Patricio Lorente wrote:
We’ve heard your questions and want to address them
broadly, as well as
provide more information about the breakdown of Sue’s compensation during
this time.
Thank you for this e-mail.
One point of confusion is for the period this
compensation covers. This is
reasonable, this confused even some of us involved in preparing this
response. Although the majority of activities reported on the Form 990
cover the Foundation’s fiscal year (specifically, the six months between
July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015), the IRS requires that details about
compensation for certain highly-paid individuals are for the full calendar
year in which the fiscal year begins or ends.
This parenthetical confused me. Six months from July 2014 to June 2015?
(2) Retention bonus to compensate Sue for lost
opportunities during the
transition period: $165,000.
This is the key piece that I think most people didn't understand or
realize. Was this information published anywhere previously (e.g., in the
Board minutes)? I wouldn't expect to see an exact amount, of course, but
this is a pretty substantial amount of donor money, so I'd expect at least
a "we approved a retention bonus for special advisor Sue Gardner"-type
notice somewhere, typically on
wikimediafoundation.org.
Sue’s special advisor status with the Foundation ended
on May 31, 2016,
and she is no longer on contract with the Foundation or receiving any
compensation from it.
I can't help but think about the tempestuous past year that the Wikimedia
Foundation has had, including issues with Sue's immediate successor.
MZMcBride