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