[Wikimedia-l] Departure
All, For the last four years, I’ve led the Wikimedia Foundation’s finance, administration, and office IT teams. I've had the opportunity to work closely with many of you through collaboration with the Wikimedia affiliates. They have been remarkable experiences, and I am grateful for all I’ve learned from you during my time here. Therefore it is with some sadness that today I am letting you know that I’ve decided to take a new opportunity outside the WMF, at a California-based foundation focused on public education. It has been a privilege to work with so many exceptional people over the years. I’ve watched the WMF mature and take on many new challenges, and our community grow and diversify. Our commitment to our free knowledge mission is as strong as ever, and now shared by even more people. While I’ll no longer be on staff, I plan to find ways to stay involved in the Wikimedia community. I look forward to seeing the movement continue to do its important work. My last day will be September 30. I look forward to staying in touch and continuing to support our mission. Best, Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Environmental impact of Wikipedia
Here is the link to the other Greenpeace Report. <http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/2015ClickCleanKeyFindings.pdf> This fiscal year we are going to see what can be done, if anything, to influence the owners of the data centers and the building owner for our offices to use more renewable energy. Regards, Garfield On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 8:25 AM, Gerard Meijssen wrote: > Hoi, > Greenpeace has a great writeup on the subject. It describes the current > issues with the use of energy and how big websites make a difference. > Thanks, > GerardM > > > http://www.greenpeace.nl/Global/nederland/report/2015/Klimaat%20en%20energie/Clicking%20Clean%20-%20A%20Guide%20to%20Building%20the%20Green%20Internet.pdf > > On 5 July 2015 at 17:45, Andrea Zanni wrote: > > > Hello everyone. > > I tried to find the info myself, with little success: > > I'm interested to know about the environmental impact of running > Wikipedia > > (carbon emissions, etc.) and what we are doing about it. > > Sorry if I missed wikimedia-l threads, or other sources. > > > > The only thing I found regarding a green data center is a 2009 press > > release [1]. > > If I understand correctly, it was a carbon neutral data center. > > > > But, it was 2009. Now, it seems that we have a new data center [2][3]. > > > > I'm wondering what is the environmental impact of it, as "encironmental > > impact" was in the primary requirements for the choice [3]. > > More generally: does the Wikimedia Foundation have a "green" policy? Do > > other chapters? What can we do about it? Are we interested in doing > > something about it? > > > > IMHO, I think we should discuss this. > > I remember quite vividly that a representative of Greenpeace, at > Wikimania > > in London, was quite clear in saying that we are not really good in this > > matter. > > > > As Wikimedia, as a whole, is more and more exposed (we now fight for the > > privacy of our users, (and I'm personally very proud of it)), > > and as we are the 5th website in the world, maybe it's a topic worth > > talking. > > > > Thank you > > > > Aubrey > > > > > > [1] > > > > > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Selects_EvoSwitch_June_2009 > > [2] > > > > > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/05/05/wikimedia-foundation-selects-cyrusone-in-dallas-as-new-data-center/ > > [3] > > > > > http://www.cyrusone.com/data-center-locations/dallas-data-center-carrollton/#a1 > > [4] > > > > > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/RFP/2013_Datacenter#Primary_Requirements > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan for FY 15-16
Hi Pine, I have answered your questions in the text of your email. Regards, Garfield On Tue, May 26, 2015 at 2:42 PM, Pine W wrote: > Hi Garfield, > > Thanks for this update. > > * Is this intended to be the last annual plan, as WMF shifts to a quarterly > planning cycle? If so, how will Fundraising know how much money to raise > each quarter/year? > This will not be the last annual plan. We will continue the annual plan process in future years. > > * Are SMART goals documented for each department? If so, where can we see > them? > In the quarterly goal setting process, the annual plan will be segmented into quarterly goals for each department or team. The success of the quarterly goals set by each department or team will reported on in the Wikimedia Foundation Quarterly Report <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Quarterly_Report,_FY_2014-15_Q3_(January-March).pdf>. > > * I see that there are many new proposed FTEs but I'm unclear on what SMART > goals those FTEs are intended to address. Is there a page that documents > clear links between the FTE hires, the SMART goals for their departments, > and explanations of how current capacity is insufficient to address the > needs that these new hires are addressing? > Additional information will be provided on the goals and how the new hires will impact those goals. > > I support making targeted in FTE increases that are clearly linked to goals > and/or filling gaps, and I would like to see those links in this document > or in an appendix. > Thank you for this feedback. > > I am very interested in hearing what my fellow Wikimedians think of this > document, particularly those who have experience with managing our > affiliates and those with FDC experience. > > Thanks, > > > Pine > > > On Tue, May 26, 2015 at 2:27 PM, Garfield Byrd > wrote: > > > The draft Annual Plan for FY 15-16 > > < > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16> > > is > > available for > > community input and > > comments. Please post any suggestions on the Talk page > > < > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16&action=edit&redlink=1 > > > > > . > > > > The objective of this process is to > > make certain that we have > > community feedback on > > this initial > > draft > > of the > > annual plan for next fiscal year (7/1/2015 - 6/30/2016) > > . > > > > We value this input to > > > > assist in the improvement of > > the final version > > > > . > > This > > draft > > version of the > > annual plan is also being reviewed by the Wikimedia Foundation Board of > > Trustees so that the Wikimedia Foundation can review input from the Board > > of Trustees and community at the same time. > > > > T > > he final version of the Annual Plan is scheduled to be > > submitted to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > > for a vote > > on June 15, 2015 > > . > > > > Best regards, > > > > Garfield > > > > > > > > Best regards, > > > > Garfield > > > > -- > > Garfield Byrd > > Chief of Finance and Administration > > Wikimedia Foundation > > 415.839.6885 ext 6787 > > 415.882.0495 (fax) > > www.wikimediafoundation.org > > > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in > > the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > > > > *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@lists.wikimedia.org> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan for FY 15-16
The draft Annual Plan for FY 15-16 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16> is available for community input and comments. Please post any suggestions on the Talk page <https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16&action=edit&redlink=1> . The objective of this process is to make certain that we have community feedback on this initial draft of the annual plan for next fiscal year (7/1/2015 - 6/30/2016) . We value this input to assist in the improvement of the final version . This draft version of the annual plan is also being reviewed by the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees so that the Wikimedia Foundation can review input from the Board of Trustees and community at the same time. T he final version of the Annual Plan is scheduled to be submitted to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees for a vote on June 15, 2015 . Best regards, Garfield Best regards, Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF office location and remodel
