Amical overview


The association was formally created in 2009. The situation is provisional pending the negotiation of some form of recognition with WMF that can lead to change the bylaws or to dissolve it and create a new one. Currently is registered only in Catalonia according to the Catalan Civil Code.

Since the 2011 it is one of the 67 organizations recognized by the Government of Catalonia as organizations that promote the Catalan language. So, among other benefits, residents of Catalonia have the right to a 15% tax deduction on donations made to Amical.

Currently the number of registered members is 60 of which 53 are wikimedians and 7 not wikimedians. In addition there are 351 supporters among Catalan Wikipedia editors. Anyone can become a member of the association but the procedures to be accepted vary:

Wikimedians who made over 100 positive edits on Catalan projects are automatically accepted.

For wikimedians who made over 100 positive edits on other language projects, having edits related to Catalan culture are taken in consideration (50 is a reference) and they are also automatically accepted.

Non Wikimedians they have to go through a process as follows, they have to attend a meeting where the values of the wikimedia movement are explained, they need the endorsement of two members, and must pass a trial period of 3 months then a vote of the assembly is needed. There is no written rule, but the consensus is that non wikipedian members mus be a maximum of 1/3 of the total.

In 2011 members fees has been € 1,704. The revenue in these years was € 1,208 in 2009, € 7,169 in 2010 and € 38,158 in 2011. For 2012 could reach € 80,000. At 31-12-2011 financial reserves were € 4,921. In 2011 received a grant of € 3,150 from WMF that has covered 30.7% of the costs of Barcelona Digital Commmons forum.

In 2012 there will be activities whose economic efect won't be reflected in the accounts of the association. For example, recently a project of € 39,292.83 to investigate and promote the use of Wikipedia in Catalan universities has been approved. The project is funded by the charity branch of a savings bank and the job will be done by a university. The university is paid directly from the savings bank. The association participates in the project and get the results.

In 2012 it was agreed to request the declaration of public utility in Spain that will mean that the Spaniards will be entitled to a tax deduction of 25% of the donations. For residents in Catalonia the deduction would be addeed to the previosus 15% leading to a 40%.


Governance/staff

Formally the association has a president and a board of trustees who are the spokespersons and legal representatives but the association is governed directly by the General Assembly. Every decision is done by creating a page in the wiki and all members can vote. This system is traditional in many Catalan associations, some with more than hundred years history and thousands of members. Lately it had been losing the traditional model due to lack of agility and replaced by a model where the board is who governs the association. But the Internet has come to reviltalitze the traditional model.

The association has no permanent employee. The members of the board and the president are not remunerated. Some scolarships have been awarded to develop projects.

By 2012 we want to promote renting of offices and the recruitment of staff to provide us administrative and logistic support but all shared with other Catalan organizations arround free knowledge and free software so that the cost can be very low.

Any member or group of members can initiate activities to promote Wikipedia and sister projects without asking for permission. There are rules governing the procedure. For example should inform the assembly, the project must be aligned with the values of the movement, we must ensure they provide the financial resources necessary for the project and an additional safety margin that goes to reserves of the association if not consumed, it should be reported monthly progress ... The treasurer handles the money and contracts are signed by the President but do so at the request of members who have total freedom to administer and manage project resources within the rules. For the recruitment they must follow a public and transparent selection process established in the regulations. Suporters of the association can participate in the projectes but the members are responsible in front of the association for the compliance of the association regulations.

The association has a code that governs the behavior of employees and members on wikipedia and sister projects. In short, when acting as members of the association they can not edit anything on the main areas only on discussion pages, wikiprojects and vilage pump.


Transparency.

From the beginning we have published the activities at the Catalan Wikipedia vilage pump. Later we also began to translate them into English and publish them to the list. This year 2011 we had a great expansion of activities and reports have been delayed. We are currently reorganizing work and creating mechanisms to ensure that reports are published regularly.

As for the accounts so far have been totally transparent for members. The accounts are held directly in the internal wiki of the association where all members have access and also some supporters.

This december the Assembly passed a resolution authorizing to make public a summary of the accounts.

Legal system


Untill now the association only has the legal obligation to hold the cash book but in 2012 we will apply for the declaration of public interest entity in Spain. This would entail the obligation to keep full accounting according to European Union standards.

To keep the status of organization that promotes Catalan language we must provide an annual activity report to the Catalan Government.