Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Form 990 for FY 2014-2015 now on-wiki - Wikimedia-l

4 Jun 2016

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the eventual answer - I can understand that salaries/HR are a
complicated issue to comment on. I'm sorry I have to press on a bit more to
get an answer to my questions though.

I did note the answers Patricio gave to the Signpost
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2016-05-28/Special_report>.
I did miss your answer on my question whether this was a full time, or near
a fulltime position (for the period concerning this salary) - quite an
important figure to estimate the meaning of 'a role of this nature in
organizations of similar size to the Wikimedia Foundation'.

The information available does suggest however that this was quite a steep
salary increase with a decrease in responsibilities. I'm not sure that is a
fair representation of the situation (I hope not), but that is what it
looks like to me, based on the available information.

Based on the compensation size, Sue played continued to play a very
significant role in the WMF. I'm glad that she remained available for that,
as the board apparently felt a need for it. However, despite that important
role and significant compensation, she was not mentioned on the list of
'staff and contractors' since she was replaced by Lila in June 2014
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Template%3AStaff_and_contractors&type=revision&diff=96993&oldid=96984>
.

This remains contradictory, and that is why I'm trying to get some clarity
on the role Sue played in the past two years. The tasks described by
Patricio in his response to the Signpost sound to me (but I might be naive
in this) to be mostly relevant to the initial transition period, and not to
span 2 years. Is Patricio underselling Sue's involvement and was there a
reason not to mention her as contractor? Am I somehow misunderstanding the
compensation issue (i.e. was there a compensation for earlier years, or was
it lowered)?

Maybe I'm missing something here - if so, please point it out! Thanks in
advance.

Best,
Lodewijk

2016-06-05 0:18 GMT+02:00 Greg Varnum &lt;gvarnum(a)wikimedia.org&gt;rg>:

...
  Greetings,

 Apologies for our delay in this response. In addition to the holiday
 weekend, questions related to HR issues require extra care and verification
 on our part. But again, I do want to apologize for that process taking all
 week.

 Regarding Lodewijk's questions about Sue's special advisor role, including
 the timeline and how compensation was set, Sue served as a special advisor
 until May 31, 2016. Her pay included compensation for her extended role
 during the ED transition, and to match market rates for a role of this
 nature in organizations of similar size to the Wikimedia Foundation. Our
 Board Chair, Patricio Lorente, gave a response to the Signpost that
 provides more information[1].

 John asked about filing and other fees paid by Jones Day, and if the fees
 were separate from consulting costs. Unfortunately, we don’t have an easy,
 quick way to divide the Jones Day expenses into registration fees and legal
 fees, but we can provide more information about where the costs came from.
 Each trademark application costs about $1,000–5,000 (sometimes more),
 including filing fees and attorney’s fees. The cost for each application
 depends on the country’s application fees, the country’s administrative
 hurdles, the breadth of protection we are seeking, whether we can reuse
 materials prepared for previous applications, and whether we encounter
 resistance from trademark offices or other trademark holders.

 Finally, regarding John's question about non-program service investment in
 Europe (page 35), this represents our foreign currency bank accounts with
 JP Morgan in the UK. The purpose of this holding is to retain donations
 received in EUR, GBP, CAD and AUD in their original currency to minimize
 currency exchange risks.

 I hope that clarifies the remaining questions, and again, thank you for
 your questions and feedback both on this list and elsewhere.

 -Gregory Varnum
 Wikimedia Foundation

 1.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2016-05-28/Speci…

  On May 31, 2016, at 12:01 PM, Greg Varnum
&lt;gvarnum(a)wikimedia.org&gt; wrote:

 Greetings,

 I just wanted to verify that we will be sending out answers to these  additional
questions. This past weekend was a holiday in the United States,
 and so we have not yet finished gathering the information to give accurate
 response.

