Delirium wrote:
daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
I know that the Wikimedia is currently strapped for cash. However, I would like to propose that we cover certain key expenses for our elected board members relating to their participation in Wikimedia work. For instance, telephone calls overseas should be covered by the Foundation, and not the elected representatives. A broadband connection should be covered by the Foundation as well.
While every participant is doing their work on Wikipedia and the other projects voluntarily, Ant and Angela are expected to represent us, the users. We should make it as easy for them as possible.
I wouldn't consider this a high priority---certainly far below buying servers, which we already don't have enough money to buy. Unless we find ourselves in a situation where we have so much cash we don't have any place it could better be spent, I think a better approach would be to simply use email to communicate like everyone else does. As for internet connections, I assume anyone involved in the project already has one (how else would they be Wikipedians, given that this is primarily an internet-based project?).
Adding a qualification to this: I wouldn't be opposed to voluntary donations by people who feel strongly about this. If there are expenses that are turning out to be problematic, there could be a fund-raising campaign to provide funding for the board members. But this should come out of specific donations for that purpose: people should know they're donating specifically to the "Wikimedia board of trustees communication and travel fund" or something.
This is something I feel somewhat strongly about, especially since someone mentioned how other organizations routinely do it: they are most definitely not models to emulate. A great many non-profit organizations are inefficient, wasteful, and often simply corrupt, with a relatively small percentage of their money going towards their actual stated mission.
-Mark