Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[James Heilman]

I second that. Thank you Lisa you and your team's amazing work :-)

James

On Thu, Dec 22, 2016 at 2:13 PM, Anders Wennersten  wrote:

> Thanks for this info and decision!
>
> And very many thanks to you and your team making such a marvellous job
> with the fundraising. We are not only reaching our goal in record time, but
> also getting very good press for the professionalism for the the campaign
> and its messages
>
> Anders
>
>
>
> Den 2016-12-22 kl. 21:55, skrev Lisa Gruwell:
>
>> Hi All-
>>
>> Just a quick update on this:  We concluded the English-language banner
>> campaign on Monday (12/19) – at the three week point of the campaign. This
>> is the shortest campaign in recent memory. We were able to reach the goal
>> and raise some extra funds for these initiatives and the endowment
>> > e_the_funds_if_donations_exceed_the_goal.3F>.
>> We will be running a “thank you banner” around the New Year to thank
>> everyone for their support  – instead of an appeal as we had planned.
>> Look
>> for our report on the English-language fundraiser soon in January once the
>> numbers have settled and we have time for more analysis. Thanks to
>> everyone
>> who helped make this campaign a success!
>>
>> Best,
>> Lisa Gruwell
>>
>> On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 11:44 AM, Sam Klein 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Lisa & Jaime -
>>>
>>> Congratulations to all on a fast campaign.  Is this the fastest
>>> time-to-goal on record?
>>>
>>> This is a season in which neutrality and genuineness are precious
>>> commodities. No surprise that many people I know have given more than
>>> usual
>>> to projects such as ours.  I hope you can complement this with open and
>>> genuine messaging.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:52 PM, Michael Peel 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Continuing the English fundraiser as part of reaching the global
 fundraising target makes sense to me.

>>> Continuing the fundraiser after the global target has been reached is
>>>
 rather more concerning - except where the funds are being raised
 specifically for the endowment.

 This seems right to me.
>>>
>>> Clear and welcoming messages build trust.  You can thank everyone for
>>> helping reach the goal quickly, and be clear about where further funds
>>> go.
>>> Funds raised over the annual target, before the end of the fiscal year,
>>> can
>>> go into the endowment - again with clear & grateful language once the
>>> annual goal is reached.
>>>
>>> Budgeting deserves its own consideration.  Having a prioritized list of
>>> future projects is great for communicating intent and helping the
>>> movement
>>> plan.  But expanding the budget has implications for reserves, endowment,
>>> and future budgets + strategy.  If surplus goes to new projects, then
>>> "everyone giving $3" would not mean "no fundraising needed for years to
>>> come". In fact the overhead associated with persistent projects could
>>> make
>>> it harder to sustain operations next year.
>>>
>>> Finally, as you find that you have spare banner-cycles because of the
>>> successful campaign, *please use that same banner space* and your talent
>>> for connection to honor and inspire editors, donors, and readers.  A more
>>> than perfunctory thank-you. A good fundraiser is a victory over the
>>> commercial forces that make the Internet and most media suck; its success
>>> should be a story we can all hold on to and share. :)
>>>
>>> Warmly,
>>> SJ
>>> ___
>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
>>> wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
>>> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
>>> 
>>>
>>> ___
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>> i/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
>> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
>> 
>>
>
>
> ___
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-- 
James Heilman
MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian

The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine
www.opentextbookofmedicine.com
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Anders Wennersten]

Thanks for this info and decision!

And very many thanks to you and your team making such a marvellous job 
with the fundraising. We are not only reaching our goal in record time, 
but also getting very good press for the professionalism for the the 
campaign and its messages


Anders


Den 2016-12-22 kl. 21:55, skrev Lisa Gruwell:

Hi All-

Just a quick update on this:  We concluded the English-language banner
campaign on Monday (12/19) – at the three week point of the campaign. This
is the shortest campaign in recent memory. We were able to reach the goal
and raise some extra funds for these initiatives and the endowment
.
We will be running a “thank you banner” around the New Year to thank
everyone for their support  – instead of an appeal as we had planned.  Look
for our report on the English-language fundraiser soon in January once the
numbers have settled and we have time for more analysis. Thanks to everyone
who helped make this campaign a success!

