[Wikimedia-l] Re: The Endowment, again

2023-03-02 Thread Risker 
On Thu, 2 Mar 2023 at 09:26,  wrote:

>
> Why didn't WMF do the groundwork for transferring the endowment funds from
> Tides to a WMF 501(c)3 given that there were over SIX long years to make
> such plans?
>
> Why does WMF STILL not know how to effect this transfer or when it will be
> completed, despite the passage of six months?
>

The timeline of when the IRS would grant 501(c)3 status was completely out
of the control of the WMF; they could make the application in a timely way,
but they could not be certain at what point this status would be granted.
I think we all recognize this; the IRS is a governmental organization whose
decision-making process and timeline are completely outside of the control
of the WMF, Wikipedia, or any other third party.  While the WMF could
reasonably expect a positive decision, it had no way of being certain when
that decision would come.

I have little doubt that many of the same people complaining of how long it
is taking to move things around *now* would also complain if staff had been
hired for an entity that didn't yet exist, based on the prospect that it
would eventually exist. Since the 501(c)3 didn't yet exist, all of its
staffing costs would have come out of the WMF budget at the same time that
other areas were being cut back in relation to lower-than-expected
fundraising.  I've got a lot more liberal a view of WMF spending than many
others in this thread, and even I think that would have been a really poor
use of limited resources.

It's not causing any form of disruption to make these changes in a
deliberate and thoughtful manner.  Everyone can take a deep breath.

Risker/Anne
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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees March 2023 meeting agenda

2023-03-02 Thread Chuck Roslof 
Hi all,

On March 9, 2023, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees will be
gathering in New York City for its quarterly meeting. The agenda for the
meeting has been published on Foundation Wiki:
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Agendas/2023-03-09

After the Board meeting concludes, representatives from the Movement
Charter Drafting Committee and the Wikimedia Endowment Board will be
joining the Board of Trustees and Wikimedia Foundation staff for a two day
long strategic retreat to review several areas of focus for multi-year
Foundation planning.

We will share more information after the retreat.

Best,
Chuck

==
Charles M. Roslof
Lead Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
Pronouns: they / he
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[Wikimedia-l] Join us!! WikiAfrica Hour Special Launch Edition: Africa Environment WikiFocus

2023-03-02 Thread Nonny Ntahla 
Wikimedians!

Join us on Friday, March 3rd for our Wiki Africa Hour
 Special Edition as we
launch the Africa Environment WikiFocus Drive
. This exciting event
will be hosted by Anthony Ibe from Africa Tech Radio.

Register Today!


Guests include:

   -

   Natasha Kimani: Head of Partnerships and Research, Africa No Filter
   -

   Tracy Anyango: Programmes Officer, Center for Justice Governance and
   Environmental Action, Kenya
   -

   Tatjana Baleta: Wikimedia Visiting Fellow for Climate, Global Systems
   Institute, University of Exeter, UK


Here’s what you can learn:

   -

   Media coverage of climate change in Africa
   -

   Wiki projects on Climate Change
   -

   Climate change policies and environmental policies
   -

   How YOU can contribute
   -

   … and so much MORE!


Logistics:

Date: Friday, 3rd March

When: 16:00 UTC (please find link to your local time)


Where: Link to be shared upon registration!

Webinar Language: English (some language translations will be provided live)

Your commitment to Africa knowledge is greatly appreciated.

It will be a pleasure to see you there!

Best regards

Nonny Ntlahla

Wiki in Africa 
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[Wikimedia-l] Re: The Endowment, again

2023-03-02 Thread myindigolife 
Hello, Lodewijk (Anders).  

Let me preface this by saying that I am responding to you with the benefit of 
years of IRL experience and education in the area of financial due diligence. I 
am aware of the "fallacy of appeal to authority". I am not doing that. In this 
case, "authority" would be mandatory reporting requirements as mentioned by SJ 
aka Samuel Klein in his remarks of 10 Jan 2023 
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/2JBV2WWRWVS5FOXRG4NZYKAOJK6X3XCX/
  I am confident in his oversight of mandatory reporting, given my interactions 
with him as a Wikipedia editor. I am not an attorney. This is me in IRL 
https://linkedin.com/in/4lisa I know about ethical and defensible asset 
management. I'm not referring to ESG, but rather, to fair disclosure and 
adherence to investment guidelines. 

My tone is harsher than is my want due to your response to Andreas of 19 Jan 
2023 
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/IC32GRFZPR5JRJ43S2GPETUTNZP3JWQW/
 challenging whether his questions were constructive. Andreas is unfailingly 
polite and courteous, far more so than necessary by U.S. standards for 
expressions of fiduciary and custodial concern. Since the WMF and Endowment 
funds are domiciled in the U.S., our local customs should be followed. Dan 
Szymborski 
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/STYZAODTWAI2VUR73ZB23LNKQKP2Y2JA/
 and The Cuncator 
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/NWN67V2UCH4NXZ7QNFLM6DNBO6QAUOKK/
 both addressed this already, but in cordial terms. I am accustomed to speaking 
in the voice of governance and compliance IRL, thus wish to reinforce their 
defense of Andreas.

Yes, you are correct in your reply to Lane Chance: 
>we are in the process" typically means "no, not yet. But we are going towards 
>that new situation"

The problem here is this: That response is insufficient because of the time 
value of money. 

Inquiries about the status of assets under beneficial ownership--whether held 
by a charitable organization or other entity--require a response that includes 
both magnitude AND control. In other words, we need to know the dollar amount 
AND a projected time frame associated with a change in control of these assets. 
(Note too that the trustees of these funds must be held accountable for both 
magnitude and time.)

I will make an engineering math analogy. A vector requires two values in order 
to completely describe it: Magnitude and Direction. The Magnitude of the 
Endowment is approximately $100 million. The Form 990s provide additional 
details of magnitude (although that isn't easily accessible to the Movement). 
Instead of Direction, given that this is an Endowment not a vector, we need to 
know where the funds are held, (i.e. by whom they are controlled) and how they 
are invested.

WMF has informed us that U.S. Internal Revenue Service granted a non-profit 
501(c)3 organizational status to the Endowment no later than October 2022. 
Many, many inquiries, by Andreas and others, were required to obtain this 
information. Even the news media (in Italy) were unable to get a meaningful 
response. A meaningful response as of October 2022 would have been:

Yes, the Endowment has been granted non-profit 501(c)3 status as of  and we anticipate transfer of control from Tides to a WMF controlled 
entity no later than . Any delays and the reasons for those 
delays will be communicated to the public and the Wikimedia movement via our 
periodic WMF blog posts at . 

It is now March 1, 2023. We still do not know what  is. 

Why didn't WMF do the groundwork for transferring the endowment funds from 
Tides to a WMF 501(c)3 given that there were over SIX long years to make such 
plans? 

Why does WMF STILL not know how to effect this transfer or when it will be 
completed, despite the passage of six months? 

My greater concern is based on what SJ said, and the quotes provided by Lane 
Chance. These suggest that WMF does not intend to transfer the Endowment away 
from the Tides Foundation, despite achieving 501(c)3 status. That means the WMF 
Endowment would remain under the control of Tides as a Tides Collective Action 
Fund. Based on Tides FAQ for Collective Action Funds 
https://www.tides.org/faq/what-are-collective-action-funds-cafs/ Tides has the 
authority to disburse WMF Endowment funds in support of Tides Foundation’s 
charitable purposes. These are NOT the same as Wikimedia's charitable purposes.
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