Dear all,
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees met in New York City from 5 to 8 March. As usual I am writing to share the outcomes of the meeting and information about other sessions held during the week.
== Board Meeting ==
Our official board meeting took place on March 7, and we were joined by members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee (MCDC). At the meeting, we approved the December meeting minutes [1], made changes to the Executive Committee Charter [2], and updated the Board committee composition [3]. The terms of our current Vice Chairs, Shani and Esra’a, came to an end, and we welcomed Lorenzo and Kathy into those roles [4].
I would like to acknowledge and thank both Shani and Esra’a for their hard work over many years. The role of Board Vice Chairs is an important one, and I, as Chair, appreciate the additional input and time they have provided over the past three years, supporting the Board and the Foundation’s leadership, as well as their commitment to supporting this transition. I also look forward to working closely with Lorenzo and Kathy as their terms as Vice Chairs begin now. The overall updated Trustee membership is here [5].
During the meeting, Dariusz, Chair of the Board Selection Working Group, gave an update on the 2024 Board selection process status, which you can read more about here [6]. We also heard from Foundation staff on various topics and received an update on the current fiscal year and progress against the Annual Plan [7]. We heard from the Advancement team about donor thank-you page changes, which invited donors to edit and yielded 4,398 new user accounts being created [8]. This experiment was conducted based on feedback from volunteers. As usual, the Board received committee updates in advance of the meeting, which included an important update from the Audit Committee [9].
In its most recent meeting, the Audit Committee discussed and approved a change in how unrealised gains or losses are reported. They will now be counted as non-operating revenues instead of operating revenues, which will bring the financial statements in line with how the Foundation budgets for operating revenues. The Audit Committee also approved an updated Investment Policy that guides how operating reserves are invested. The official Board meeting ended after a brief update from the staff team monitoring the 2024 global elections work.
== Other Sessions & Meetings ==
Movement Charter
The Board, MCDC members, and staff met for a half-day workshop after the Board meeting. I thank the MCDC for their work over the last 2.5 years. It is not easy to take broad recommendations and flesh them out. We spent time together reflecting on the draft Movement Charter and the Foundation’s perspective, particularly about the role of the Global Council [10]. The Foundation’s perspectives will be one of the topics on the agenda at the Open Conversation with the Trustees, hosted by the Community Affairs Committee (CAC) on March 21 [11].
Strategic Retreat
We ended the week on March 8 with a Strategic Retreat, a joint session held with the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, the Endowment Board of Trustees, representatives from MCDC, and Wikimedia Foundation leadership. This included presentations on our three priority topics: (1) financial model, including updates on online revenue trends, Wikimedia Enterprise, and Wikimedia Endowment; (2) product and technology; and (3) roles and responsibilities. We built on the themes established at last year’s Strategic Retreat, including more focus on longer-term planning about the work of the Foundation, and what it will take to ensure our projects continue across generations [12], both technologically and in terms of our financial model. This retreat is one important space for the various leadership groups within the movement to plan, brainstorm, and engage as partners.
Governance Workshop
Our first full day together as the Board, March 5, was focused on a governance workshop for members of the Board. We focused on the role of trustees and committee chairs and shared best (and worst) practices from other boards some of us sit on. This is part of a more comprehensive larger professional development plan that trustees have engaged in over the last three years. We ended the day with a reception hosted at the New York City Chapter’s new shared space (also the home to rescued turtles!) - many thanks to the organisers for your hospitality! We also greatly enjoyed the wiki fashion show!
Sessions with Foundation Leadership
On March 6, we joined Foundation staff for a session on the Annual Planning process. We ended the day with a Board Executive Session which also included discussions with the executive team about leadership development, career growth, and best practices for succession planning at all organisational levels.
The Board will meet again virtually in June to approve the Foundation’s annual plan and budget, and then again in-person at Wikimania in Poland, where I hope to see some of you as well!
[1] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Minutes:2023-12-06
[2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Committee:Executive_Committee_Charter
[3] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Board_Officers_and_Committe...
[4] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_Handb...
[5] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Committee:Main
[6] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2024
[7] https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/01/31/progress-on-the-plan-how-the-wikimedia...
[8] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Growth/Newcomer_experience_projects#Scaling_t...
[9] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Minutes:2023-08-15#Committee_updates
[10] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Movement_Charter#Wikimedia_Foundation_p...
[11] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Commi...
[12] https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/03/05/wikipedia-a-multigenerational-pursuit/
Take care, and thank you, antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
*NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in advance!*