Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMIL Board members withdraw from international activities
Hi Nathan, Allow me to correct - WMIL is not withdrawing from international activities. For example, WMIL will probably going to be one of the leading chapters supporting WLE, and many others international projects with others chapters. Alongside participating in the ChapConf and Wikimania (although right now it seem like we can't offer scholarships to editors from Israel like recent years). The board only asked, for a temporary period of time, from his members who are active in working groups and others committees, to understand that it's gonna be a hard year for WMIL and we need every help that they can give. Meaning that if before I dedicated my volunteering time 70% for the chapters and 30% for others international committees and for writing blog posts and updates, now I'm going to dedicated 100% of my time to help stabilize my chapter, in order to allow us soon to be back on track and return to our international involvement like before. WMIL is proud to be a leading chapters as part of the Wikimedia movement - and will continue to be one like that also in the future. 2014-02-03 Nathan nawr...@gmail.com: I'm sure that the WMIL Board put a lot of thought into this decision, but I think it's a mistake. The Wikimedia movement is by nature global, cooperative and collective. I don't see how it will benefit either WMIL or the movement as a whole if Israeli participants withdraw from international cooperation and activity, even if they are able and willing to redirect the same energy to local fundraising efforts. Maybe the FDC did something wrong in that some applicants did not take the 20% increase guardrail seriously. I hope that FDC messaging and communication can be improved in the future so that recipients of large grant increases feel grateful instead of insulted, because it is an obviously poor outcome if an institution receives two hundred thousand dollars of donor money and is so upset that it announces it is all but exiting the international community. 2014-02-03 Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il: Hello, Wikimedia Israel board sent earlier today a letter to the chapter members. For your convince I'm attaching translation to English. -- Dear friends and colleagues, As you know, the FDC has allocated only a partial amount of the budget requested by Wikimedia Israel in order to execute its 2014 work plan as approved by the board and general assembly. Specifically, an amount of 709,000 NIS was approved; this represents 45% of the requested budget https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014_round1/Wikimedia_Israel/Proposal_form of 1,553,837 NIS. Just to set the record straight, the approved amount suffices only to cover basic operating cost for the chapter, and is insufficient for expanding our projects and initiatives (we’ve stated as much in our appeal https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Wikimedia_Israel ). Nevertheless, WMF’s board turned down https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Board_decision_on_Wikimedia_Israel.27s_appeal our appeal, as well as WMIN’s appeal. It should be noted that the FDC process received criticism, and WMDE has begun an open discussion https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Comments/Extensive_feedback_from_WMDE_to_the_FDC_process on the process, and you’re more than invited to take part. Needless to say, we were very disappointed from both the original decision and the rejection of our appeal, and we see both responses as stemming from irrelevant considerations, to “make an example” of WMIL (and WMIN), to prohibit other chapters from requesting significant budgets to allow them to grow their operation. This left WMIL in a difficult situation. WMIL board members and staff have been working tirelessly over the last few weeks to adapt the work plan to the reality of the low budget. Direct implications of this reality includes: less paid human resources required for supporting our volunteers and for becoming more professional at what we do; cuts in bursaries and grants to community projects, less involvement in international affairs, delaying our academic program and many additional changes. Nevertheless, we’re not giving up. WMIL has always been, and we hope it will continue to be, a strong chapter, one which maximizes the use of its resources, however limited, to be entrepreneurial and execute many projects that serve as examples to the entire Movement. Therefore, in spite of the changes in the budget, we are committed to working hard, very hard, to realize as much as we can of the original plans, while continuing to build our infrastructure and find additional resources that will allow us to expand our activities and create more impact by the end
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMIL Board members withdraw from international activities
Nathan, 03/02/2014 17:59: The Wikimedia movement is by nature global, cooperative and collective. I don't see how it will benefit either WMIL or the movement as a whole if Israeli participants withdraw from international cooperation and activity [...] They only said chapter staff and board members immediately, the others are just invited. I see their board has only five members, it makes sense for them to focus on their direct responsibilities and urgent work for running the chapter. If some activity is no longer in priority it's also IMHO honest to tell the volunteers: personally speaking, I was often forced to follow some things because some had to, on behalf of the chapter or board; when they stop being interested I like to know so that I can focus on what's fun/interesting for me. Stressing and overworking volunteers for the sake of it would be masochistic. Nemo ___ 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] WMIL Board members withdraw from international activities
