On Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 2:38 PM, Liam Wyatt <liamwyatt(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Excellently put Lodewijk.
In an attempt to answer your question:
I would like to ask for clarification the expectations of raising funds
externally.
In previous years, as has been mentioned earlier in this thread, it has
been emphasised that the 'money raised in a country' should be considered
independent of 'money spent in that country'. This is a principle that
everyone (I think) agrees with, on the basis that a country might be
donor-poor but activity-rich or vice versa. Taken at its purest, this
principle implies that the annual plans submitted should be independent of
the amount of money [potentially] available to be accessed locally.
Separately, there is also the fact that several of the responses from the
FDC emphasise that some Chapters should push for more external funding
sources - to diversify their income streams and to lessen the burden on the
global Wikimedia budget. And that these Chapters' Annual Plan budgets
should take more into account those funds.
Both of these policies are internally consistent and logical, however I
believe that they are at least partially contradictory. I believe the FDC
is working on the best advice it has available, and I know that I have not
read *all *the most recent documentation about Chapter finances. But, I
would like to know if there is a policy position from the WMF Board of
Trustees that clarifies what is expected of Chapters in this area.
Can you elaborate just a little on how you find them to be contradictory?
If we assume, as I think is reasonable, that the first principle applies to
funds raised by WMF and the second is directed at funds raised by
individual affiliates, they don't seem to me to be in conflict.