I think with this and many other discussions, form should follow function. So as we begin to introduce and implement our new Strategic Plan it will inform this issue over time. Regards, Garfield On Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 5:46 AM, rupert THURNER wrote: > Hi Garfield, many thanks for your answer! > On Apr 9, 2015 5:35 PM, "Garfield Byrd" wrote: > > > > Hi Pine, > > > > I have answered your questions in your email. > > > > Regards, > > > > Garfield > > > > On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 12:38 AM, Pine W wrote: > > > > > Hi Garfield, > > > > > > Ok, follow up questions: > > > > > > * Does WMF have a plan to keep the Foundation and its essential > functions > > > operational if, say, the San Francisco main building all SF staff are > > > completely offline and unreachable by phone for a week after an > earthquake? > > > > > Yes, we have a plan in place in case the building in San Francisco is > > unavailable. All San Francisco staff will not be offline for a week > after > > an earthquake. Not all staff live in San Francisco, and Loma Prieta > showed > > that even a major earthquake does not take the entire San Francisco Bay > > Area offline. So essential functions will continue even after an > > earthquake. > > > > In addition, even though many of our staff are in San Francisco, we do > have > > staff in many other states and 18 countries. > > > > * Would there be worthwhile advantages to establishing a second main > office > > in someplace like the US east coast or Europe? > > > > We have tried to setup a center of activity in other states and it did > not > > prove to be worthwhile, as staff preferred to work from home or other > > locations. So it was an an additional cost with any additional benefit. > It > > is my understanding that having an office outside the United States > creates > > complications for Wikipedia and the other Wiki projects in the area of > > content protection. > > To create less headaches about this would it not be better to split up wmf > in two, one doing the software at any convenient location, while the other > one would own the domains, hosting and money? > > > > Thanks, and please reply when it's convenient for you. > > > > > > I'll follow up offline with HR about talent pool questions. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > Pine > > > On Apr 8, 2015 5:16 PM, "Garfield Byrd" wrote: > > > > > >> Hi Pine, > > >> > > >> If the Foundation decides to move, the cost of making the space usable > > >> for our staff is not a recoverable cost from the building owner. > > >> > > >> At this point, WMF is not planning on moving out of the San Francisco > > >> market area. We will be doing our best to manage cost when we renew > our > > >> lease or move. The advantages of having good access to talented people > and > > >> organizations WMF interacts with far outweigh any advantages to moving > to a > > >> lower cost location outside of the San Francisco market area. > > >> > > >> Regards, > > >> > > >> Garfield > > >> > > >> On Tue, Apr 7, 2015 at 9:58 PM, Pine W wrote: > > >> > > >>> Hi Garfield, > > >>> > > >>> I'm asking this on Wikimedia-l because a number of Wikimedians have > > >>> noted the expensiveness of the San Francisco area including its high > cost > > >>> of living for staff, employer competition for engineering talent, and > > >>> associated high salaries for WMF employees. > > >>> > > >>> I see on > > >>> > > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/8/8a/RFP_for_Real_Estate_Services.pdf > > >>> that WMF is considering relocating its offices when its current main > office > > >>> lease expires. > > >>> > > >>> Questions: > > >>> > > >>> What happens to the remodel expenses that WMF is paying for at its > > >>> current location? If WMF vacates the premesis, will it be compensated > for > > >>> the remodel by the building owner? > > >>> > > >>> I hope that WMF is contemplating fully exiting the San Francisco > market > > >>> area in order to economize, get better value for our donors' funds, > have > > >>>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF office location and remodel
Hi Fae, We have 215 staff in total, with a hub of activity in San Francisco and other staff in several other states and 18 countries. So I agree talented people can be found globally and WMF does hire the best talent it can find wherever they are located. At this point adding offices in other locations add cost without any benefits to the community or the Wikimedia Foundation. We also do not have the luxury of Mozilla's $300 million budget that can support a London office or Microsoft's billions to have a globally distributed workforce with offices. So we are not closing the door to anything. Based on our test project of trying to develop centers of activity in other parts of the United States there is no need for additional offices. We do need and will continue to hire a globally distributed staff of talented people to support our global community of talented volunteers. Regards, Garfield On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 2:19 AM, Fæ wrote: > On 9 April 2015 at 01:16, Garfield Byrd wrote: > > ... The advantages of having good access to talented people and > > organizations WMF interacts with far outweigh any advantages to moving > to a > > lower cost location outside of the San Francisco market area. > > I find the world-view expressed here slightly odd to read, perhaps > because I am more European than American in background. > > My background includes working for long periods with many companies in > the U.S. (such as Microsoft) and we managed to do that perfectly with > a handful of employees in a Seattle office, and most developers and > internal operations such as HR, finance etc. in Europe (very few of > these people ever had a need or desire to talk directly with customers > or partner organizations). It was easy enough for me to visit the U.S. > a couple of times a year when there was a lot going on there, and work > on a daily basis within a lively virtual team spread out in offices > across London, Paris and New York. > > "Talented people" can be found in many places including San Francisco, > and though Google is incredibly important, there many other critically > important potential open knowledge partners without headquarters in SF > (Europeana springs to mind). Even Mozilla has a very nice office to > work with here in London. The idea that having all functions in SF has > advantages that "far outweigh" all other considerations seems to > over-egg the case, perhaps it would be a good thing to leave the door > open a crack for alternative ways of working to be possible in a far > future. > > Fae > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF office location and remodel