On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 12:40 PM, Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il wrote: Hi Nathan, Allow me to correct - WMIL is not withdrawing from international activities. For example, WMIL will probably going to be one of the leading chapters supporting WLE, and many others international projects with others chapters. Alongside participating in the ChapConf and Wikimania (although right now it seem like we can't offer scholarships to editors from Israel like recent years). The board only asked, for a temporary period of time, from his members who are active in working groups and others committees, to understand that it's gonna be a hard year for WMIL and we need every help that they can give. Meaning that if before I dedicated my volunteering time 70% for the chapters and 30% for others international committees and for writing blog posts and updates, now I'm going to dedicated 100% of my time to help stabilize my chapter, in order to allow us soon to be back on track and return to our international involvement like before. WMIL is proud to be a leading chapters as part of the Wikimedia movement - and will continue to be one like that also in the future. Hi Itzik, I am glad to hear this clarification of your intent. In your announcement you asked members to minimize time and effort in international involvement and said that the board would, in accordance with the request, resign from international roles. If WMIL plans to continue to encourage some types of international involvement after all, at least in specific projects, that's good. I might be confused, if I were an Israeli chapter member, on what you wanted continued and what you wanted minimized, but I am sure you will have discussions with your members on that if you haven't already. The point remains that the Wikimedia movement has as defining characteristics its international scope and cooperative nature, and asking members to minimize participation is the most severe step against the movement that I have seen a chapter take since chapters were established. It presents very clearly how disillusioned and upset your board is with its $200,000 allocation, because I can't imagine a chapter taking such a decision without very serious deliberation on its role in the movement and the value of the international community. ___ 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] WMIL Board members withdraw from international activities
On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 6:40 PM, Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il wrote: Hi Nathan, Allow me to correct - WMIL is not withdrawing from international activities. For example, WMIL will probably going to be one of the leading chapters supporting WLE, and many others international projects with others chapters. Alongside participating in the ChapConf and Wikimania (although right now it seem like we can't offer scholarships to editors from Israel like recent years). The board only asked, for a temporary period of time, from his members who are active in working groups and others committees, to understand that it's gonna be a hard year for WMIL and we need every help that they can give. Meaning that if before I dedicated my volunteering time 70% for the chapters and 30% for others international committees and for writing blog posts and updates, now I'm going to dedicated 100% of my time to help stabilize my chapter, in order to allow us soon to be back on track and return to our international involvement like before. WMIL is proud to be a leading chapters as part of the Wikimedia movement - and will continue to be one like that also in the future. So, what happened exactly that makes such a change from last year? If I interpret everything I read correctly, WMIL receives a 30% higher grant than it received last year, and still must reduce its activities. Was the FDC aware of these changes that require a higher budget for the same or fewer activities, and was it taken in to consideration for the requested grant? Martijn 2014-02-03 Nathan nawr...@gmail.com: I'm sure that the WMIL Board put a lot of thought into this decision, but I think it's a mistake. The Wikimedia movement is by nature global, cooperative and collective. I don't see how it will benefit either WMIL or the movement as a whole if Israeli participants withdraw from international cooperation and activity, even if they are able and willing to redirect the same energy to local fundraising efforts. Maybe the FDC did something wrong in that some applicants did not take the 20% increase guardrail seriously. I hope that FDC messaging and communication can be improved in the future so that recipients of large grant increases feel grateful instead of insulted, because it is an obviously poor outcome if an institution receives two hundred thousand dollars of donor money and is so upset that it announces it is all but exiting the international community. 2014-02-03 Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il: Hello, Wikimedia Israel board sent earlier today a letter to the chapter members. For your convince I'm attaching translation to English. -- Dear friends and colleagues, As you know, the FDC has allocated only a partial amount of the budget requested by Wikimedia Israel in order to execute its 2014 work plan as approved by the board and general assembly. Specifically, an amount of 709,000 NIS was approved; this represents 45% of the requested budget https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014_round1/Wikimedia_Israel/Proposal_form of 1,553,837 NIS. Just to set the record straight, the approved amount suffices only to cover basic operating cost for the chapter, and is insufficient for expanding our projects and initiatives (we’ve stated as much in our appeal https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Wikimedia_Israel ). Nevertheless, WMF’s board turned down https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Board_decision_on_Wikimedia_Israel.27s_appeal our appeal, as well as WMIN’s appeal. It should be noted that the