Daniel Mayer wrote:
In July 2004 I was appointed to the official position
of Chief Financial Officer of the Wikimedia
Foundation. The expectation, backed up by repeated calls from myself, was that I would be
replaced
by a relevantly trained paid professional when the needs of the foundation became greater
than
what I, as a part time volunteer, could provide.
During my tenure, I have helped with bookkeeping, budgeting, financial reporting, and
with
fundraising. I am most proud of my work coordinating several fundraisers that together
brought in
nearly a million dollars for the foundation. I am least proud of the last nine months, a
time when
the board repeatedly failed to meet to discuss proposed budgets I submitted to them or to
give me
direction on what we could or could not publish to the community in regards to spending.
I therefore resign as Chief Financial Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation but will
continue to
help where needed during the transition process.
It truly amazes me how long we, as an organization that runs one of the top sites on the
Internet,
can go on volunteer time alone. So it is both a sad and happy day for me as I prepare to
hand the
baton to a paid professional.
You have nothing to be ashamed of. Based on our earliest exchanges on
these matters before you were appointed CFO I know that you have come a
long way in managing what has been an increasingly more difficult and
thankless task. Those of us who have been here a little longer also
know that you have been selfless in ensuring that domain names would be
protected whenever there was even a hint that it might be useful to our
communities.
Congratulations for your fantastic effort.
Ray