Thank you for this report. For the record, I note that I continue to object to what I consider to be inadequate transparency regarding WMF's finances and my deep skepticism that there are laws that prohibit a significantly greater degree of transparency. There may be some quirks of California law with which I am unfamiliar, but it's safe to say that based on my current knowledge of how much data government agencies publish about their finances and personnel practices, and the degree to which I feel that transparency is good for deterring and detecting questionable uses of funds, that if I was on the WMF Board then I would be pushing strongly for greater openness about WMF's finances, and I question whether the Board is being given full and candid advice by staff regarding this matter. Because of potential conflicts of interest with current staff, this is a matter on which I would advise the Board to consult outside counsel.
Pine ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine ) On Thu, May 31, 2018 at 5:03 PM, Tony Le <t...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > *---- Sending on behalf of Jaime Villagomez ----Hello Everyone, The > Wikimedia Foundation has submitted our annual Form 990 to the US Internal > Revenue Service <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service> > (IRS) and posted on-wiki[1]. The Form 990 is the annual financial > reporting, known as an “information return,” which the federal government > requires nonprofit organizations in the United States to file. In addition > to posting the Form 990 on-wiki, we have also posted an accompanying page > with answers to frequently asked questions related to the form and > information we reported[2]. Almost all financial reports by their very > nature can be confusing, so to add clarity here is a simple breakdown of > key disclosures this form covers. We have previously explained that the > applicable dates for information disclosed on our financial reports can be > confusing, given that our July 1 fiscal year is different from the January > 1 calendar year. For example, this "2016 Form 990" covers the financial > activities of the Wikimedia Foundation for our 2016-2017 fiscal year, > which ran from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. However, the calendar year > applies to disclosure of compensation of our officers, key employees, > highest paid staff and independent contractors. Those disclosures are > based on payments made during the 2016 calendar year -- in other words, > compensation paid from January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2106. The > compensation paid to individuals that is disclosed therefore spans part of > Foundation’s 2015-2016 fiscal year and part of its 2016-2017 fiscal > year. The Wikimedia Foundation's total revenue in our fiscal year > 2016-2017 was US $89,973,967. Our total expenses during this period were > US $69,076,192 and our total net assets at the end of the fiscal year were > US $113,330,197.The Form 990 also includes information about compensation > paid to the Wikimedia Foundation's five highest paid employees. The > salaries for all paid positions are set according to salary bands which are > determined bi-annually based on independent third party survey data[3]. > Executive salaries are subject to this same standard. All executive > salaries, with the exception of the Executive Director's salary, are set by > the Executive Director, using the survey data, and in discussion with the > Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees also uses the independent third > party survey data, as well as comparative data from other nonprofit > organizations, to set the salary of the Executive Director, and to assess > and advise on other executive salaries. This is not only a best practice, > but is a process that is required under applicable law.In addition to > salary information, the report includes other payments made to certain of > the highest employees upon their departure from the organization -- even > where those departures may have occurred in 2016, but prior to the > Foundation’s fiscal year. Following our regular practice for staff > departures, these severance amounts are set on a case-by-case based on a > person's tenure with the organization. We recognize that people have an > interest in this topic, and that there will be some questions. However, as > an employer we are limited in what we can discuss publicly, both because of > legal requirements, as well as respect for employees’ confidentiality. We > are very transparent about executive payments, while ensuring that our > transparency is consistent with a respectful work environment that does not > violate the confidential personnel information of our staff.Through reports > and discussions like these, the Wikimedia Foundation will continue to > strive to provide a responsible level of transparency and accountability. I > imagine there are other questions, and I invite you to review the on-wiki > FAQ[2], or email me if your question is not answered there.Thank you to the > Foundation's Talent & Culture, Legal, Advancement and Communications > departments for their assistance with developing this year's Form 990 and > related communications. A very big thank you to our Finance and > Administration department for their hard work preparing this important > public filing. Jaime VillagomezChief Financial Officer* *[1] Link to PDF > <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports# > 2016%E2%80%932017_fiscal_year>* > *[2] Link to FAQ > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_issues_and_ > information/2016_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions > >* > > *[3] https://www.radford.com/home/surveys/gts/ > <https://www.radford.com/home/surveys/gts/>* > > > -- > Tony Le > Wikimedia Foundation > Ph: 415-839-6885 ext 6749 > Fax: 415-882-0495 > t...@wikimedia.org > > *We've moved! **Our new address:* > > Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. > 1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600 > San Francisco, CA 94104 > > This message is confidential and may be legally privileged or otherwise > protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, please > telephone or email the sender and delete this message and any attachment > from your system; you must not copy or disclose the contents of this > message or any attachment to any other person. > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: 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 and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
