Why didn't WMF do the groundwork for transferring the endowment funds from Tides to a WMF 501(c)3 given that there were over SIX long years to make such plans?
Why does WMF STILL not know how to effect this transfer or when it will be completed, despite the passage of six months?
The timeline of when the IRS would grant 501(c)3 status was completely out of the control of the WMF; they could make the application in a timely way, but they could not be certain at what point this status would be granted. I think we all recognize this; the IRS is a governmental organization whose decision-making process and timeline are completely outside of the control of the WMF, Wikipedia, or any other third party. While the WMF could reasonably expect a positive decision, it had no way of being certain when that decision would come.
I have little doubt that many of the same people complaining of how long it is taking to move things around *now* would also complain if staff had been hired for an entity that didn't yet exist, based on the prospect that it would eventually exist. Since the 501(c)3 didn't yet exist, all of its staffing costs would have come out of the WMF budget at the same time that other areas were being cut back in relation to lower-than-expected fundraising. I've got a lot more liberal a view of WMF spending than many others in this thread, and even I think that would have been a really poor use of limited resources.
It's not causing any form of disruption to make these changes in a deliberate and thoughtful manner. Everyone can take a deep breath.
Risker/Anne