Hi Pine, I have answered your questions in your email. Regards, Garfield On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 12:38 AM, Pine W wrote: > Hi Garfield, > > Ok, follow up questions: > > * Does WMF have a plan to keep the Foundation and its essential functions > operational if, say, the San Francisco main building all SF staff are > completely offline and unreachable by phone for a week after an earthquake? > Yes, we have a plan in place in case the building in San Francisco is unavailable. All San Francisco staff will not be offline for a week after an earthquake. Not all staff live in San Francisco, and Loma Prieta showed that even a major earthquake does not take the entire San Francisco Bay Area offline. So essential functions will continue even after an earthquake. In addition, even though many of our staff are in San Francisco, we do have staff in many other states and 18 countries. * Would there be worthwhile advantages to establishing a second main office in someplace like the US east coast or Europe? We have tried to setup a center of activity in other states and it did not prove to be worthwhile, as staff preferred to work from home or other locations. So it was an an additional cost with any additional benefit. It is my understanding that having an office outside the United States creates complications for Wikipedia and the other Wiki projects in the area of content protection. > Thanks, and please reply when it's convenient for you. > > I'll follow up offline with HR about talent pool questions. > > Thanks, > > Pine > On Apr 8, 2015 5:16 PM, "Garfield Byrd" wrote: > >> Hi Pine, >> >> If the Foundation decides to move, the cost of making the space usable >> for our staff is not a recoverable cost from the building owner. >> >> At this point, WMF is not planning on moving out of the San Francisco >> market area. We will be doing our best to manage cost when we renew our >> lease or move. The advantages of having good access to talented people and >> organizations WMF interacts with far outweigh any advantages to moving to a >> lower cost location outside of the San Francisco market area. >> >> Regards, >> >> Garfield >> >> On Tue, Apr 7, 2015 at 9:58 PM, Pine W wrote: >> >>> Hi Garfield, >>> >>> I'm asking this on Wikimedia-l because a number of Wikimedians have >>> noted the expensiveness of the San Francisco area including its high cost >>> of living for staff, employer competition for engineering talent, and >>> associated high salaries for WMF employees. >>> >>> I see on >>> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/8/8a/RFP_for_Real_Estate_Services.pdf >>> that WMF is considering relocating its offices when its current main office >>> lease expires. >>> >>> Questions: >>> >>> What happens to the remodel expenses that WMF is paying for at its >>> current location? If WMF vacates the premesis, will it be compensated for >>> the remodel by the building owner? >>> >>> I hope that WMF is contemplating fully exiting the San Francisco market >>> area in order to economize, get better value for our donors' funds, have >>> less competition for talent, and lower costs of living for staff. Is this >>> being considered? >>> >>> Thanks very much, >>> >>> Pine >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Garfield Byrd >> Chief of Finance and Administration >> Wikimedia Foundation >> 415.839.6885 ext 6787 >> 415.882.0495 (fax) >> www.wikimediafoundation.org >> >> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in >> the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! >> >> *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* >> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF office location and remodel
Hi Pine, If the Foundation decides to move, the cost of making the space usable for our staff is not a recoverable cost from the building owner. At this point, WMF is not planning on moving out of the San Francisco market area. We will be doing our best to manage cost when we renew our lease or move. The advantages of having good access to talented people and organizations WMF interacts with far outweigh any advantages to moving to a lower cost location outside of the San Francisco market area. Regards, Garfield On Tue, Apr 7, 2015 at 9:58 PM, Pine W wrote: > Hi Garfield, > > I'm asking this on Wikimedia-l because a number of Wikimedians have noted > the expensiveness of the San Francisco area including its high cost of > living for staff, employer competition for engineering talent, and > associated high salaries for WMF employees. > > I see on > http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/8/8a/RFP_for_Real_Estate_Services.pdf > that WMF is considering relocating its offices when its current main office > lease expires. > > Questions: > > What happens to the remodel expenses that WMF is paying for at its current > location? If WMF vacates the premesis, will it be compensated for the > remodel by the building owner? > > I hope that WMF is contemplating fully exiting the San Francisco market > area in order to economize, get better value for our donors' funds, have > less competition for talent, and lower costs of living for staff. Is this > being considered? > > Thanks very much, > > Pine > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Call to Action
nual Plan" view of the world, > >> > > it's unlikely that we would have prioritized a project like HHVM the > >> > > way we did, because we were generally stuck on the priorities set > for > >> > > the whole year. But it was very clear that this project would > provide > >> > > huge benefits to our users, and I'm glad we were able to call it out > >> > > as _the_ top priority for Q1 and give the team the space to really > >> > > focus on getting it done (almost there now, starting to serve reader > >> > > traffic [4]). > >> > > > >> > > Our draft Q2 top priorities (not yet posted on-wiki, but discussed > in > >> > > the metrics meeting last week) are consistent with the above, with > the > >> > > main user-facing push being on mobile web/apps and editing > >> > > performance, while the other priorities are more > >> > > platform/process-related. Once again, we're continuing to work on > VE / > >> > > Flow, but focusing more on fundamentals (performance, architecture, > >> > > testing, use case analysis, etc.) than accelerating deployments. > >> > > > >> > > My focus over the coming days is to flesh out the details for the Q2 > >> > > priorities, and then shift to putting more effort in documenting and > >> > > refining product development methodologies and processes on-wiki. > On > >> > > the engineering side, there's plenty of process/infrastructure > >> > > improvement to do as well. From my point of view, continued > >> > > improvement to test coverage and CI/testing infrastructure, > developer > >> > > tools, profiling/instrumentation, staged roll-out support and > >> > > strengthening of architectural leadership are the big pieces for > >> > > coming months, but I'll let Damon speak to his focus areas as he > gets > >> > > the lay of the land. > >> > > > >> > > Erik > >> > > > >> > > [1] > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sue_Gardner/Narrowing_focus > >> > > [2] > >> > > > >> > > >> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2012-November/122663.html > >> > > [3] > >> > > > >> > > >> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2012-December/123088.html > >> > > [4] https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/165004/ > >> > > -- > >> > > Erik Möller > >> > > VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation > >> > > > >> > > ___ > >> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > >> > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > >> > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > >> > > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > >> , > >> > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org > ?subject=unsubscribe> > >> > ___ > >> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > >> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > >> > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > >> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > , > >> > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > >> > > >> ___ > >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > >> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > >> < > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/guidelineswikimedi...@lists.wikimedia.org > > > >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > >> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Why is bank transfer no longer possible?
