Hello everyone,
At the meeting of the Board of Trustees on 7th March a decision was made in lieu of a permanent Chief Executive appointment that the full board of trustees would return to considering and approving applications for memberships i.e. these will not be done under the scheme of delegation by a staff member until a permanent appointment is made and following induction.
In practical terms this means new members (whether a former lapsed member applying or a brand new member) will apply for membership as before, but it will not be approved and therefore active until the date of the next meeting of the board of Trustees.
The language on our sign up page now reads:
New member:
Your application to become a member of Wikimedia U.K. is now pending approval. If you are applying following a previous membership expiring then you will need to be re-approved. Following a decision made by Trustees on 7th March 2015 memberships will be approved by the full board of Trustees pending the recruitment of a permanent Chief Executive. The dates of board meetings for the year are 20th June, 25th July (AGM), 12th September, 12th December. New memberships, including those of former members who have lapsed and are re-applying will not be approved until these dates. If you wish you application to be approved today, for example, in order to apply for a micro-grant, please contact membership@wikimedia.org.uk with your request and reasons.
Please do continue to encourage supporters and event attendees to consider applying for membership, only make them aware that there will be a wait for approval unless there is an urgent need to consider sooner based on project support (Grant application/Equipment loan)
Katherine Bavage Fundraising Manager
Wikimedia UK+44 20 7065 0752
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).
Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.