Hi Andreas- A lot of the information you are looking for is addressed on the endowment meta pages <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Endowment>. I encourage you to ask your additional questions on the talk page <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment> where staff regularly answer questions about the endowment.
Thank you, Lisa On Fri, Jul 23, 2021 at 5:20 AM Andreas Kolbe <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Tony, > > Thanks for your reply. > > Could you share the thinking behind setting up the Endowment in this > Janus-like way, where it can be presented either as something that has > nothing to do with the WMF or as something that is all about the WMF and > its projects? > > Allow me to explain. You say on Meta, > > "The Wikimedia Endowment is established and held by a separate legal > entity (Tides Foundation) with its own separate Board and Advisory Board > that has the authority to control and govern the Policies and Practices of > the Endowment Funds. The Foundation and the Foundation’s Board do not have > any direct or indirect ability to determine the direction of management and > policies of the Endowment Funds. As such, per US Accounting Standards, in > which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) follows for the Form 990 reporting > purposes, the Endowment Funds are not required to be reported within the > Foundation’s financial statements on our Independent Auditors’ Report and > Form 990." > > On the other hand, Meta also tells readers:[1] > > The purpose of the Wikimedia Endowment is to act as a permanent > safekeeping fund to generate income to support the operations and > activities of the Wikimedia projects in perpetuity. The Endowment has been > established as a Collective Action Fund at Tides Foundation, a public > charity with a 40-year track record of holding and managing charitable > funds for nonprofit organizations. The Endowment was launched in January > 2016 (on the 15th anniversary of Wikipedia) with the initial goal of > raising $100 million to support the Wikimedia projects. The funds may be > transferred from Tides either to the Wikimedia Foundation or to other > charitable organisations selected by the Wikimedia Foundation to further > the Wikimedia mission. > > Moreover, > > * It is WMF employees – exclusively so, I believe – who solicit donations > to the Endowment. The WMF Staff and Contractors page[2] contains a > department named "Major Gifts, Foundations and Endowment", listing an > "Endowment Director", "Senior Endowment Development Officer" and so on. > * In internal documents[3] measuring the performance of the WMF > Advancement (fundraising) department, donations to the Endowment are > included under "revenue" (but are not so included in the financial > statements or Form 990). > * There is an overlap between the Wikimedia Endowment Advisory Board and > the WMF Foundation board. > * You reserved the right when setting up the Endowment to have the entire > amount returned to you, and are in fact planning to exercise that right in > order to move the Endowment to a new 501(c)3 non-profit organisation. > * The WMF has paid $30M to the Endowment over the past six years, > declaring it as an expense, plus another $8.7M to the Tides Advocacy fund, > also declared as an expense. > > So as I understand it, on the one hand you say – and I'm sure are legally > quite within your rights to say – that you "do not have any direct or > indirect ability to determine the direction of management and policies of > the Endowment Funds" and that the Wikimedia Endowment is not held by a > "related organization". > > On the other hand, one of your board members sits on the Endowment > Advisory Board, the WMF employs an "Endowment Director", the money "may be > transferred from Tides either to the Wikimedia Foundation or to other > charitable organisations selected by the Wikimedia Foundation" (this does > mean it cannot be transferred to anyone else, right?), and you are in fact > planning to have the entire $100M returned to you to set up a new > organisation to hold the money – all of which would seem to indicate that > you have practically complete control over the fund (as donors would also > expect). > > It certainly seems like the organisations – the WMF and the parts of Tides > managing the Endowment and Tides Advocacy funds – are "related", as the > question on the Form 990 puts it. > > I don't doubt that these two seemingly opposed views of the Endowment are > legally reconcilable, but why set it up in such a counterintuitive way? In > what way is it exemplary? How does it benefit the WMF, donors and the > mission? > > Best wishes, > Andreas > > [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Endowment > [2] https://wikimediafoundation.org/role/staff-contractors/ > [3] > https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AWikimedia_Foundation_third_quarter_2020-2021_tuning_session_-_Advancement.pdf&page=9 > > On Thu, Jul 22, 2021 at 11:54 PM Tony Le <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Andreas, >> >> Thanks for the question. Please refer to the talk page on meta >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:IRS_tax_related_information/2019_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions> >> for the answer as a similar question was posted there. >> >> Best, >> Tony Le >> >> On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 2:17 AM Andreas Kolbe <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi Jaime, >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> One quick question: In the Form 990, you answered "No" to the question, >>> "Did the organization, directly or through a related organization, hold >>> assets in donor-restricted endowments or in quasi endowments?", and >>> Schedule, Part V, "Endowment Funds", is left