Best,
Lisa Gruwell

On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 11:44 AM, Sam Klein  wrote:


Lisa & Jaime -

Congratulations to all on a fast campaign.  Is this the fastest
time-to-goal on record?

This is a season in which neutrality and genuineness are precious
commodities. No surprise that many people I know have given more than usual
to projects such as ours.  I hope you can complement this with open and
genuine messaging.

On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:52 PM, Michael Peel  wrote:


Continuing the English fundraiser as part of reaching the global
fundraising target makes sense to me.

Continuing the fundraiser after the global target has been reached is

rather more concerning - except where the funds are being raised
specifically for the endowment.


This seems right to me.

Clear and welcoming messages build trust.  You can thank everyone for
helping reach the goal quickly, and be clear about where further funds go.
Funds raised over the annual target, before the end of the fiscal year, can
go into the endowment - again with clear & grateful language once the
annual goal is reached.

Budgeting deserves its own consideration.  Having a prioritized list of
future projects is great for communicating intent and helping the movement
plan.  But expanding the budget has implications for reserves, endowment,
and future budgets + strategy.  If surplus goes to new projects, then
"everyone giving $3" would not mean "no fundraising needed for years to
come". In fact the overhead associated with persistent projects could make
it harder to sustain operations next year.

Finally, as you find that you have spare banner-cycles because of the
successful campaign, *please use that same banner space* and your talent
for connection to honor and inspire editors, donors, and readers.  A more
than perfunctory thank-you. A good fundraiser is a victory over the
commercial forces that make the Internet and most media suck; its success
should be a story we can all hold on to and share. :)

Warmly,
SJ
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Lisa Gruwell]

Hi All-

Just a quick update on this:  We concluded the English-language banner
campaign on Monday (12/19) – at the three week point of the campaign. This
is the shortest campaign in recent memory. We were able to reach the goal
and raise some extra funds for these initiatives and the endowment
.
We will be running a “thank you banner” around the New Year to thank
everyone for their support  – instead of an appeal as we had planned.  Look
for our report on the English-language fundraiser soon in January once the
numbers have settled and we have time for more analysis. Thanks to everyone
who helped make this campaign a success!

Best,
Lisa Gruwell

On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 11:44 AM, Sam Klein  wrote:

> Lisa & Jaime -
>
> Congratulations to all on a fast campaign.  Is this the fastest
> time-to-goal on record?
>
> This is a season in which neutrality and genuineness are precious
> commodities. No surprise that many people I know have given more than usual
> to projects such as ours.  I hope you can complement this with open and
> genuine messaging.
>
> On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:52 PM, Michael Peel  wrote:
>
> > Continuing the English fundraiser as part of reaching the global
> > fundraising target makes sense to me.
>
> Continuing the fundraiser after the global target has been reached is
> > rather more concerning - except where the funds are being raised
> > specifically for the endowment.
> >
>
> This seems right to me.
>
> Clear and welcoming messages build trust.  You can thank everyone for
> helping reach the goal quickly, and be clear about where further funds go.
> Funds raised over the annual target, before the end of the fiscal year, can
> go into the endowment - again with clear & grateful language once the
> annual goal is reached.
>
> Budgeting deserves its own consideration.  Having a prioritized list of
> future projects is great for communicating intent and helping the movement
> plan.  But expanding the budget has implications for reserves, endowment,
> and future budgets + strategy.  If surplus goes to new projects, then
> "everyone giving $3" would not mean "no fundraising needed for years to
> come". In fact the overhead associated with persistent projects could make
> it harder to sustain operations next year.
>
> Finally, as you find that you have spare banner-cycles because of the
> successful campaign, *please use that same banner space* and your talent
> for connection to honor and inspire editors, donors, and readers.  A more
> than perfunctory thank-you. A good fundraiser is a victory over the
> commercial forces that make the Internet and most media suck; its success
> should be a story we can all hold on to and share. :)
>
> Warmly,
> SJ
> ___
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> wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
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> 
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Sam Klein]

Lisa & Jaime -

Congratulations to all on a fast campaign.  Is this the fastest
time-to-goal on record?

