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations about how to
allocate Wikimedia movement funds to eligible entities.  There are five
positions being filled. More information about this role can be found at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015/FDC_elections/2015
.

*Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) Ombud*
The FDC Ombud receives complaints and feedback about the FDC process,
investigates complaints at the request of the Board of Trustees,  and
summarizes the investigations and feedback for the Board of Trustees on an
annual basis.  One position is being filled.  More information about this
role can be found at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015/FDC_Ombudsperson_elections/2015
.

The candidacy submission phase lasts from 00:00 UTC April 20 to 23:59 UTC
May 5 for the Board and from 00:00 UTCApril 20 to 23:59 UTC April 30 for
the FDC and FDC Ombudsperson. This year, we are accepting both
self-nominations and nominations of others. More information on this
election and the nomination process can be found at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2015.

Please feel free to post a note about the election on your project's
village pump. Any questions related to the election can be posted on the
talk page on Meta, or sent to the election committee's mailing list,
board-elections@wikimedia.org

On behalf of the Elections Committee,
-Gregory Varnum (User:Varnent)
Coordinator, 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
_______________________________________________