Lodewijk, IBAN and bank account information is sent out upon request due to the level of attempted bank fraud when the account information was posted on the website. I can review with our bank to see if IBAN security and fraud protection has improved so that we can publicly post our IBAN number. Regards, Garfield On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 1:16 PM, Lodewijk wrote: > Hi Patricia, > > Thanks for telling that the iDEAL will be back soon. I don't quite > understand from your answer why you add the increased hurdle of emailing > the team for the IBAN though. Am I overlooking something? > > Best, > Lodewijk > > On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 10:06 PM, Patricia Pena > wrote: > > > Hi Lodewijk, > > > > Currently IDEAL is temporarily down on our pages (it went into > maintenance > > mode after our annual campaign), but should be back up soon :) We know > > the importance of this method for Dutch donors and have supported this > > option since we started fundraising in the NL. We also support offline > bank > > transfer (IBAN) and donors can get the account number with our Donor > > Services team. > > > > We had an extremely successful Fundraising campaign this year, and there > > will be some great mobile optimization coming up in the next few months, > > which will allow mobile donors to complete their donations in a much > faster > > and easier way. > > > > Thanks! > > Pats > > > > On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 11:28 AM, Lodewijk > > wrote: > > > > > A while back now, the chapters were no longer allowed to fundraise, > > because > > > the Wikimedia Foundation argued they would be better able to do this. > At > > > the time, this sounded somewhat reasonable. However, since then, there > > have > > > been some disturbing developments - at least for Dutch donors. > > > > > > No longer it is possible to pay electronically (iDEAL, one of the most > > > common methods is no longer supported - 'electronic banking' simply > > refers > > > you back to the credit card page) or even via regular bank transfer > > (using > > > an IBAN) in the Netherlands. The donation page > > > < > > > > > > https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=NL&uselang=en&utm_medium=spontaneous&utm_source=fr-redir&utm_campaign=spontaneous > > > > > > > only > > > allows credit card and paypal, and the 'other ways to give' simply > sends > > > you to the helpdesk if you want to make a bank transfer payment. > > > > > > What is the reasoning behind this? Have bank transfers become a legal > > > swamp? Are there statistics suggesting that this method was no longer > > > required by donors? Did the European bank account somehow get > temporarily > > > suspended? > > > > > > If it has become so hard to donate, maybe it makes more sense to send > the > > > donors to the local chapter pages where they can actually donate in the > > > local suitable methods (in this case, Wikimedia Netherlands offers both > > > iDEAL and IBAN > > > <http://www.wikimedia.nl/pagina/doneren-aan-wikimedia-nederland>). > > > > > > One of the Dutch OTRS team members asked for elaboration, but didn't > > quite > > > get a satisfying answer. I hope this is a temporary situation, and that > > > this threshold will be removed again. It would be sad if we go through > > all > > > kind of trouble to enable long tail methods like bitcoin, but skip bank > > > transfer... > > > > > > Best, > > > > > > Lodewijk > > > ___ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Pats Pena | Sr. Manager, Global Operations > > Wikimedia Foundation > > office +1 (415) 839 6885 x6764 > > cell: +1 (415) 816 3349 > > fax: +1 (415) 284 9511 > > pp...@wikimedia.org > > > > *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in > the > > sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment. Donate. > > <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* > >
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF Finance Fellows to develop first-ever movement-wide financial report and metrics
Liam: My apologies for the language you noted, it was not our intent to, even inadvertently, to degrade anyone. We fully appreciate the abilities of our community and I know from my meetings with members of our community how smart and engaged they are in a variety of issues impacting the Wikimedia movement. I want to clarify that these Fellows are not auditors. They will be working from data as presented by the movement entities. The project has been designed so that the fellows will be using existing data provided by movement entities and the Fellows will only be reaching out to movement entities with clarifying questions. So there should be no material increase in staff/volunteer time to provide information for this project. If this not the case, please let me know. Best regards, Garfield On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 11:10 AM, Liam Wyatt wrote: > Interesting development. Probably a very good idea for transparency and > good use of the movement's money, and consistency of reporting to make > things comparable is a great goal. I especially think that for smaller > chapters there is lots of value in having a dedicated contact person! > > But I find the self-description of the Fellows as "an elite group of global > operatives"[1] a bit degrading to the rest of us... > > I presume it's taken a fair while to recruit the team and scope the project > too (I see one linkedin profile which says they've been working already for > two months[3]). So, I wonder - did the Chapters who have been allocated to > each of these new auditors[2] have any notice that this new process was > being created before it was announced today - so they were able to make any > other time-commitments without being surprised by a new layer of paperwork? > > Also, I presume that the increased amount of staff/volunteer time needed to > comply with new paperwork will be offset by streamlining this with other > WMF-compliance paperwork? > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Oolukoya_(WMF) > [2] > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement-wide_Financial_Report#Who_We_Are > [3] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/seyi-olukoya/59/b09/a7 > > wittylama.com > Peace, love & metadata > > > > -- > wittylama.com > Peace, love & metadata > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Audit - June 30, 2014
I and the investment management team that has been selected to manage the short term and long term reserves of the Foundation are open to any consensus guidance on what "socially responsible" investing looks like in our context. Regards, Garfield On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Richard Symonds < richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote: > Hmm. I'm not sure that everyone will agree on all of those values you > espouse, Pine - they are laudable goals but as an organisation that also > aims to be "neutral", moving in a left-of-centre direction might be frowned > on by some. > > Limiting investment options would also limit the returns on those > investments - which would impact our mission (might be good, might be bad) > - and limiting returns on investments would also in turn impact a lot of > other things, for example, the recommended figures that the WMF and > Chapters hold in reserve. > > A complicated issue. > > Richard Symonds > Wikimedia UK > 0207 065 0992 > > Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and > Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered > Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. > United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia > movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who > operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). > > *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control > over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* > > On 15 October 2014 15:52, Nathan wrote: > > > On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 10:30 AM, Marc A. Pelletier > > wrote: > > > > > On 10/15/2014 04:52 AM, Federico Leva (Nemo) wrote: > > > > I suggest that you need a stricter definition to start with. > > > > > > It's also highly disputable that the Foundation would be justified in > > > reducing the fiduciary care it must employ in its investment strategy > > > for a set of ill-defined objectives that fall entirely outside its > > > mission - no matter how agreeable those objectives may be to many of > the > > > volunteers. > > > > > > -- Marc > > > > > > > > > > > I'm not a natural fan of "divestment ethics", but I don't know that there > > is much dispute these days that it is possible to fulfill fiduciary > duties > > *and* invest using values / ethics oriented strategy. Twenty years ago > > perhaps it was uncommon, but today ethical (or social responsibility) > > investment strategy is common among non-profits and there are many > > dedicated funds for the purpose. > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Audit - June 30, 2014
The June 30, 2014 audit of the Wikimedia Foundation and accompanying Q&A have now been posted and can be found on the Wikimedia Foundation Financial reports page. <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> Please contact me with any questions. Regards, Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation 990
The Wikimedia Foundation 990 for FY 2012 - 2013 has been posted on the Wikimedia Foundation Financial Reports page.<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> Please contact me with any questions. -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Fwd: FDC Final Eligible Entities for Round 2 - 2013-2014
