On 1/21/06, Scott Keir <scottkeir(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
OK, sorry for answering all of this in the wrong order.
This implies that the chapters are a fairly flexible
structure for
linking with Wikimedia Foundation.
Yes, indeed.
If it is the Foundation's wish to have direct control of the UK
chapter, then we would need to look at an alternative route. Though I'm
not certain one is available. I'm not sure if a "Foreign Branch"
(another form of company structure) can be registered with the Charity
Commission as a charity, for example. I have a sneaky suspicion that we
cannot just covenant (promise) all our income to the Foundation.
As I said in an earlier post, no, Foundation direct control is not the
goal, should never be the goal. And the money issue can be, as I also
said, addressed on a case basis.
The nearest equivalent model that I know of is
ActionAid, the
development/anti-poverty charity. ActionAid UK (AAUK -
[snip]
AAUK is legally independent of
AAI (though they share some directors and probably talk by email a
lot). AAUK makes grants and runs programmes that are independent of
AAl. Both AAi and AAUK have the same ethos.
And this is exactly what we are aiming for.
So, how do I see this working with Wiki UK and
Wikimedia Foundation?
1) the aims of UK and Foundation should be as closely aligned as
possible. (I think we've achieved this.)
Yes.
2) UK will enter into some grant contracts with the
Foundation to
deliver some specified work - eg the provision of 100,000 pages of an
online encyclopaedia free of charge to persons in the UK, in English,
for the calendar year 2007.
Hmm, not sure what you mean here. Could you explain further?
3) UK will consider requests for funding from
organisations like the
Foundation for financial support for activities that further UK's aims.
This could include general financial support for the Foundation. But it
could also fund other groups and other activities (eg it could make a
grant to someone in Glasgow to run a "Wikis are great - contribute
today" event. )
Yep. Exactly.
4) UK will undertake its own activities, which will be
in line with the
ethos of the Foundation, but will be independent (ie without a formal
contract between the two). So for example, UK could undertake, provide
grants to or commission:
a) events or teacher resources in the UK demonstrating/promoting the
use and development of online free resources (such as, say, Wikipedia
and WikiBooks)
b) the digitising of public domain content such as books, images etc to
enable wider public access to them via electronic dissemination (such
as, say, WikiBooks);
c) the translation of existing public domain resources (such as, say,
bits of Wikipedia) into other languages that would be of benefit to the
UK public (eg Urdu).
a) yes, b)yes and c)Yes.
I think you have it pinned down.
Delphine
--
~notafish
