Re: [Wikimedia-l] Naive questions: what could do the movement with 1B dollars/euros?

[Guillaume Paumier]

Hello,

2017-05-17 10:08 GMT-07:00 David Cuenca Tudela :

> Are there any activities that could have a meaningful impact if we ask
> donors for such amount of seed money? Are there reasons to do so?
>


> Can we offer anything else in this world than truth, free knowledge, and an
> open inclusive environment?
>

"Truth, free knowledge, and an open inclusive environment" is already a
pretty big commitment :)

From a numbers perspective, USD/EUR 1 billion isn't that much of a stretch.
Consider that the combined funds raised by the Wikimedia Foundation [1] and
Wikimedia Deutschland [2] last year amount to approximately $85 million
[3]. We're currently developing a movement-wide strategy using the 2030
time horizon [4], meaning 13 years from now.

If we're very conservative and assume no increase at all in funds raised
across the movement during that period, that's still a low estimate of $85
million × 13 years ≈ $1.1 billion.

Of course, I'm not advocating against having big dreams. We can certainly
do a lot more if we manage to accelerate our efforts and find new ways to
finance them. My point is that it's less about the numbers, and more about
what we decide to focus on (what we use the money for), and how committed
we are to that goal (how quickly we get it).

This thread is a useful thought exercise because it helps us think big
about what we really care about. The good thing is that now is the perfect
time for everyone to share their thoughts on what they care about and what
they think we should focus on over the next decade. The goal of the
movement strategy discussions is precisely that. [4].

So I encourage everyone to participate in those discussions and make their
voice heard. Because if we put our minds to it and agree on what to use it
for, getting that $/€ 1 billion isn't unrealistic at all, and we can get it
long before 2030.


[1] https://annual.wikimedia.org/2016/financials.html
[2] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Jahr
esbericht_Wikimedia_Deutschland_2016.pdf
[3] This is a low estimate that doesn't include funds raised by other
organizations. WMF and WMDE were the easiest to find.
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017

-- 
Guillaume Paumier
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[Wikimedia-l] FDC elections: Call for candidates

[Delphine Ménard]

*[TL;DR]*
FDC elections are coming up. If you want to run or know someone who would
be good on the FDC or as an ombudsperson, please see
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2017




Dear Wikimedians,

As you may know, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) [1] is a volunteer
committee that makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on how to
spend funds to achieve the movement’s goals. Each year, the FDC meets twice
in person to deliberate on annual plan grant proposals submitted by
affiliates and aligned partners of the Wikimedia movement. Allocated
through a participatory, transparent, collaborative grantmaking process,
these funds are used by organizations to expand and deepen participation
and enable the creation and curation of quality content on Wikimedia
projects.

As foreseen in the FDC framework [2], five seats on the committee are open
to election this year, as is the position of the ombudsperson. Serving on
this committee is an opportunity to deepen your engagement in the movement,
build your leadership and experience, and work closely with other
colleagues who are interested in helping the movement achieve more impact.

The commitments are significant: you will be expected to come to at least
two face-to-face meetings each year that last up to 5 days, in addition to
reviewing more than 15 proposals and significant background documents each
year. For most committee members, participation in the meetings also
includes significant international travel. Note that the committee will
meet for a four/five-day period mid-November, possibly in San Francisco, so
you must be available during this period. The other mandatory face to face
meeting usually happens around mid-May.

We're looking for a diverse group of people with the following attributes:

* Experience directing or evaluating programs, within or outside of the
Wikimedia movement;
* Expertise with grants (you have received or managed grant funds or you
have experience making grants);
* Knowledge and understanding of, and personal credibility within the
Wikimedia movement and on the Wikimedia projects (that is, experience with
Wikimedia programs, Wikimedia organizations, or on-wiki leadership roles);
* We seek gender, geographic and linguistic diversity on the committee, as
well as experience with diverse roles within the Wikimedia movement (e.g.
content contributors, program leaders, user group leaders, functionaries,
chapter board members)
* To find more information about eligibility requirements, how to nominate
candidates, or to publish your self-nomination, please visit the election
homepage:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2017

Please reach out to me with any questions about these elections or the work
the FDC does.

Cheers,

Delphine Ménard


[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Funds_Dissemination_Committee
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC
-- 
Delphine Ménard
Program Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
User:Delphine_(WMF) 
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