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Call for feedback about Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws changes and Board candidate rubric
by Nataliia Tymkiv 08 Oct '20

08 Oct '20

Dear all, Today the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees starts two calls for feedback: on changes to our Bylaws[1] mainly to increase the Board size from 10 to 16 members, and on a trustee candidate rubric[2] to introduce new, more effective ways to evaluate new board candidates. These proposals are part of the governance improvement process announced on 28 April[3]. The Foundation’s work is wide-ranging, focused on areas including product development, technical infrastructure maintenance, community support, grantmaking, public policy advocacy, and fundraising. In addition, the Foundation is charged with administering the operations of an international nonprofit organization responsible for a more than 500-person paid workforce and an annual budget of over US$100 million. Its ambitious mission is to support the sharing of knowledge amongst every single human being in partnership with Wikimedia communities across the globe. To provide sufficient strategic guidance and oversight over such a broad scope of work and constituents, Board members should reflect a similarly broad scope of expertise, experience, and backgrounds. Expanding the number of board seats from 10 to 16 will move us closer to this goal, supported by a Board candidate rubric that will help us all evaluate potential trustees and ensure that they can provide what the Board, Foundation, and movement need. The Foundation will work with the broader movement to formalize this rubric. Currently, trustees have to serve on more than one Board committee (as voting members, alternates or liaisons). This overlap is a significant burden, as it limits the amount of work that can be done—and the volunteer trustees are overworked. == Bylaws revisions == We have published the planned revisions to the bylaws on Meta-Wiki and we welcome your comments through 26 October[1]. The Board has carefully considered the published revisions and we believe that they are a positive step toward accomplishing our governance reform goals. We are publishing these so that they are transparent to the communities before the Board’s final vote to adopt the revisions, and we will be responding to questions about the revisions on the talk page. We shall consider any suggested edits that would further the Board’s governance needs and goals. The revised Bylaws would maintain the current general structure of trustee seats, with half (8 of 16) sourced from candidates identified through community selection processes, one reserved for Jimmy as Founder, and the rest (7 of 16) selected by the Board directly. The revisions would eliminate the distinction between trustees selected by affiliates and trustees selected by community voting. This offers more flexibility for adjusting community selection processes if necessary, while also not requiring any particular process changes. We hope to discuss possible changes with our communities in early 2021. == Board candidate evaluation form == In addition to expanding in size, the Board is considering ways to improve our overall process for selecting trustees. The Board Governance Committee (BGC) has drafted a Board candidate rubric as a tool to show and help evaluate the relevant effective candidates for the Board[2]. The rubric is still a draft, and we want to hear what all of you think is missing, overrepresented, underrepresented, confusing, or could otherwise be improved. The goal of the rubric is not only to aid us in evaluating potential trustees but also to clearly and openly communicate how we are evaluating candidates. We welcome your input through 26 October. == Impact on postponed trustee selection process[4] == Following development of the rubric, we will work to further improve the selection of Board candidates by adapting the community-sourced trustee selection processes to fill 8 seats instead of 5. Any changes to current selection processes will be preceded by the necessary discussions with affected communities. We plan to start this discussion in early 2021. Once the new process is developed, it will be used to select all community-sourced trustees going forward. I recognize that delays and slow progress can be frustrating and even confusing. I don’t think anyone—community, Board, or staff—is completely satisfied with the situation we currently find ourselves in. Like everyone else, we are doing our best to respond to the challenges of 2020. There are many pressing demands competing for everyone’s time and attention. We are faced with the difficult tasks of balancing goals and priorities and judiciously allocating the resources we have available to work on them. We remain committed to holding the community trustee selection process in the Foundation’s 2020-21 fiscal year (July through June). That process is much more labour-intensive than many may realize, taking months of planning, preparation, and execution. For the community trustee selection process to be successful, it requires not only resources to plan but also the ability for as wide a range of diverse candidates and community voters as possible to participate. We postponed the process in part because we were not sure that it would have that necessary participation if it had happened at the originally scheduled time. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we do our best to move this work forward in a way that is mindful of both the desire to move quickly and our responsibility to achieve the best possible outcomes. Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to participate constructively in these conversations. You can find the original version of this announcement at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Octo… <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/July…> Best regards, antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv Vice Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Octo… [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Octo… [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Upda… [4] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Postponement_of_Community_… *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!*

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Wikimedia Korea annual report submission
by Eun-ae Gu 05 Oct '20

05 Oct '20

Dear Wikimedians We, Wikimedia Korea just submitted our activity/financial reports for 2019. We are glad that we can share our reports with you after being approved as a Wikimedia Chapter.:) Links to the documents are below. 2019 Activity Report https://w.wiki/fAx 2019 Financial Report https://w.wiki/fAw Best, Gu Eun-ae Director of Wikimedia Korea

