On 1 December 2015 at 23:09, Mardetanha <mardetanha.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
do we have any definite number that if reach then we
would not any
fundraiser again in the future (I really would like to to see WMF in the
position in which, it would not need yearly fundraiser to stand up and keep
running ) , like 100 M mentioned in the meta page ?
That $100m number sounds oddly familiar, so a quick historical footnote:
The endowment idea was first suggested seriously in 2006 (at least, I
can't see it being discussed before) and a figure of $100m was being
generally quoted as what would be needed by 2008. There had been some
discussions about a hypothetical "$100m donation" before that, in
2006-7, and it might be that this helped shape the discussion of how
big an endowment might need to be.
In 2008, the number was examined a bit and it was seen as plausibly
solid - our annual operating costs were a little under $5m at that
point and getting a 5% return on endowment was a reasonable
expectation.
As Anne points out, though, we do a lot more now than we did then!
Andrew.
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk