[Foundation-l] A train without destination?

[Robert Horning]

Thomas Dalton wrote:
> On 16/03/2008, Geoffrey Plourde <geo.plrd at yahoo.com> wrote:
>   
>> I.E. they could transfer it to Bill Gates for one dollar, then donate the dollar back into the Foundation.
>>     
>
> They certainly could. Whether or not they could do so legally is
> another matter. I believe the trustees are legally obliged to work in
> the interests of achieving the foundation's stated goals, in the same
> way the board of a public company are legally obliged to work in the
> interests of making money for the shareholders. I could be wrong, of
> course, but that's my understanding.
>   

In this case, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit 
corporation, and there is a whole other set of laws that apply.  In this 
case, the "investors", which would mean those who donated money, but may 
also include donations "in kind" in terms of adding content to the 
websites.  Donor lawsuits can and have happened in the past, at least if 
the donations were given with a certain presumption of how they would be 
used, and then not used in that manner.  Not easy to prove or win, but 
not impossible either.

-- Robert Horning