Dear Wikimedia Community: The Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on how to allocate movement funds to best meet Wikimedia goals and strategic priorities. The Wikimedia Foundation has now published a list of 2013-2014 Round 2 Annual Plan Grant eligible entities<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round2> based the eligibility criteria established in the Funds Dissemination Committee framework. Please let us know if you believe there are any corrections to be made to this list. The six organizations that submitted Letters of Intent for Round 2 2013-2014 are categorized in the 'Yes', category based the eligibility criteria<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria>, and are now eligible to submit proposals in this round. Organizations must continue to remain eligible throughout the FDC process in order to receive funding. All proposals created by eligible organizations for Annual Plan Grants<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Information> from the FDC must be submitted by *1 April 2014* through each organization's proposal hub page that was created when each organization submitted an LOI for this round. A list of hub pages for all proposals in this round may be found here<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals> . Please note that we are using the new dates announced by Anasuya Sengupta in her email to the community. One final note: organizations that prefer not to participate in the FDC process in this round may be eligible to seek funding through the Project and Event Grants Program <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:PEG>. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me and the FDC support team ( fdcsupp...@wikimedia.org) with any questions or requests for clarification. Sincerely; Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] WMF Mid Year Financial Statements
The Wikimedia Foundation Mid Year Financial Statements<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/2/2e/Jul-Dec%2713_Mid-year_financials.pdf> and FAQ have been published in the Financial Reports<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> section of the Wikimedia Foundation website. Please contact me with any questions. Regards, Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] FDC Eligibility - Round 2
Dear Wikimedia Community: As you may know, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on how to allocate movement funds to best meet Wikimedia goals and strategic priorities. [1]<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC> The Wikimedia Foundation has now published a list of 2013-2014 Round 2 Annual Plan Grant eligible entities [2]<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round2> based the eligibility criteria [3]<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria> established in the Funds Dissemination Committee framework. Please let us know if you believe there are any corrections to be made to this list. The six entities that submitted Letters of Intent for Round 2 2013-2014 are categorized in 'Yes', 'Yes, If', and 'No' categories based the eligibility criteria. Entities who are interested in applying for funds through the FDC, but are currently ineligible due to compliance issues (i.e.: those who fall into the 'Yes, If' category detailed above) should work with WMF to develop a plan to correct compliance issues. Please note that any entity in the 'Yes, If' category must post all missing documents on Meta by *15 March 2014* to be eligible to apply to the FDC for Annual Plan Grants. As we have done in the past, the WMF Finance Team and the FDC staff will work closely with all entities in the “Yes, If” category to ensure that they are aware of their current and potential gaps in eligibility. After the eligibility period closes on *15 March 2014*, WMF will post the final list of the entities eligible to apply to the FDC for funding. Please note that entities will need to remain in compliance with all Chapter Agreements and Grant Agreements until funds are sent in order to receive a grant through the FDC process, even if eligibility is confirmed as "Yes" on *15 March 2014*. All entities that apply for FDC funding will be required to maintain eligibility throughout the duration of the proposal review process until funds are sent (or until the decision on whether to send funds is made). We encourage you to get in touch with us if you have any questions about your entity's gaps or potential gaps. A note on the eligibility table itself: based on feedback received, we’ve attempted to clarify the eligibility process by condensing two eligibility tables into one table. It should now be easier, at a glance, to understand where there are eligibility gaps for the six entities that submitted Letters of Intent. Gaps and potential gaps are outlined up front. WMF staff will update the table as entities close their eligibility gaps. Like with last round, you’ll note there’s a column on “potential gaps” for entities to track as the FDC process continues. This change was made to allow entities, the FDC, and the FDC staff to track eligibility better and ensure that everyone is informed of potential as well as current issues that may affect eligibility. All proposals created by eligible entities for Annual Plan Grants from the FDC must be submitted by *1 April 2014* via the FDC proposal creation tool on the portal. FDC staff will reach out to eligible entities when the tool is ready for use. Please note that I am using the new dates announced by Anasuya Sengupta in her email to the Community. One final note: entities who are ineligible or who would prefer not to go through the FDC process in this round may seek funding through the Project and Event Grants Program (formerly the Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program). [4] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and the FDC support team ( fdcsupp...@wikimedia.org) with any questions or requests for clarification. Sincerely; Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation [1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round2 [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round2> -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org <https://donate.wikimedia.org/>* ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia communi
[Wikimedia-l] WMF Audit
The Wikimedia Foundation has published its Audit and Audit FAQ for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013 on our Financial Reports page.<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> Please contact me with any questions. Regards, Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] FDC annual plan grant eligibility status announced
Dear Wikimedia Community, As you may know, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations to the WMF Board of Trustees on how to allocate movement funds to best meet Wikimedia goals and strategic priorities. [1] On 15 July 2013, the 17 entities that submitted letters of intent for 2013-2014 Round 1 were categorized in the 'Yes', 'Yes, If', and 'No' categories based the eligibility criteria. [2] Between 15 July and 15 September, my team and FDC staff worked with each entity in the ‘Yes, If’ category to provide the information needed to address any current or potential eligibility gaps by 15 September, which was the last day for entities to close any outstanding eligibility gaps in order to be considered eligible for 2013-2014 Round 1. We hosted two office hours to answer questions and provide clarity about the eligibility process. [3] Today, we confirm the eligibility status of the 17 entities that submitted letters of intent for 2013-2014 Round 1 of the FDC process. 15 entities are eligible to submit proposals to the FDC for 2013-2014 Round 1: Amical Wikimedia, Wikimedia Argentina, Wikimedia Australia, Wikimedia CH, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia India, Wikimedia Israel, Wikimedia Nederland, Wikimedia Österreich, Wikimedia Magyarország, Wikimedia Philippines, Wikimedia Serbia, Wikimedia Sverige, Wikimedia Ukraine and Wikimedia UK.[4] Entities not confirmed as eligible (entities listed in the ‘No’ category of the Eligibility Status Table) may still be able to request funding from WMF’s Project and Event grants program if they meet that program’s eligibility requirements, and are encouraged to contact gra...@wikimedia.org with questions about requesting funding through that program. [5] Note carefully that all eligible entities must continue to comply with any agreements with WMF and meet all requirements listed in column (T) of the eligibility checklist in order to maintain eligibility, even once an entity’s eligibility status is confirmed as "Yes.”[6] Note also that the requirements listed in column (T) of the eligibility checklist may change for each entity, especially as entities are awarded new grants or as deadlines for annual reports or financial reports required by each entity’s chapter agreement or thematic organization agreement approach. All entities submitting proposals to the FDC are required to maintain eligibility throughout the duration of the proposal process until and after funds are sent. If an entity becomes ineligible before a decision to send funds is made, that entity will not be considered for funding. If an entity becomes ineligible after a decision is made, funds may be withheld. Entities may contact FDC staff with questions about their eligibility status for any round by writing to fdcsupp...@wikimedia.org or by writing to me directly. <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> Proposals for annual plan grants must be submitted by 1 October 2013 via the FDC portal [7] in order to be considered for funding. See more details on the timeline here: [8] FDC staff will host two IRC office hours to answer questions about the proposal process. [9] These meetings will happen on Wednesday, September 18 at 16:00 UTC and on Friday September 20 at 00:00 UTC. Please feel free to submit questions in advance, or to contact FDC staff with any questions about the proposal process at any time by writing to fdcsupp...@wikimedia.org. As always, please let us know if you have any questions, clarifications or concerns about the eligibility process, or suggestions for improvement. Best regards, Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation [1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#2013] [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_status/Current_round#fdc-status-table [5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index [6] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round1 [7] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal [8] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposal_process [9] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#Upcoming_office_hours -- ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Internal-l] 2013-2014 Round 1 FDC eligibility status & IRC office hours