This is a season in which neutrality and genuineness are precious
commodities. No surprise that many people I know have given more than usual
to projects such as ours.  I hope you can complement this with open and
genuine messaging.

On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:52 PM, Michael Peel  wrote:

> Continuing the English fundraiser as part of reaching the global
> fundraising target makes sense to me.

Continuing the fundraiser after the global target has been reached is
> rather more concerning - except where the funds are being raised
> specifically for the endowment.
>

This seems right to me.

Clear and welcoming messages build trust.  You can thank everyone for
helping reach the goal quickly, and be clear about where further funds go.
Funds raised over the annual target, before the end of the fiscal year, can
go into the endowment - again with clear & grateful language once the
annual goal is reached.

Budgeting deserves its own consideration.  Having a prioritized list of
future projects is great for communicating intent and helping the movement
plan.  But expanding the budget has implications for reserves, endowment,
and future budgets + strategy.  If surplus goes to new projects, then
"everyone giving $3" would not mean "no fundraising needed for years to
come". In fact the overhead associated with persistent projects could make
it harder to sustain operations next year.

Finally, as you find that you have spare banner-cycles because of the
successful campaign, *please use that same banner space* and your talent
for connection to honor and inspire editors, donors, and readers.  A more
than perfunctory thank-you. A good fundraiser is a victory over the
commercial forces that make the Internet and most media suck; its success
should be a story we can all hold on to and share. :)

Warmly,
SJ
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[David Cuenca Tudela]

And here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/wikipedia/comments/5ik9zc/wikimedia_has_more_money_than_it_knows_what_to_do/



On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 7:14 PM, carl hansen 
wrote:

> also being discussed at
> https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/12/16/1631223/
> wikipedia-exceeds-fundraising-target-but-continues-asking-for-more-money
>
> fyi
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> 
>



-- 
Etiamsi omnes, ego non
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[carl hansen]

also being discussed at
https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/12/16/1631223/wikipedia-exceeds-fundraising-target-but-continues-asking-for-more-money

fyi
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Pine W]

I've been thinking about this situation.

I am grateful that the goal was met early.

As much as these new goals are nice, they should have been included in
the original target amount if WMF said or implied that the campaign
would stop when a specific amount of money was raised.

It's especially uncomfortable for me that I'm hearing a lot of
interest in WMF in promoting Wikipedia's principles of verifiability
and neutrality in fundraising, when WMF in its fundraising said one
thing and then goes off to do something else. Imagine what would
happen if I received a grant from WMF for purpose X and then decided
to do Y with it without getting advance permission from WMF. That
wouldn't go over very well. I appreciate that budgets and timelines of
projects are difficult to estimate correctly and that project scopes
change, but there are limits to the flexibility.

While I like the new goals, at a minimum the text of the campaign
should be changed to reflect that the original goal was reached and
that WMF is asking for additional funds above the original goal. My
preference would be that the campaign be stopped because WMF should
prioritize integrity above expedience; WMF has other opportunities to
raise additional funds from other sources, WMF has considerable
reserves, and I can't see that there is a critical need to continue
this particular fundraising campaign. When WMF tells its donors
something WMF should make every reasonable effort to adhere to what it
said it would do.

