[Foundation-l] UK Wikimedia Foundation notes (was Tax status in the Netherlands for the Foundation)

[David Gerard]

James D. Forrester wrote:

> Yes, I think that having chapters in countries in the EU is worthwhile for
> two reasons - firstly, it helps with donations by providing a tax-relieved
> method of donating (at least, in some countries), and secondly, it helps
> foster a sense of community and belonging in the members.


Thirdly, tax deductions. Fourthly, tax deductions ;-)


> Currently just France and Germany have chapters set up, but we are looking
> at setting one up for the UK soon-ish. Eventually we may want to form a
> Wikimedia Europe organisation to liase and so on at a larger level, but for
> now this will suffice.


I do hope we can make progress on this tomorrow!

(Without me being dragged *too* deeply into it. I've done my time with
nonprofits and am entirely aware that being on the board of one and getting
anything done can take up 36 hours of any 24-hour day, and I have way too
many other things in progress ;-)


> One this that you may want to look out for is what exactly you can do whilst
> retaining the special tax status - for example, a UK chapter will not be
> able to merely blindly collect money for the main Foundation, but instead
> have charitable aims in and of itself (which might in practice not make a
> great deal of difference, of course - collecting money for international
> Internet-based education and learning projects vs. collecting money for the
> Wikimedia Foundation).


Apart from a proxy farm, there will be things like grants to other UK
nonprofits to do stuff or GFDL stuff; actively push the proposed Scots
Wikipedia forward; help along the other smaller British-language wikis;
provide a focal point to lure contributors for more British content.
All those are just off the top of my head. (Someone noting all this down
for tomorrow? I should be there 3pm-4pm ;-)


> Of course, you will need to have a quite large group of people willing and
> able to put in the amount of work required to run the chapter, which I
> imagine is not entirely simple (especially if none of you have done this
> sort of thing before), and are able to stick with the chapter through the
> longer term.


Yep. "Raise your hand if you've been on a nonprofit before ..."


- d.