Itzik: There are no new requirements in this process, the reports requested reflect the reports needed by the chapter agreement and the FDC process. As for format of the 2012 activity report, I suggest you look at chapter reports <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Reports> to see what presentation and format may work best for your chapter. As for the financial report, you always have the option of using the short form financial report<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012_ShortFinancialReport.pdf>for the FDC process as WM France did, to reduce the impact of translating a larger document. Regards, Garfield On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 6:12 AM, Itzik Edri wrote: > Hi Garfield, > > I must say I'm surprised from the new requirements. Eligible entities of > last year now need to send by 15 September documents about 2012 - a year > that is totally unrelated to the FDC process that started only this year? > Why it been decided only now? > We are not hiding a thing, but not only by 30th July we need to send FDC > Q2 report, by 1st October annual plan budget for 2014, and by 31 October > FDC Q3 report.. Hey, not everyone are big chapters, and we are really need > time also to *work* and execute the program we asked the money for... > > So financial report can be translated from the financial report we sent to > the Israeli authority (again, more money spends on translation as probably > our employees don't have time for that and have other paper work, and this > is also going to work if there is no special format and different numbers > and metrics requsted by the FDC and not different from what we already have > on the report we made..). But about the 2012 activity report? What format? > what information need to be there? this is totally something we need to > collect from start and mean more administrative work. > > > Itzik > > > On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 3:06 AM, Garfield Byrd > wrote: > > > Dear members of the Wikimedia community: > > > > Today, July 15, the Wikimedia Foundation published a list of Funds > > Dissemination Committee (FDC) eligible entities [1] based the eligibility > > criteria [2] established in the FDC framework. Entities that submitted > > Letters of Intent [3] are categorized in 'Yes', 'Yes, If', and 'No' > > categories based the eligibility criteria. Please let us know if you > > believe there are any corrections to be made to this list. > > > > A more detailed eligibility checklist document has also been created. > > > > [4] > > > > This document outlines eligibility gaps that need to be closed by > September > > 15, 2013. Any entity in the "Yes, If" category must post all missing > > documents on Meta by September 15 to be eligible for FDC funding. > > Entities in the “No” column who are currently ineligible for FDC funding > or > > those who decide not to proceed with an FDC application are welcome to > > consider applying to the WMF Grants program. [5] > > > > On September 15, WMF will post the final list of the entities eligible to > > apply for FDC funding if they are eligible. Please note that entities > will > > need to remain in compliance with all Chapter Agreements and Grant > > Agreements until funds are sent in order to receive a grant through the > FDC > > process, even if eligibility is confirmed as "Yes" on 15 September. > > > > The detailed eligibility checklist has improved since the last round. > > You’ll now note that the final column now outlines upcoming requirements > > (e.g. per chapter or grant agreements or current grant requirements) to > > maintain FDC eligibility status. These are noted as “potential gaps,” and > > as those deadlines come up, entities will need to fill those gaps (for > > example, by posting their documents and linking to them from the Reports > > page on Meta) in order to maintain their eligibility status with the > FDC. We > > hope this change allows entities, the FDC, and the FDC staff to track > > eligibility better and ensure that everyone is informed of potential as > > well as current issues that may affect eligibility. > > > > All entities that apply for FDC funding will be required to maintain > > eligibility throughout the duration of the proposal review process until > > funds are sent (or until the decision on whether to send funds is made). > We > > encourage you to get in touch with us if you have any questions about > your > > entity's gaps or potential gaps. > > <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> > > > > <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> > >
[Wikimedia-l] Fwd: 2013-2014 Round 1 FDC eligibility status & IRC office hours
Dear members of the Wikimedia community: On July 15, the Wikimedia Foundation published a list of Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) eligible entities [1] based the eligibility criteria [2] established in the FDC framework. Entities that submitted Letters of Intent [3] are categorized in 'Yes', 'Yes, If', and 'No' categories based the eligibility criteria. Please let us know if you believe there are any corrections to be made to this list. A more detailed eligibility checklist document has also been created. [4] This document outlines eligibility gaps that need to be closed by September 15, 2013. Any entity in the "Yes, If" category must post all missing documents on Meta by September 15 to be eligible for FDC funding. Entities in the “No” column who are currently ineligible for FDC funding or those who decide not to proceed with an FDC application are welcome to consider applying to the WMF Grants program. [5] On September 15, WMF will post the final list of the entities eligible to apply for FDC funding if they are eligible. Please note that entities will need to remain in compliance with all Chapter Agreements and Grant Agreements until funds are sent in order to receive a grant through the FDC process, even if eligibility is confirmed as "Yes" on 15 September. The detailed eligibility checklist has improved since the last round. You’ll now note that the final column now outlines upcoming requirements (e.g. per chapter or grant agreements or current grant requirements) to maintain FDC eligibility status. These are noted as “potential gaps,” and as those deadlines come up, entities will need to fill those gaps (for example, by posting their documents and linking to them from the Reports page on Meta) in order to maintain their eligibility status with the FDC. We hope this change allows entities, the FDC, and the FDC staff to track eligibility better and ensure that everyone is informed of potential as well as current issues that may affect eligibility. All entities that apply for FDC funding will be required to maintain eligibility throughout the duration of the proposal review process until funds are sent (or until the decision on whether to send funds is made). We encourage you to get in touch with us if you have any questions about your entity's gaps or potential gaps. <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> As a reminder, all applications for FDC funding from eligible entities must be submitted by October 1, 2013 via the FDC portal. [6] The FDC proposal form will be posted by August 15, 2013 on the FDC portal. Please contact us if you have any questions about submitting your proposal. WMF staff will reach out to all the of the entities that submitted Letters of Intent individually to discuss their eligibility. In addition, the FDC support staff has scheduled two IRC office hours to provide more explanation about the eligibility status. [7] We look forward to meeting with you on Thursday, July 18 at 0:00 UTC or at 16:00 UTC that same day. Please feel free to submit any questions in advance. Do let me know if you have any questions, clarifications or concerns about the eligibility process, or if you need clarifications. We are here to support you. Sincerely, Garfield Byrd [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_status/2013-2014_round1 [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria [3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:FDC_2013-2014_Round_1 [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_checklist/2013-2014_round1 [5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index [6] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal [7] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours#Upcoming_office_hours -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 2013/2014 budget again (m/Oppenheim on YouTube)