Pine



On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 11:17 PM, Anders Wennersten
 wrote:
> It seems the whole world is full of spreading lies nowadays.
>
> I feel very sad that now even we are following this trend
>
> If we stated we would stop when the target was met, so we should stop when
> the target was met
>
> Anders
> who are commited to spread correct facts through Wikipedia, as a
> counterforce to all loose statement
>
> 016-12-17 kl. 07:06, skrev Peter Southwood:
>
>> If you wanted to continue past the target, the message should NOT imply
>> that you would stop at the target.
>> Cheers,
>> Peter
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On
>> Behalf Of Lisa Gruwell
>> Sent: Friday, 16 December 2016 8:05 PM
>> To: Wikimedia Mailing List
>> Subject: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> As most of you know, we run our English-language online fundraiser on
>> Wikipedia every year in December. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.
>> During this time we raise the bulk of funds to support our operating
>> budget to support the projects, fund community efforts around the world, and
>> run the Wikimedia Foundation.
>>
>> This year, we are happy to report we’ve reached our goal of US$25 million
>> in record time. This is a testament to the importance of Wikimedia and how
>> much support we have from people all over the world.
>>
>> Given this momentum, we believe that it would be wise and worthwhile to
>> continue to fundraise more in the month of December, for the following
>> reasons:
>>
>> 1. While we have reached our goal for the December campaign, we have not
>> yet reached our fundraising goal for Fiscal Year 2016-17 (July 2016 - July
>> 2017).
>>
>> Continuing the English fundraiser gives us security and flexibility
>> through the end of the fiscal year. It allows us to have a less aggressive
>> banner schedule in coming months, which gives us time for more research and
>> better localization.
>>
>> 2. We have clear programmatic uses for additional funds.
>>
>> We have some important projects that could use additional funds and are
>> ready to proceed. We plan to direct additional funds to the following work:
>>
>>
>> 1.
>>
>> The buildout of an additional caching center, to improve site
>> performance for users across Asia and Oceania [1].
>> 2.
>>
>> Investment in additional support for structured data on Wikimedia
>> Commons and improved integration with the Wikidata roadmap [2].
>> 3.
>>
>> Support for community health initiatives, including additional support
>> for the Community Engagement team [3].
>> 4.
>>
>> Support for an inclusive and truly global movement strategy process
>> [4].
>> 5.
>>
>> Growing the endowment in order to secure our future [5].
>>
>>
>> You can find more information about each of these areas of work below.
>>
>>
>>
>> We have chosen these projects because they directly support our mission
>> and re

Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Anders Wennersten]

It seems the whole world is full of spreading lies nowadays.

I feel very sad that now even we are following this trend

If we stated we would stop when the target was met, so we should stop 
when the target was met


Anders
who are commited to spread correct facts through Wikipedia, as a 
counterforce to all loose statement


016-12-17 kl. 07:06, skrev Peter Southwood:

If you wanted to continue past the target, the message should NOT imply that 
you would stop at the target.
Cheers,
Peter

-Original Message-
From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of 
Lisa Gruwell
Sent: Friday, 16 December 2016 8:05 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, we run our English-language online fundraiser on Wikipedia 
every year in December. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.
During this time we raise the bulk of funds to support our operating budget to 
support the projects, fund community efforts around the world, and run the 
Wikimedia Foundation.

This year, we are happy to report we’ve reached our goal of US$25 million in 
record time. This is a testament to the importance of Wikimedia and how much 
support we have from people all over the world.

Given this momentum, we believe that it would be wise and worthwhile to 
continue to fundraise more in the month of December, for the following
reasons:

1. While we have reached our goal for the December campaign, we have not yet 
reached our fundraising goal for Fiscal Year 2016-17 (July 2016 - July 2017).

Continuing the English fundraiser gives us security and flexibility through the 
end of the fiscal year. It allows us to have a less aggressive banner schedule 
in coming months, which gives us time for more research and better localization.

2. We have clear programmatic uses for additional funds.

We have some important projects that could use additional funds and are ready 
to proceed. We plan to direct additional funds to the following work:


1.

The buildout of an additional caching center, to improve site
performance for users across Asia and Oceania [1].
2.

Investment in additional support for structured data on Wikimedia
Commons and improved integration with the Wikidata roadmap [2].
3.

Support for community health initiatives, including additional support
for the Community Engagement team [3].
4.

Support for an inclusive and truly global movement strategy process [4].
5.

Growing the endowment in order to secure our future [5].


You can find more information about each of these areas of work below.



We have chosen these projects because they directly support our mission and 
respond to the needs of Wikimedia communities and users. We also believe these 
investments are investments in our future: support for a diverse global 
community, increased resourcing for sister projects, a healthier community 
culture, a shared direction for the future of the movement, and security for 
our mission in perpetuity.

Here is what we will do: We intend to continue with the banners for a few more 
days. We would then take them down over the Christmas holiday, before making an 
end-of-year push in the final couple days of the year. (Many people choose to 
give at the very end of the year, and they are expecting to hear from us as 
usual -- so it is an opportunity to give people who plan to give the easiest 
means to participate).

