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, and certainly the WMF needs a strategic reserve of some size to maintain operations in the event of a crisis. But a lot of thought has to go into the target size of that fund, the nature of its fundraising, how or whether it is used, and what role (and of what prominence) it plays in WM/WMF public relations.
There's a risk that the presence of a large endowment, or even a campaign to raise funds for an endowment, could cannibalize or turn off some donors. While I agree with Dan that there is something undesirable in making each annual fundraiser a life or death event, and essentially threatening our userbase with the end of the projects if the fundraiser doesn't go well, it's also clearly true that this is at least effective in raising money. There would at a minimum be a need to recalibrate messaging if an endowment were established that could carry the WMF through several years. We should also consider how having an endowment might affect the democratic nature of the WMF. (And before someone says "NOT#DEMOCRACY!!" yes, I know). This is the flipside of making the organization dependent on the annual fundraiser. While it's subject to economic fluctuations, it also is held responsible for the value it provides to user. If at some point the WMF loses the confidence, interest or support of the greater community of readers, then the organization will suffer as a result. But as an endowment becomes larger, the influence of the community decreases and the independence of management increases. I'm not sure what the current target is for a reserve, but a good starting point and middle ground between an endowment and a reserve is to have a fairly robust target - say three years of operational funding with a complete cessation of fundraising. In anything but a nightmare scenario, that should give the WMF a solid cushion of at least 5 to 10 years in the event of a major disruption in income, but avoid some of the challenges of a larger endowment and related campaign. ~Nathan _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