 Thank you for your patience, and please let me know if you have any  additional
questions.
  Gregory Varnum
 Wikimedia Foundation

> On May 31, 2016, at 4:16 AM, Lodewijk &lt;lodewijk(a)effeietsanders.org&gt; 
wrote:
 >
> Hi,
>
> Unfortunately I haven't seen an answer to my questions. Could you please
> acknowledge the receipt of the question if you're investigating? Or  could
 > you just say it is a ridiculous question and
that you refuse to answer,  if
 > you think so? From the more elaborate answer
on the Signpost questions,  I
 > understand that the role continues to this
day - which makes it probably
> more relevant.
>
> Please don't retreat in silence again.
>
> Lodewijk
>
> 2016-05-25 14:39 GMT+02:00 Lodewijk &lt;lodewijk(a)effeietsanders.org&gt;rg>:
>
>> Thanks Greg for the responses.
>>
>> As for the ED team, that answers part of my question. That Sue was
>> appointed as special advisor, was indeed public knowledge - but for  what
 >> duration was that? And was that a full
time position (or anything near  full
 >> time), given that her compensation was as
high as that of the ED  herself?
 >> People suggested that this included
compensation for earlier years -  was
 >> that the case? That would explain again a
bit more.
>>
>> Also part of the question was why the raise was so steep - was this 
simply
 >> matching the reality of the current job
market, or was there something  else
 >> behind it (i.e. a bonus mechanism etc).
>>
>> It would be great if you could clarify! Thanks!
>>
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> 2016-05-25 12:45 GMT+02:00 John Mark Vandenberg &lt;jayvdb(a)gmail.com&gt;om>:
>>
>>> On Wed, May 25, 2016 at 6:31 AM, Gregory Varnum < 
gvarnum(a)wikimedia.org&gt;
 >>> wrote:
>>>> Greetings,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you to everyone for your questions and thoughts regarding the
>>> Wikimedia Foundation's Form 990.
>>>>
>>>> Regarding Lodewijk's first question about the legal services 
(totalling
 >>> US$1.7M) which were conducted by
Jones Day (page 61 - Part VII): As  our
 >>> global reach has grown over time, we
felt it was important to  strengthen
 >>> the trademark portfolio and solidify
the protection of Wikimedia’s  marks
 >>> globally. In December 2013, we began
working with Jones Day on our  global
 >>> trademark filings, registrations, and
oppositions. During the  2014-2015
 >>> fiscal year we filed 1,500+ new
trademark applications for 35  different
 >>> trademarks in 100+ countries. A
significant portion of the legal  services
 >>> expenses in 2014-2015 went toward the
mandatory government trademark
>>> application filing fees.
>>>>
>>>> These new trademark applications contained expanded coverage and
>>> revised descriptions to ensure better protection of Wikimedia's marks
 and
 >>> projects, including countries where
readership was growing through  targeted
 >>> programs or distribution (such as
Wikipedia Zero and mobile  readership).
 >>> Going forward, we anticipate (and are
beginning to realize) a  decrease in
 >>> trademark expenses year over year,
now that we have this initial  foundation
 >>> is in place. This investment
immediately benefits Wikimedia and its
>>> communities by ensuring that our trademark portfolio reflects the 
maturity
 >>> and breadth of the Wikimedia
movement, and protects us against certain
>>> forms of infringement or misuse.
>>>
>>> Hi Gregory,
>>> Just to confirm, the stated US$1.7M stated on page p.61 includes
>>> filing and other fees paid by Jones Day to relevant government bodies
>>> around the world?
>>> If so, any chance you can separate it into such fees paid *through*
>>> Jones Day, vs the consultation fees of Jones Day.
>>> You say it was a 'significant portion', but that is very vague
>>> terminology, meaning very different things to different people; it
>>> would be nice to have a ball park figure.
>>>
>>> Also there was a USD ~5.2 M investment in Europe listed on p. 35 as
>>> not being program services.  I didn't see any reference to it in the
>>> FAQ; apologies if I missed it (It would be lovely if the source
>>> document was posted on meta for easier navigation, etc.).  Could we
>>> have a little more info about this line item?
>>>
>>> --
>>> John Vandenberg
>>>
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>>
>>
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 ---
 Gregory Varnum
 Communications Strategist (Contractor)
 Wikimedia Foundation
 gvarnum(a)wikimedia.org

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