We’ve been following the conversations on this list about the fundraiser and 
the target. On Wednesday, we sent this recommendation to our Board of Trustees, 
who were broadly supportive of this course of action. Today, we are sending it 
to you. We believe we can make good use of the funds in the coming year, 
without additional unsustainable commitments into coming fiscal years. It is 
fiscally responsible and programmatically sound. The additional work 
strengthens our movement, and the additional funds make these efforts possible.

We welcome your questions and feedback.

Best regards,

Lisa Seitz Gruwell and Jaime Villagomez


More information about the projects:

[1] An additional caching center to improve performance in Asia and Oceania

Our current caching centers in have provided significant value to users, and 
the Wikimedia Foundation invested further in them in 2014-15. We believe that 
further expanding these efforts and their reach into other parts of the world 
would further help us provide the best user experience to our global audience. 
With that in mind, we are considering a number of different locations for an 
additional caching center to enhance our performance for Wikimedia communities 
in Asia and Oceania. Most internet organizations compete to reach users by 
establishing local points of presence, and as a result the performance 
expectations of users in Asia are getting higher. Establishing this new caching 
center will help us meet those

Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Peter Southwood]

If you wanted to continue past the target, the message should NOT imply that 
you would stop at the target.
Cheers,
Peter

-Original Message-
From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of 
Lisa Gruwell
Sent: Friday, 16 December 2016 8:05 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, we run our English-language online fundraiser on Wikipedia 
every year in December. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.
During this time we raise the bulk of funds to support our operating budget to 
support the projects, fund community efforts around the world, and run the 
Wikimedia Foundation.

This year, we are happy to report we’ve reached our goal of US$25 million in 
record time. This is a testament to the importance of Wikimedia and how much 
support we have from people all over the world.

Given this momentum, we believe that it would be wise and worthwhile to 
continue to fundraise more in the month of December, for the following
reasons:

1. While we have reached our goal for the December campaign, we have not yet 
reached our fundraising goal for Fiscal Year 2016-17 (July 2016 - July 2017).

Continuing the English fundraiser gives us security and flexibility through the 
end of the fiscal year. It allows us to have a less aggressive banner schedule 
in coming months, which gives us time for more research and better localization.

2. We have clear programmatic uses for additional funds.

We have some important projects that could use additional funds and are ready 
to proceed. We plan to direct additional funds to the following work:


   1.

   The buildout of an additional caching center, to improve site
   performance for users across Asia and Oceania [1].
   2.

   Investment in additional support for structured data on Wikimedia
   Commons and improved integration with the Wikidata roadmap [2].
   3.

   Support for community health initiatives, including additional support
   for the Community Engagement team [3].
   4.

   Support for an inclusive and truly global movement strategy process [4].
   5.

   Growing the endowment in order to secure our future [5].


You can find more information about each of these areas of work below.



We have chosen these projects because they directly support our mission and 
respond to the needs of Wikimedia communities and users. We also believe these 
investments are investments in our future: support for a diverse global 
community, increased resourcing for sister projects, a healthier community 
culture, a shared direction for the future of the movement, and security for 
our mission in perpetuity.

Here is what we will do: We intend to continue with the banners for a few more 
days. We would then take them down over the Christmas holiday, before making an 
end-of-year push in the final couple days of the year. (Many people choose to 
give at the very end of the year, and they are expecting to hear from us as 
usual -- so it is an opportunity to give people who plan to give the easiest 
means to participate).

We’ve been following the conversations on this list about the fundraiser and 
the target. On Wednesday, we sent this recommendation to our Board of Trustees, 
who were broadly supportive of this course of action. Today, we are sending it 
to you. We believe we can make good use of the funds in the coming year, 
without additional unsustainable commitments into coming fiscal years. It is 
fiscally responsible and programmatically sound. The additional work 
strengthens our movement, and the additional funds make these efforts possible.

We welcome your questions and feedback.

Best regards,

Lisa Seitz Gruwell and Jaime Villagomez


More information about the projects:

[1] An additional caching center to improve performance in Asia and Oceania

Our current caching centers in have provided significant value to users, and 
the Wikimedia Foundation invested further in them in 2014-15. We believe that 
further expanding these efforts and their reach into other parts of the world 
would further help us provide the best user experience to our global audience. 
With that in mind, we are considering a number of different locations for an 
additional caching center to enhance our performance for Wikimedia communities 
in Asia and Oceania. Most internet organizations compete to reach users by 
establishing local points of presence, and as a result the performance 
expectations of users in Asia are getting higher. Establishing this new caching 
center will help us meet those expectations for site performance.

