[Foundation-l] Fundraising Letter Feb 2012

[Lodewijk]

Hi Ting,

thank you for the letter. Could you clarify to what extent this is the end
decision, and how much discussion/process should be expected ahead of us?
Going up to this board meeting I have heard both the opinions that the
final decision would be made quickly, and also that definitely no decision
would be made, but rather an inventory, which would allow for a real life
discussion in Paris/Berlin with other stakeholders.

Lodewijk

No dia 9 de Fevereiro de 2012 09:11, Ting Chen <tchen at wikimedia.org>escreveu:

> The Board approves the following letter to be sent to the community:
>
> Dear members of the Wikimedia Movement,
>
> As you are probably aware we have been discussing the the future of
> fundraising and fund dissemination for the Wikimedia Movement for almost 6
> months now. After discussing fundraising and funds dissemination at this
> past meeting, the board has drafted the following statement. It our
> intention to discuss these matters in the coming weeks to come to a final
> decision mid March.
>
> But first we would like to thank everyone who took part in the discussion
> so far and spent their valuable time providing us with their viewpoints
> which we have of course taken into account in our decision making process.
> We hope that you will continue to participate by giving feedback on this
> letter.
>
> ==Funds dissemination==
> The board wants to create a volunteer-driven body to make recommendations
> for funding for movement-wide initiatives (Working title: Funds
> Dissemination Committee, FDC). The Wikimedia Foundation has decision-making
> authority, because it has fiduciary responsibilities to donors which it
> legally cannot delegate. The new body will make recommendations for funds
> dissemination to the Wikimedia Foundation. We anticipate a process in which
> the Wikimedia Foundation will review and approve all but a small minority
> of recommendations from the FDC. In the event that the Wikimedia Foundation
> does not approve a recommendation from the FDC, and the FDC and the
> Wikimedia Foundation aren't subsequently able to reach agreement, then the
> FDC can ask the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees to request the
> recommendation be reconsidered.
>
> #the FDC will be a diverse body of people from across our movement (which
> may include paid staff) with appropriate expertise for this purpose, whose
> primary purpose is to disseminate funds to advance the Wikimedia mission;
> #the WMF staff will support and facilitate the work of the FDC
> #Proposals can range from one time smaller contributions for small
> projects from individuals to larger financing for operational costs of
> chapters or associations
>
> The board intends to evaluate this process together with the FDC and see
> if it is working.
>
> ==Fundraising==
> Our thoughts on fundraising are less specific. We have come to the
> following two statements which are important
>
> * If and when payment processing is done by chapters, it should be done
> primarily for reasons of tax, operational efficiency (including
> incentivizing donor cultivation and relations), should not be in conflict
> with funds dissemination principles and goals, and should avoid a
> perception of entitlement.
>
> * The board is sharpening the criteria for payment processing. Payment
> processing is not a natural path to growth for a chapter; and payment
> processing will likely be an exception -- most chapters will not do so.
>
>
> The Wikimedia Board of Trustees
>
> NB: Please note that rather than spend a LOT of time on wording at this
> time, the board preferred to amend the above text if necessary when moving
> towards a resolution. This letter indicates our intent, and we may
> "wordsmith as needed" in our final resolutions.
>
> --
> Ting Chen
> Member of the Board of Trustees
> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
> E-Mail: tchen at wikimedia.org
>
>
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