Dear All,
Please note that the 2008 Form 990 which covers fiscal year July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 has been posted to the Wikimedia Foundation website at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:WMF_2008_2009_Form_990.pdf
Also posted are questions and answers which can be found at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Form_2008_Questions_and_Answers
Of course I am available to answer questions as well.
Veronique
Veronique Kessler, 27/04/2010 02:08:
Please note that the 2008 Form 990 which covers fiscal year July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 has been posted to the Wikimedia Foundation website at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:WMF_2008_2009_Form_990.pdf
Thank you. (I love to read these documents, even if there are lots of unnecessary bureaucracy, for which I sympathize with you; even in Italy we have a law which says that the State can't ask you some information you have already given in some other communication...)
Also posted are questions and answers which can be found at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Form_2008_Questions_and_Answers
Of course I am available to answer questions as well.
I'm a bit late here, but I have three (little) questions: 1) Page 7, part VI, section A, line 7a: "Does the organization have members, stockholders, or other persons who may elect one or more members of the governing body?" Why is the answer "no"? Because of the definition of "elect" (perhaps they're not considered elected because a board resolution is needed)? 2) Page 9, part VIII, line 2a: what are those 366,232 $ of program service revenue from data provider services? Are they included in "Other income, net" line in the financial statement (398,149 $)? 3) Page 31, schedule M, part I, line 31: "Does the organization have a gift acceptance policy that requires the review of any non-standard contributions?", answer "no". Isn't WMF gift policy (http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Gift_policy#Accepting_Gifts.2FPrivate_Grants_--_Board_Approval ) enough? Thank you, Nemo
On 17 July 2010 00:28, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemowiki@gmail.com wrote:
I'm a bit late here, but I have three (little) questions:
- Page 7, part VI, section A, line 7a: "Does the organization have
members, stockholders, or other persons who may elect one or more members of the governing body?" Why is the answer "no"? Because of the definition of "elect" (perhaps they're not considered elected because a board resolution is needed)?
Legally speaking, all board members are appointed by the board. The community and chapters merely make recommendations, which have always been followed and always will be unless something particular extraordinary happens, such as the community or chapters recommending someone that isn't eligible to sit on the board due to bankruptcy or convictions for fraud, etc., but legally the board can choose not to follow the recommendations for pretty much any reason they like. The Bylaws say: "The Board must comprise members [...] that will best fulfill the mission and needs of the Foundation." and the Board are allowed to not approve a recommendation of the community or chapters if they think it would violate that bylaw, which is an extremely broad power. (Of course, the board knows they need to support of the community if they are going fulfil the mission of the Foundation, which is why they will show great restraint in regards to that power.)
Hello,
Under rare circumstances, the Board could choose not to appoint someone who won a community election to a seat; however in that case the candidate receiving the next most votes must be appointed instead. That may constitute an election process, despite the caveat.[1]
SJ
[1] From IV.3.C of the Bylaws: "In the event that a candidate is selected who does not meet the requirements of Subsection (A) or other requirements of these Bylaws, or of applicable state or federal law, the Board will (i) not approve the selected candidate, (ii) declare a vacancy on the Board, and (iii) appoint the candidate receiving the next most votes to fill the resulting vacancy"
Even physical governments often have part of the government that must officially recognize the results of an election, and that can declare a candidate unfit to hold office, or an election process invalid; though they usually have much narrower guidelines than meeting the requirements of IV.3.A.
On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote:
On 17 July 2010 00:28, Federico Leva (Nemo) nemowiki@gmail.com wrote:
I'm a bit late here, but I have three (little) questions:
- Page 7, part VI, section A, line 7a: "Does the organization have
members, stockholders, or other persons who may elect one or more members of the governing body?" Why is the answer "no"? Because of the definition of "elect" (perhaps they're not considered elected because a board resolution is needed)?
Legally speaking, all board members are appointed by the board. The community and chapters merely make recommendations, which have always been followed and always will be unless something particular extraordinary happens, such as the community or chapters recommending someone that isn't eligible to sit on the board due to bankruptcy or convictions for fraud, etc., but legally the board can choose not to follow the recommendations for pretty much any reason they like. The Bylaws say: "The Board must comprise members [...] that will best fulfill the mission and needs of the Foundation." and the Board are allowed to not approve a recommendation of the community or chapters if they think it would violate that bylaw, which is an extremely broad power. (Of course, the board knows they need to support of the community if they are going fulfil the mission of the Foundation, which is why they will show great restraint in regards to that power.)
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Hi Nemo,
Thanks for your questions.
Yes, we answered No to Part VI, section A, line 7a since the Board ultimately approves the seats. However, we are a unique organization and I think for the next 990, I will include an explanation in Schedule O that explains the process. Usually you only include info on Schedule O if you answer yes, but either way, it would be good to include that information going forward.
Yes, the data provider services contains the live-feed revenue and licensing revenue and yes, it is contained in the $398K in the financial statements.
Regarding the gift policy, we clearly have a gift policy. When you look at the instructions related to how to answer that question, it talks about the definition of a non-standard contribution which is very specific. Since we didn't specifically name in our gift policy the specifics of a non-standard contribution per the definition of the IRS, we marked it no. I spoke with KPMG this morning and there could be an argument made for us answering it either way, but I and KPMG are comfortable with the answer we gave.
Veronique
Federico Leva (Nemo) wrote:
Veronique Kessler, 27/04/2010 02:08:
Please note that the 2008 Form 990 which covers fiscal year July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 has been posted to the Wikimedia Foundation website at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:WMF_2008_2009_Form_990.pdf
Thank you. (I love to read these documents, even if there are lots of unnecessary bureaucracy, for which I sympathize with you; even in Italy we have a law which says that the State can't ask you some information you have already given in some other communication...)
Also posted are questions and answers which can be found at: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Form_2008_Questions_and_Answers
Of course I am available to answer questions as well.
I'm a bit late here, but I have three (little) questions:
- Page 7, part VI, section A, line 7a: "Does the organization have
members, stockholders, or other persons who may elect one or more members of the governing body?" Why is the answer "no"? Because of the definition of "elect" (perhaps they're not considered elected because a board resolution is needed)? 2) Page 9, part VIII, line 2a: what are those 366,232 $ of program service revenue from data provider services? Are they included in "Other income, net" line in the financial statement (398,149 $)? 3) Page 31, schedule M, part I, line 31: "Does the organization have a gift acceptance policy that requires the review of any non-standard contributions?", answer "no". Isn't WMF gift policy (http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Gift_policy#Accepting_Gifts.2FPrivate_Grants_--_Board_Approval ) enough? Thank you, Nemo
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