[2] Structured data on Commons*

The Structured Data project
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_data> is an effort to 
store information for media files in a structured way on Wikimedia Commons, so 
they are easier to view, translate, search, edit, curate and use. This would be 
done on Commons with the same technology as t

Re: [Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Michael Peel]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the update - it's great to hear that the target has been achieved so 
quickly!

Continuing the English fundraiser as part of reaching the global fundraising 
target makes sense to me. Continuing the fundraiser after the global target has 
been reached is rather more concerning - except where the funds are being 
raised specifically for the endowment.

The extra uses of additional funds sound great, but they should really go 
through an annual planning process to make sure that they will be effective 
uses of those donations, particularly if they might be funded by grants rather 
than needing donor money. Perhaps those donations would be more effectively 
spent by other Wikimedia organisations, rather than the Wikimedia Foundation.

If the English fundraiser continues, then I'd encourage you to either focus 
specifically on the endowment (ensuring the long-term survival of Wikipedia is 
surely a winning appeal!), or to avoid promising to donors that money will be 
spent on a specific project (and please don't say that the fundraiser will now 
finish if only people donate a few more dollars for an extra cup of coffee!).

Thanks,
Mike

> On 16 Dec 2016, at 16:05, Lisa Gruwell  wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> As most of you know, we run our English-language online fundraiser on
> Wikipedia every year in December. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.
> During this time we raise the bulk of funds to support our operating budget
> to support the projects, fund community efforts around the world, and run
> the Wikimedia Foundation.
> 
> This year, we are happy to report we’ve reached our goal of US$25 million
> in record time. This is a testament to the importance of Wikimedia and how
> much support we have from people all over the world.
> 
> Given this momentum, we believe that it would be wise and worthwhile to
> continue to fundraise more in the month of December, for the following
> reasons:
> 
> 1. While we have reached our goal for the December campaign, we have not
> yet reached our fundraising goal for Fiscal Year 2016-17 (July 2016 - July
> 2017).
> 
> Continuing the English fundraiser gives us security and flexibility through
> the end of the fiscal year. It allows us to have a less aggressive banner
> schedule in coming months, which gives us time for more research and better
> localization.
> 
> 2. We have clear programmatic uses for additional funds.
> 
> We have some important projects that could use additional funds and are
> ready to proceed. We plan to direct additional funds to the following work:
> 
> 
>   1.
> 
>   The buildout of an additional caching center, to improve site
>   performance for users across Asia and Oceania [1].
>   2.
> 
>   Investment in additional support for structured data on Wikimedia
>   Commons and improved integration with the Wikidata roadmap [2].
>   3.
> 
>   Support for community health initiatives, including additional support
>   for the Community Engagement team [3].
>   4.
> 
>   Support for an inclusive and truly global movement strategy process [4].
>   5.
> 
>   Growing the endowment in order to secure our future [5].
> 
> 
> You can find more information about each of these areas of work below.
> 
> 
> 
> We have chosen these projects because they directly support our mission and
> respond to the needs of Wikimedia communities and users. We also believe
> these investments are investments in our future: support for a diverse
> global community, increased resourcing for sister projects, a healthier
> community culture, a shared direction for the future of the movement, and
> security for our mission in perpetuity.
> 
> Here is what we will do: We intend to continue with the banners for a few
> more days. We would then take them down over the Christmas holiday, before
> making an end-of-year push in the final couple days of the year. (Many
> people choose to give at the very end of the year, and they are expecting
> to hear from us as usual -- so it is an opportunity to give people who plan
> to give the easiest means to participate).
> 
> We’ve been following the conversations on this list about the fundraiser
> and the target. On Wednesday, we sent this recommendation to our Board of
> Trustees, who were broadly supportive of this course of action. Today, we
> are sending it to you. We believe we can make good use of the funds in the
> coming year, without additional unsustainable commitments into coming
> fiscal years. It is fiscally responsible and programmatically sound. The
> additional work strengthens our movement, and the additional funds make
> these efforts possible.
> 
> We welcome your questions and feedback.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Lisa Seitz Gruwell and Jaime Villagomez
> 
> 
> More information about the projects:
> 
> [1] An additional caching center to improve performance in Asia and Oceania
> 
> Our current caching centers in have provided significant value to users,
> and the Wikimedia Foundation invested further in