Hello: It should be posted early this week. I am sorry about the delay, the Q & A needed some additional edits. Regards, Garfield On Jul 7, 2013 2:07 PM, "Itzik Edri" wrote: > Garfield. any new with releasing the AP? > > Itzik > > On Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 3:08 AM, Garfield Byrd > wrote: > > > SJ: > > > > As we may be very close to having a Board of Trustee approved budget, I > > suggest we wait until we can release the full Annual Plan document on > July > > 1, so that there is context for the Wikimedia Foundation spending plan > for > > FY 13-14. > > > > Regards, > > > > Garfield > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 7:08 PM, Samuel Klein wrote: > > > > > Sue: can we share the one-page summary from the current draft? SJ > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 10:06 AM, Tomasz W. Kozlowski > > > wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > a couple of weeks ago, I noticed this interview given by Sue to > > > m/Oppenheim > > > > Associates <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gRqtx9-A0c>. > > > > > > > > At 11:19 <http://youtu.be/4gRqtx9-A0c?t=11m19s> Sue mentions that in > > the > > > > next year (2013/2014), the WMF is going to spend US$55 million. > > > > > > > > Are there any documents that we as community members could read to > see > > > what > > > > exactly will this money be spent on? And is mentioning budget plans > on > > > > YouTube now the preferred way of communication between the WMF and > its > > > > donors/community members? > > > > > > > > -- Tomasz > > > > > > > > ___ > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list > > > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 > > 4266 > > > > > > ___ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list > > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Garfield Byrd > > Chief of Finance and Administration > > Wikimedia Foundation > > 415.839.6885 ext 6787 > > 415.882.0495 (fax) > > www.wikimediafoundation.org > > > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in > > the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > > > > *https://donate.wikimedia.org* > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] 2013/2014 budget again (m/Oppenheim on YouTube)
SJ: As we may be very close to having a Board of Trustee approved budget, I suggest we wait until we can release the full Annual Plan document on July 1, so that there is context for the Wikimedia Foundation spending plan for FY 13-14. Regards, Garfield On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 7:08 PM, Samuel Klein wrote: > Sue: can we share the one-page summary from the current draft? SJ > > On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 10:06 AM, Tomasz W. Kozlowski > wrote: > > Hi, > > a couple of weeks ago, I noticed this interview given by Sue to > m/Oppenheim > > Associates <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gRqtx9-A0c>. > > > > At 11:19 <http://youtu.be/4gRqtx9-A0c?t=11m19s> Sue mentions that in the > > next year (2013/2014), the WMF is going to spend US$55 million. > > > > Are there any documents that we as community members could read to see > what > > exactly will this money be spent on? And is mentioning budget plans on > > YouTube now the preferred way of communication between the WMF and its > > donors/community members? > > > > -- Tomasz > > > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > > -- > Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266 > > _______ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Mid-Year Financial Statements
Thomas: Our plans for the reserve are included in the "WMF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the 2010-11 Audited Financial Statements": *The cash balance has increased from $12 million to over $21 million. What is the * *Wikimedia Foundation's view on its increasing cash reserve?* * * *The Wikimedia Foundation wants to have an appropriate amount of cash in reserve. * *This is important for stability and the overall financial health of the organization. * *A nonprofit wants to ensure it has a sufficient amount of cash available to it, so that it doesn't * *face a crisis in the event that unforeseen costs arise, or that an external or internal event hurts its ability to fund-raise.* *Different non-profits have different levels of reserves: it is common for young or very * *small non-profits to have as little as a few months' spending available in their reserve * *fund and while others may have as much as three years' spending in theirs. There is no * *generally accepted consensus on what size of reserve is appropriate but the Wikimedia * *Foundation has been able to grow its reserve over time. The current reserve represents * *less than one year of funding, at our current spending level. We believe that's * *appropriate for a growing non-profit of our size and age, with our goal to have one year * *of operating funding available over time.* Each of our annual plans, including the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan for 2012 - 2013<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/4/4f/2012-13_Wikimedia_Foundation_Plan_FINAL_FOR_WEBSITE.pdf> on page 54, show that the reserves of the Wikimedia Foundation are built up intentionally consistent with the above statement. Any surplus from operations are in addition to the planned growth in the reserves of the Wikimedia Foundation. Regards, Garfield On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 2:55 PM, Thomas Dalton wrote: > On 18 March 2013 20:00, Garfield Byrd wrote: > > Thomas: > > > > The Wikimedia Foundation is looking at its capacity to hire and is > > reviewing how many positions we can hire next fiscal year. We are > working > > overall to have a good annual plan that matches our outcomes, but with a > > dynamic movement like this one, variance from plan is a part of the > process > > as we want to make sure we are spending money prudently and not just to > > meet plan. > > In statistics we don't call it "variance" if it is always in the same > direction - we call it "bias". A high variance is often unavoidable, > but bias is generally a bad thing. You'll note, my question wasn't > about changing the spending, it was about changing the planning > process. You shouldn't spend money just to meet your plan, certainly, > but you should plan as accurately as possible. Prudence should be > explicitly allowed for in reserves or a "contingencies" budget, it > shouldn't appear accidentally due to biased planning. > > > In addition, since unspent money goes into the Wikimedia Foundation > > reserves, which we are still in process of building, we have some time to > > calibrate the the annual planning process to the needs of the Wikimedia > > Movement and the Wikimedia Foundation. > > Can you elaborate on your plans for the reserves? When I search for > "reserves policy" on the foundation wiki, it doesn't find anything. > That is extremely worrying... > > Reserves should be built up intentionally, not as a result of > accidental underspends. Either you need the reserves, in which case > you should plan to save the money, or you don't, in which case you > should either spend the money or not raise it in the first place. > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia (Foundation) endowment
SJ: I have been asked by the Audit Committee to do a report on the Endowment Issue and present the report at their next meeting, which will take place in this summer. Regards, Garfield On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 10:12 AM, Samuel Klein wrote: > On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 12:53 PM, MZMcBride wrote: > > Nathan wrote: > >>To return to the endowment again as the main topic, I think there are > >>some risks we need to consider in an endowment. In general I think > >>having an endowment is a good idea for a charitable institution, > > Yes and yes. > > > I suggested quite recently that the Board pass a resolution creating a > > committee to examine the points you raise and additional questions > > outlined here: <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Endowment/Questions>. > > > > I continue to think that we (as a community) are still not at a place > > where we can make good judgments about whether to set up an endowment. > > There simply isn't enough information available to make a sound decision, > > in my opinion. That said, the idea of creating an endowment does seem > like > > an idea that has broad support for further consideration and exploration, > > which is why I think an investigative or exploratory committee would make > > a lot of sense here and now. Thoughts? > > More information is certainly needed. It is bound up in other > strategic thinking, as others have noted. > > I think we should set up a strategy committee, with a subgroup focused > on an endowment and long-term investment options. > > SJ > > _______ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Report, February 2013