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The Signpost – Volume 16, Issue 9 – 27 September 2020
by Wikipedia Signpost 28 Sep '20

28 Sep '20

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This Month in GLAM: August 2020
by The 'This Month in GLAM' team 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

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New Wikimedia Chile Board
by Carlos Figueroa Rojas 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

Dear all, Due to the resignation of the chair Rocío Consales, a new Wikimedia Chile board was appointed for the remainder of the term 2019-2021. The positions were filled as follows: - Carlos Figueroa, Chair; - Marco Correa: Vicechair; - Claudio Loader, Secretary; - Osmar Valdebenito, Treasurer; - Dennis Tobar, Director: - Cristóbal Carrasco, Director. We are very grateful for Rocío's service these years, and we wish you all the best. Best regards, *Carlos Figueroa* Chair - Wikimedia Chile

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WikiJournal report for 2019
by Mikael Häggström 08 Sep '20

08 Sep '20

Hello all, The annual report for 2019 for WikiJournal is now submitted to the data portal: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/WikiJournal_2019/Report I am sorry for the delay. Best regards, Mikael Haggstrom

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The Signpost – Volume 16, Issue 8 – 30 August 2020
by Wikipedia Signpost 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

1 0

Wikimedia Foundation Form 990 for FY 2018-2019 now on-wiki
by Jaime Villagomez 29 Aug '20

29 Aug '20

Hello everyone, The Wikimedia Foundation has submitted our annual Form 990 for the Fiscal Year 2018-19 to the US Internal Revenue Service <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service> (IRS) and posted on-wiki[1]. The Form 990 is the annual financial reporting, known as an “information return,” which the IRS requires nonprofit organizations in the United States to file. In addition to posting the Form 990 on-wiki, we have also posted an accompanying page with answers to frequently asked questions related to the form and information we reported.[2] Here are a few key highlights on this year’s Form 990: - The Wikimedia Foundation's total revenue for fiscal year 2018-2019 was US $118.6 million. Our total expenses during this period were US $90.1 million and our total net assets at the end of the fiscal year were US $165.6 million. - At the end of our fiscal year 2018-2019, our revenue exceeded our expenses by US $28.5 million, which increased our operating reserve to $166.5 million, or the equivalent of 17-18 months of expenses per the fiscal year 2019-2020 annual plan <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Medium-term_plan_2019/…>. As reported under our prior Form 990, we have been maintaining the operating reserve at 17-18 months. Our goal is to have sufficient reserve funds to conservatively provide at least 12-18 months of operating expenses in order to mitigate against unforeseen risk, secure operational stability, and ensure the overall financial health of the organization. This principle is consistent with many other financially stable, non-profit organizations that are rated by Charity Navigator <https://www.charitynavigator.org/>. With a stable and secure reserve, we have the ability to fund specific Wikimedia Movement investment opportunities that may arise. - During the fiscal year 2018-2019, we continued to experience growth in our fundraising revenue and success that was attributed to our fundraising campaigns. - We continue to invest in programmatic activities and evaluate to ensure that our allocation percentage is at or above the standard benchmark of 65%. During the fiscal year 2018-2019, we invested 74% in programmatic activities, 14% in Management & General activities, and 12% in fundraising activities. For fiscal year 2019-2020, we continued to maintain our commitment to our programmatic activities and invested approximately 76% of our total spending. - Our expenses increased due to the investment to support our strategic direction with the focus on knowledge equity and knowledge as a service, that is outlined in the Annual Plan <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2018-2019/…>. The major programmatic areas are to evolve our systems and structures and to grow new contributors and content. - Our Governance, Management, and Disclosure practices are committed to maintaining best practices for non-profit charitable organizations, we’ve achieved a score of 100% from Charity Navigator for our accountability and transparency and meet the IRS requirements as applicable. Through reports and discussions like these, the Wikimedia Foundation will continue to strive to provide a responsible level of transparency and accountability. I imagine there are other questions, and I invite you to review the on-wiki FAQ[2], or post your questions on the discussion page should you have any. Thank you to the Foundation's Audit Committee for their oversight and our Staff for their work in developing this year's Form 990 and related communications for filing and public disclosure. Best Regards and Be Well, Jaime [1] - https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/financial-reports/ [2] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_related_information/2018_Wikimedia_… Jaime Villagomez Chief Financial Officer Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.Donate. <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>*

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This Month in GLAM: July 2020
by The 'This Month in GLAM' team 12 Aug '20

12 Aug '20

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The Signpost – Volume 16, Issue 7 – 2 August 2020
by Wikipedia Signpost 03 Aug '20

03 Aug '20

1 0

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