[Wikimedia-l] Re: Form 990 clarification request (for the attention of WMF accounts staff)

Hi Gnangarra and all, I only mentioned how little money went to India in 2020/2021 because of the WMF's recent claim in the Indian Express that "a lot" of the money raised is flowing into the Global South.[1] You raise the messaging used to request donations. Here are six key phrases from the India emails (as linked on Meta[2]) that caught my eye (my emphases): Phrase 1: We *choose not to charge a subscription fee*, but that doesn't mean we don't need support from our readers Phrase 2: kindly consider giving again, or even increasing your gift, *to keep Wikipedia free* and independent. Should the option of charging a subscription fee for "The Free Encyclopedia" even be hinted at in a fundraising email? Bear in mind that the WMF Mission is "to make and keep useful information from its projects available on the internet *free of charge, in perpetuity*." It is only because of this commitment that volunteers are prepared to work for free. Also, isn't there something of a logical contradiction in begging people – especially people in developing countries – for money "to keep Wikipedia free"? Phrase 3: About a year ago, you donated Rs. 313 to *keep Wikipedia online for yourself and millions of people around the world*. Each year, fewer than 2% of Wikipedia readers choose to support our work. Phrase 4: please renew your gift to ensure that Wikipedia *remains independent, ad-free, and growing* for years to come Phrase 5: can we count on you to renew your solidarity with a small donation? It will *keep Wikipedia online, ad-free, and growing* for years to come Wikipedia's independence (also used as a hook on the Wikipedia banners) is safer than ever, if it's to be measured by the WMF's money reserves, which at an estimated $400 million are now greater than they've ever been. Wouldn't we like to see the WMF saying more about what it actually does with the money, rather than falling back on these old stock phrases from yesteryear, about keeping Wikipedia online, or keeping it free? They might have been appropriate fifteen or twenty years ago, when the Foundation was finding its feet financially, but seem very out of step with the current financial realities. Phrase 6: 31% of your gift will be used to *support the volunteers* who share their knowledge with you for free every day. 31% of 2020/2021 donations revenue would have been about $50 million. I've been told the 31% figure comes from the Annual Report[3] (where it is called "*Direct support to communities*" and refers to 31% of spending, which is much less than 31% of revenue). But even so, it is unclear to me what specifically this amount refers to. It is certainly an order of magnitude more than the WMF's grants to the community in 2020/2021. Andreas [1] https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/raju-nari… [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fundraising#Indian_email_texts [3] https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/annualreport/2020-2021-annual-report/… On Sun, Jun 19, 2022 at 10:55 AM Gnangarra <gnangarra(a)gmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org… To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org