blank. >>> >>> Could you explain why the WMF is not required to report the – otherwise >>> much-publicised – Wikimedia Endowment in the Form 990? >>> >>> Best, >>> Andreas >>> >>> On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 4:42 AM Jaime Villagomez < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hello everyone, >>>> >>>> >>>> The Wikimedia Foundation has submitted our annual Form 990 for the >>>> Fiscal Year 2019-20 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 IRS 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] >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Here are a few key highlights on this year’s Form 990: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> - The Wikimedia Foundation's total revenue for fiscal year >>>> 2019-2020 was US $124.6 million. Our total expenses during this period were >>>> US $112.2 million and our total net assets at the end of the fiscal year >>>> were US $180.3 million. >>>> >>>> - At the end of our fiscal year 2019-2020, our revenue exceeded >>>> our expenses by US $12.5 million, which increased our operating reserve to >>>> $179.7 million, or the equivalent of 19-20 months of expenses per the >>>> fiscal year 2020-2021 annual plan >>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Medium-term_plan_2019/Annual_Plan_2020-2021>. >>>> As reported under our prior Form 990, we have been maintaining the >>>> operating reserve at 17-18 months. Our goal is to have sufficient reserve >>>> funds to conservatively provide at least 12-18 months of operating expenses >>>> in order to mitigate against unforeseen risk, secure operational stability, >>>> and ensure the overall financial health of the organization, in particular, >>>> with the COVID-19 pandemic which brings a significant amount of volatility >>>> and uncertainty for a majority of businesses, including non-profit >>>> organizations. This principle is consistent with many other financially >>>> stable, non-profit organizations that are rated by Charity Navigator >>>> <https://www.charitynavigator.org/>. With a stable and secure reserve, >>>> we have the ability to fund specific Wikimedia Movement investment >>>> opportunities that may arise. >>>> >>>> - During the fiscal year 2019-2020, we continued to >>>> experience growth in our fundraising revenue and success that was >>>> attributed to our fundraising campaigns. >>>> >>>> - We continue to invest in programmatic activities and >>>> evaluate to ensure that our allocation percentage is at or above the >>>> standard benchmark of 65%. During the fiscal year 2019-2020, we invested >>>> 75% in programmatic activities, 14% in Management & General activities, and >>>> 11% in fundraising activities. For fiscal year 2020-2021, we continued to >>>> maintain our commitment to our programmatic activities and projected to >>>> invest above the standard benchmark in our total spending. >>>> >>>> - Our expenses increased due to the investment to support our >>>> medium term plan and priorities, that are outlined in the Annual Plan >>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Medium-term_plan_2019/Annual_Plan_2019-2020>. >>>> The major programmatic areas are to evolve our systems and structures and >>>> to grow new contributors and content along with supporting a thriving >>>> movement and global advocacy. >>>> >>>> - Our Governance, Management, and Disclosure practices are >>>> committed to maintaining best practices for non-profit charitable >>>> organizations, we’ve achieved a score of 100% from Charity Navigator for >>>> our accountability and transparency and meet the IRS requirements as >>>> applicable. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 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 post your questions on the discussion page >>>> should you have any. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thank you to the Foundation's Audit Committee for their oversight and >>>> our Staff for their work in developing this year's Form 990 and related >>>> communications for filing and public disclosure. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Best Regards and Be Well, >>>> >>>> Jaime >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> [1] - https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/financial-reports/ >>>> >>>> [2] - >>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_related_information/2019_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions >>>> >>>> >>>> Jaime Villagomez >>>> >>>> Chief Financial Officer >>>> >>>> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.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/>* >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>> guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines >>>> and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>>> Public archives at >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/UBPBO6GOQBHDCGG4YQKBCL5R4KRTTYYG/ >>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >>> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>> Public archives at >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/QMVQ6S2765YMAELB6JIESBN6AOFK7Q3E/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> >> >> -- >> Tony Le >> Wikimedia Foundation >> Ph: 415-839-6885 ext 6749 >> Fax: 415-882-0495 >> [email protected] >> >> 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 -- [email protected], guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/VMSY37HAJ7XJZYC63LPGZ5BVGXTV2C7I/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/2Y4J7JTPNRFIW5OSFEP25THYV42CPIVS/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] -- Lisa Seitz Gruwell Chief Advancement Officer Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
_______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/O63RUWKL3OUXAQHDOYUEPW4AF7CLHISD/ To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