Mathieu: As I make progress on this issue, I will be reporting to the Wikimedia Foundation Audit Committee. Any significant changes, on this topic, will be included as part of the scheduled reports of the Wikimedia Foundation. Regards, Garfield On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 3:54 AM, Mathieu Stumpf < psychosl...@culture-libre.org> wrote: > Le 2013-03-18 21:45, Garfield Byrd a écrit : > > Pine: >> >> Our relationship with JP Morgan Chase is that they handle part of our >> international banking. This is a separate division of the bank from the >> one that had the trading losses. I agree with you that this type of news >> report is not good news. I have reviewed the information I have >> available, >> and have determined that the money JP Morgan Chase is holding for the >> Wikimedia Foundation is not at risk. >> >> When we did a review of banks that can handle our international >> banking, unfortunately all of the banks we looked at were involved in >> some >> sort scandal, from risky trades to LIBOR manipulation. This is not an >> ideal situation for a community based movement and I am continuing to look >> at options for all or some parts of our international banking needs. >> > > Interesting, do you plane to make a public report on this topic? > > -- > Association Culture-Libre > http://www.culture-libre.org/ > > > __**_ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l<https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l> > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Foundation Report, February 2013
Pine: Our relationship with JP Morgan Chase is that they handle part of our international banking. This is a separate division of the bank from the one that had the trading losses. I agree with you that this type of news report is not good news. I have reviewed the information I have available, and have determined that the money JP Morgan Chase is holding for the Wikimedia Foundation is not at risk. When we did a review of banks that can handle our international banking, unfortunately all of the banks we looked at were involved in some sort scandal, from risky trades to LIBOR manipulation. This is not an ideal situation for a community based movement and I am continuing to look at options for all or some parts of our international banking needs. Regards, Garfield On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 9:55 PM, ENWP Pine wrote: > I'm curious, what is the nature of WMF's relationship with JP Morgan > Chase? Given the stories that I'm reading in the news such as this one, > http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/jpmorgan-executives-face-withering-questions-at-senate-hearing/?hpw, > I'm uncomfortable with the idea that WMF has a business relationship with > JP Morgan. > > Pine > > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Mid-Year Financial Statements
Thomas: The Wikimedia Foundation is looking at its capacity to hire and is reviewing how many positions we can hire next fiscal year. We are working overall to have a good annual plan that matches our outcomes, but with a dynamic movement like this one, variance from plan is a part of the process as we want to make sure we are spending money prudently and not just to meet plan. In addition, since unspent money goes into the Wikimedia Foundation reserves, which we are still in process of building, we have some time to calibrate the the annual planning process to the needs of the Wikimedia Movement and the Wikimedia Foundation. Regards, Garfield Byrd On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 6:13 AM, Thomas Dalton wrote: > Garfield, > > Thanks for sharing the report. Once again, there is a significant > underspend. Does that concern you? It seems the WMF is consistently > not fully utilising its capital (so, either, you're fundraising too > much or doing too little). It often seems to be the case that the > underspend is due to not hiring new staff as quickly as expected. The > FAQ mentions that the plan was overly ambitious. Do you have a plan in > place to ensure your future annual plans include more realistic > projections of hiring and other spending? > > On 11 March 2013 20:17, Garfield Byrd wrote: > > Hello: > > > > The mid-year financial statements of the Wikimedia Foundation are > available > > at the Wikimedia Foundation - Financial Reports > > page.<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> > > This report is for the period from July 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. > > > > Please contact me with any questions. > > > > Regards, > > > > Garfield Byrd > > > > -- > > Garfield Byrd > > Chief of Finance and Administration > > Wikimedia Foundation > > 415.839.6885 ext 6787 > > 415.882.0495 (fax) > > www.wikimediafoundation.org > > > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in > > the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > > > > *https://donate.wikimedia.org* > > ___ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] Mid-Year Financial Statements
Hello: The mid-year financial statements of the Wikimedia Foundation are available at the Wikimedia Foundation - Financial Reports page.<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> This report is for the period from July 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Please contact me with any questions. Regards, Garfield Byrd -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] Notice of Final Eligibility for FDC Grants
*Dear Wikimedia Community, As you know, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) [1] makes recommendations to the WMF Board of Trustees on how to allocate movement funds to best meet Wikimedia goals and strategic priorities. More on the processes and structure of the FDC are in the framework. [2] We are now entering the second round of funding. I am pleased to share that the Foundation has announced the list of entities that are eligible to apply for FDC funding for annual plans. [3] These entities are: Wikimedia Australia, **Wikimedia * Česká republika, *Wikimedia France, **Wikimedia Hong Kong, **Wikimedia Indonesia*, **Wikimedia**Italia, **Wikimedia Norge, and **Wikimedia Philippines*. * * * *Based on the established eligibility criteria** [4]** outlined in the framework, eligible entities were notified about their eligibility status and of the need to close any gaps by February 15. Entities did not close those gaps are still able to apply for funding from the Wikimedia Grants program. [5]* * Applications from Round 2 eligible entities are due March 1, 2013, end of day UTC. The FDC proposal creation tool has been posted on the FDC portal on Meta and is ready for use. We strongly encourage eligible entities to begin filling out the proposals to the FDC well in advance of the March 1 deadline, particularly to support time for translation, if necessary, and to answer any questions or clarifications. The FDC staff is ready and able to help as needed. Please contact the FDC staff at fdcsupp...@wikimedia.org We look forward to reviewing the Round 2 proposals. We invite all members of the community to participate in the community review of proposals, which will take place from March 1-31. [6] All the best,* * Garfield Byrd, WMF Chief of Finance and Administration* * * ** Final eligibility pending acceptance of grant report ** * * * *[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal* *[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC [3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_status/2012-2013_round2 [4] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_criteria [5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index * [6] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposal_process -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] Annual Audit of the Wikimedia Foundation
Hello: The annual audit of the Wikimedia Foundation, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 and the corresponding FAQ have been posted on the financial reports <http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports> page of the Wikimedia Foundation web site. Please contact me with any questions. Garfield -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia-l] Subject: IRC office hours to discuss FDC eligibility criteria and next steps
Dear Wikimedia Community, As you may have seen, last week the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees passed a resolution to establish the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) [1]. Full details about the planned structure and processes of the FDC can be found in the framework proposed to the Board [2]. This framework was developed over the past few months with input from a variety of people across the movement. We will be holding two sets of *IRC office hours* on *Wednesday 25 July*, to answer any questions community members may have about the FDC process; in particular the first step of establishing the eligibility to apply to the FDC. Office hours will be held: · 16:00-17:00 UTC/09:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th · 23:00-23:59 UTC/16:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th On *Monday 23 July 2012*, the Foundation will publish a list of eligible entities based on the eligibility criteria established in the framework [3]. Please let me know if you believe there are any corrections to be made to this list. Entities who are interested in applying for funds through the FDC but are ineligible due to compliance issues should work with the Foundation to develop a plan to correct compliance issues. Entities who are ineligible for other reasons - or who would prefer not to go through the FDC process in this round -may seek funding through the Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program. I will be sending out a more detailed email on Monday to inform you of this list and next steps in the process. I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday. Sincerely, Garfield Byrd (WMF Chief of Finance and Administration) [1] http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committee_framework_and_initial_operation [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Proposal_for_the_Board [3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Sample_letter_of_intent_and_eligibility_checklist -- Garfield Byrd Chief of Finance and Administration Wikimedia Foundation 415.839.6885 ext 6787 415.882.0495 (fax) www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! *https://donate.wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
