UK Charity Status for the world's favourite encyclopaedia - and a milestone
for Charity Law
http://bit.ly/rZFihf #WMUK
And if anyone fancies Tweeting about our success - here is what I intend to
tweet - feel free to borrow & adapt to what you feel best - but try and keep
the #WMUK at the end so we can track the Twitter coverage
Steve
From: wikimediauk-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Chris
Keating
Sent: 06 November 2011 21:12
To: wikimediauk-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimediauk-l] We've done it!!
On Thursday we finally heard back from the Charity Commission that they have
agreed to register us as a charity, number Registered Charity, No.1144513.
Thank you all very much indeed for your support, patience and forbearance
over the last few months (and years!) while we have been sorting this out,
and to everyone who turned up to amend our Objects a few weeks ago.
This is obviously a hugely significant step for us as an organisation. It is
also a recognition of the quality of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement as
a whole - the Charity Commission in their decision took pains to distinguish
Wikipedia from a random collection of information on the Internet, which is
what they were worried we were. And we're also told this it's a significant
development in charity law. (Well, if it was really simple, we would have
done it ages ago...)
We'd like thank to our lawyers (Stone King) and to John Byrne and Steve
Virgin who have carefully navigated our path along this journey. You can
find out more on our blog - <http://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2011/11/charity/>
http://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2011/11/charity/
We already have Gift Aid forms working (why not fill one in here?
<http://donate.wikimedia.org.uk/thanks-gift-aid>
http://donate.wikimedia.org.uk/thanks-gift-aid ) and we'll be doing our best
to make sure we can get Gift Aid on as many donations as possible in this
Autumn's fundraiser, which starts next week.
We've been holding off the announcement to try to maximise our press
coverage, but please now join the Board in cracking open a metaphorical
bottle of champagne... :-D
Regards,
Chris
(on behalf of the Wikimedia UK Board)