Resolution:Funds Dissemination Committee
 | This proposal has been approved by the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. It may not be circumvented, eroded, or ignored by Wikimedia Foundation officers or staff nor local policies of any Wikimedia project. Please note that in the event of any differences in meaning or interpretation between the original English version of this content and a translation, the original English version takes precedence. |
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| This vote unanimously approved creating a funds dissemination committee. It was passed on March 30, 2012. |
It is hereby resolved that:
We affirm that all funds given to the Wikimedia movement are given in support of our global projects, in response to the value created by the global Wikimedia movement. Therefore, funds raised via the Wikimedia project sites should be considered to be movement money, not the entitlement of a particular organization or stakeholder. Decision-making about funds dissemination should be broad and inclusive, consistent with our mission, vision and values.
In acknowledgement of the above, the Wikimedia Foundation will set a global revenue target as part of its annual planning process, for all funds raised via the Wikimedia project sites. It will create an annual plan that divides the funds into three types:
- Funds for core operations of the Wikimedia Foundation. This includes the technical demands of running, maintaining and supporting the project sites, as well as maintaining the basic operations of the organization, such as legal, fundraising, accounting, HR, governance, and communications.
- Funds for operating reserves of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is to safeguard core operations in the event of unanticipated expenses or a shortfall in future revenues.
- Funds for other movement spending. This is for dissemination to all movement entities, including individuals, chapters, other entities, and the Wikimedia Foundation itself, for activities that support our mission.
This revenue target and funds allocation will be approved by the Wikimedia Foundation Board.
To support a broader and more inclusive decision-making process for funds distribution, the Wikimedia Foundation will create a volunteer-driven body (working title: the Funds Dissemination Committee, or FDC) whose sole purpose will be to make recommendations to the Wikimedia Foundation for funding activities and initiatives in support of the mission goals of the Wikimedia movement. All funds raised via the Wikimedia project sites will be distributed via the recommendations of the FDC, with the exception of Wikimedia Foundation core operating costs and the operating reserve as described above.
The work of the FDC should be guided by our principles for funds distribution (as laid out in our January 2012 resolution): to protect core operations, assess impact, promote transparency and stability, support decentralized programs, promote responsibility and accountability, and make decisions openly and collaboratively.
The Board supports the direction of the initial thinking provided by the Executive Director on the design of the Funds Dissemination Committee, and directs the Executive Director to lead the creation of such an FDC. A preliminary plan should be submitted to the Board by June 30, 2012, containing:
- a description of how the FDC will function,
- a transition plan for rolling it out, with a partial rollout in 2012-2013 and a full rollout for 2013-2014, and
- a process for evaluating, reviewing and making refinements at several key stages.
Votes
- Approve
- Phoebe Ayers, Ting Chen, Bishakha Datta, Matt Halprin, Samuel Klein, Arne Klempert, Jan-Bart de Vreede, Jimmy Wales, Kat Walsh, Stu West