[Wikimedia-l] English Fundraiser Update

[Lisa Gruwell]

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, we run our English-language online fundraiser on
Wikipedia every year in December. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.
During this time we raise the bulk of funds to support our operating budget
to support the projects, fund community efforts around the world, and run
the Wikimedia Foundation.

This year, we are happy to report we’ve reached our goal of US$25 million
in record time. This is a testament to the importance of Wikimedia and how
much support we have from people all over the world.

Given this momentum, we believe that it would be wise and worthwhile to
continue to fundraise more in the month of December, for the following
reasons:

1. While we have reached our goal for the December campaign, we have not
yet reached our fundraising goal for Fiscal Year 2016-17 (July 2016 - July
2017).

Continuing the English fundraiser gives us security and flexibility through
the end of the fiscal year. It allows us to have a less aggressive banner
schedule in coming months, which gives us time for more research and better
localization.

2. We have clear programmatic uses for additional funds.

We have some important projects that could use additional funds and are
ready to proceed. We plan to direct additional funds to the following work:


   1.

   The buildout of an additional caching center, to improve site
   performance for users across Asia and Oceania [1].
   2.

   Investment in additional support for structured data on Wikimedia
   Commons and improved integration with the Wikidata roadmap [2].
   3.

   Support for community health initiatives, including additional support
   for the Community Engagement team [3].
   4.

   Support for an inclusive and truly global movement strategy process [4].
   5.

   Growing the endowment in order to secure our future [5].


You can find more information about each of these areas of work below.



We have chosen these projects because they directly support our mission and
respond to the needs of Wikimedia communities and users. We also believe
these investments are investments in our future: support for a diverse
global community, increased resourcing for sister projects, a healthier
community culture, a shared direction for the future of the movement, and
security for our mission in perpetuity.

Here is what we will do: We intend to continue with the banners for a few
more days. We would then take them down over the Christmas holiday, before
making an end-of-year push in the final couple days of the year. (Many
people choose to give at the very end of the year, and they are expecting
to hear from us as usual -- so it is an opportunity to give people who plan
to give the easiest means to participate).

We’ve been following the conversations on this list about the fundraiser
and the target. On Wednesday, we sent this recommendation to our Board of
Trustees, who were broadly supportive of this course of action. Today, we
are sending it to you. We believe we can make good use of the funds in the
coming year, without additional unsustainable commitments into coming
fiscal years. It is fiscally responsible and programmatically sound. The
additional work strengthens our movement, and the additional funds make
these efforts possible.

We welcome your questions and feedback.

Best regards,

Lisa Seitz Gruwell and Jaime Villagomez


More information about the projects:

[1] An additional caching center to improve performance in Asia and Oceania

Our current caching centers in have provided significant value to users,
and the Wikimedia Foundation invested further in them in 2014-15. We
believe that further expanding these efforts and their reach into other
parts of the world would further help us provide the best user experience
to our global audience. With that in mind, we are considering a number of
different locations for an additional caching center to enhance our
performance for Wikimedia communities in Asia and Oceania. Most internet
organizations compete to reach users by establishing local points of
presence, and as a result the performance expectations of users in Asia are
getting higher. Establishing this new caching center will help us meet
those expectations for site performance.

[2] Structured data on Commons*

The Structured Data project
 is an effort
to store information for media files in a structured way on Wikimedia
Commons, so they are easier to view, translate, search, edit, curate and
use. This would be done on Commons with the same technology as the one
developed for Wikidata. Wikimedia Commons holds a lot of data about the
files it hosts. Structuring this data more and making it machine-readable
would have many benefits to making our files more accessible in multiple
languages, improving the process for uploading media, increasing the
usability of the search function, and decreasing ambiguity for people
interested in re-use of media on Commons. A de