[Foundation-l] Board Resolutions from March 30th 2012

[Nathan]

On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 5:52 PM, Michael Peel <michael.peel at wikimedia.org.uk
> wrote:

> "We ask the Executive Director not to allow any additional chapters to
> payment process, until the Board revisits the framework for fundraising and
> payment processing in late 2015 in advance of the November 2016 fundraising
> campaign."
>
> This is very disappointing. It's a real shame that chapters aside from
> WMDE, WMFR, WMUK and WMCH aren't being given any encouragement to develop
> their capabilities for handling donations. I have to say that I think this
> is a fundamental misstep for the Wikimedia movement, and one that we will
> come to regret in the future.
>
> On voting transparency: this is a great step forward. However, I would
> encourage the WMF to take a further step, and to explain why trustees voted
> approve/abstain/against. This could potentially be done by (for examples)
> adding notes next to votes explaining reservations or key supporting
> factors, or by making resolutions more focused (e.g. the fundraising
> decision could have been split into four: principles, chapter payment
> processing, four chapters, and additional chapters, which would have
> provided more insight here).
>
> Thanks,
> Mike Peel
> (Personal viewpoint)
>

Since payment processing is not contemplated as a vector for receiving
funds, either in 2012 or beyond, it makes sense to permit processing only
where it provides a significant advantage in raising funds and where the
reliability and integrity of funds processing is not in doubt. As the
resolution states, all entities are permitted (and, I'm sure, encouraged)
to raise funds in other ways.

While I personally believe that the FDC model is flawed, and that the
concept of the "wiki way" is not helpfully transferable to managing large
amounts of money, I think that under the circumstances the Board has taken
the best possible steps with these three resolutions.

~Nathan