FDC process received criticism, and WMDE has begun an open discussion https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Comments/Extensive_feedback_from_WMDE_to_the_FDC_process on the process, and you’re more than invited to take part. Needless to say, we were very disappointed from both the original decision and the rejection of our appeal, and we see both responses as stemming from irrelevant considerations, to “make an example” of WMIL (and WMIN), to prohibit other chapters from requesting significant budgets to allow them to grow their operation. This left WMIL in a difficult situation. WMIL board members and staff have been working tirelessly over the last few weeks to adapt the work plan to the reality of the low budget. Direct implications of this reality includes: less paid human resources required for supporting our volunteers and for becoming more professional at what we do; cuts in bursaries and grants to community projects, less involvement in international affairs, delaying our academic program and many additional changes. Nevertheless, we’re
Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMIL Board members withdraw from international activities
Martijn Hoekstra skrev 2014-02-03 19:26: So, what happened exactly that makes such a change from last year? If I interpret everything I read correctly, WMIL receives a 30% higher grant than it received last year, and still must reduce its activities. Was the FDC aware of these changes that require a higher budget for the same or fewer activities, and was it taken in to consideration for the requested grant? Martijn To cover the operating expeces in 2013 WM:IL used some extra 32 KUSD that was 'Wikimania leftovers' from 2011, being their operating reserves. And it seems these reserves was mainly used up in the second half of the year, as their running cost at end of year was considerably higher then the grant from FDC for 2013 allowed if leveled out for the year. FDC was aware of parts of this situation, but not all details, some of it was made clear first in their appeal and the actual time-costgradient was not known (Q4 had not even taken place). Our baseline was the funds given for 2013. Anders 2014-02-03 Nathan nawr...@gmail.com: I'm sure that the WMIL Board put a lot of thought into this decision, but I think it's a mistake. The Wikimedia movement is by nature global, cooperative and collective. I don't see how it will benefit either WMIL or the movement as a whole if Israeli participants withdraw from international cooperation and activity, even if they are able and willing to redirect the same energy to local fundraising efforts. Maybe the FDC did something wrong in that some applicants did not take the 20% increase guardrail seriously. I hope that FDC messaging and communication can be improved in the future so that recipients of large grant increases feel grateful instead of insulted, because it is an obviously poor outcome if an institution receives two hundred thousand dollars of donor money and is so upset that it announces it is all but exiting the international community. 2014-02-03 Itzik Edri it...@infra.co.il: Hello, Wikimedia Israel board sent earlier today a letter to the chapter members. For your convince I'm attaching translation to English. -- Dear friends and colleagues, As you know, the FDC has allocated only a partial amount of the budget requested by Wikimedia Israel in order to execute its 2014 work plan as approved by the board and general assembly. Specifically, an amount of 709,000 NIS was approved; this represents 45% of the requested budget https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014_round1/Wikimedia_Israel/Proposal_form of 1,553,837 NIS. Just to set the record straight, the approved amount suffices only to cover basic operating cost for the chapter, and is insufficient for expanding our projects and initiatives (we’ve stated as much in our appeal https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Wikimedia_Israel ). Nevertheless, WMF’s board turned down https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Appeals_to_the_Board_on_the_recommendations_of_the_FDC#Board_decision_on_Wikimedia_Israel.27s_appeal our appeal, as well as WMIN’s appeal. It should be noted that the FDC process received criticism, and WMDE has begun an open discussion https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/FDC_portal/Comments/Extensive_feedback_from_WMDE_to_the_FDC_process on the process, and you’re more than invited to take part. Needless to say, we were very disappointed from both the original decision and the rejection of our appeal, and we see both responses as stemming from irrelevant considerations, to “make an example” of WMIL (and WMIN), to prohibit other chapters from requesting significant budgets to allow them to grow their operation. This left WMIL in a difficult situation. WMIL board members and staff have been working tirelessly over the last few weeks to adapt the work plan to the reality of the low budget. Direct implications of this reality includes: less paid human resources required for supporting our volunteers and for becoming more professional at what we do; cuts in bursaries and grants to community projects, less involvement in international affairs, delaying our academic program and many additional changes. Nevertheless, we’re not giving up. WMIL has always been, and we hope it will continue to be, a strong chapter, one which maximizes the use of its resources, however limited, to be entrepreneurial and execute many projects that serve as examples to the entire Movement. Therefore, in spite of the changes in the budget, we are committed to working hard, very hard, to realize as much as we can of the original plans, while continuing to build our infrastructure and find additional resources that will allow us to expand our activities and create more impact by the end of 2014, and get fully back on track for 2015. It is important to make clear: our strategic plans do include raising more funding and
