[Foundation-l] Putting the Foundation back in WMF

[Oldak Quill]

On 16/11/2007, Lars Aronsson <lars at aronsson.se> wrote:
>
> Already from the start, the word "foundation" in the title of the
> Wikimedia Foundation has caused confusion.  In Florida, you
> register a corporation, and "foundation" is just part of a name.
> In some countries in Europe, there are completely different laws
> for corporations, associations and foundations (German: Stiftung).
>
> In short, a foundation (Stiftung) is an immutable long-term,
> self-governing holder of money.  A typically example is the Nobel
> Foundation, which holds the money inherited from Alfred Nobel, and
> every year spends the interest on the Nobel Prizes.

In the UK, "an immutable long-term, self-governing holder of money"
would be a fund or a trust. Still in terms of the UK, "foundation" is
a fair description of what the Wikimedia Foundation does. Legal
definitions change between countries, so I'm not sure what your point
is.I don't think a legal term exists in *all legal jurisdicitons* that
would validly describe what the WF does and not cause confusion.

-- 
Oldak Quill (oldakquill at gmail.com)