Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Andreas Kolbe]

Dear Julia,

On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 4:07 PM Julia Brungs  wrote:

> Hi Andreas,
>
> Thank you for bringing these questions together here. As you are aware the
> questions and answers are also on meta (both the talk:Endowment [1] and the
> talk:Fundraising [2]) and we expect to post further answers to those
> talkpages during the US West Coast daytime today.
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment#Questions_(from_Wikimedia_Enterprise_discussion)
> [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fundraising
>

I will briefly note below which questions were answered yesterday and which
ones still await an answer.

 On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 4:01 PM Andreas Kolbe  wrote:

> Hi Lisa and all,
>>
>> Could you provide any update on what is happening with the $8.7 million
>> in the Tides Advocacy fund? I asked about it on the Endowment talk page on
>> Meta two weeks ago, and while many other questions there have been
>> answered, this one has not.
>>
>
The answer I've been given is that more information will now be shared in
May. (This information was originally promised in the FAQ for late 2020,
and then promised for early 2021.)



> I also asked on Meta how much money the WMF had contributed to the
>> Endowment to date. Amy Parker just replied it had been $20 million,[1] but
>> that can't be right, as in the audited 2019/2020 financial statements
>> published last year (page no. 14), it was already $25 million ($5 million
>> p.a. over five years).[2]
>>
>
It's $25 million to date.



> A curious side-effect of the Endowment is that money the WMF pays into its
>> own Endowment shows up as an Awards and Grants *expense* in the audited
>> statements, reducing the revenue surplus. Money flowing into the Endowment,
>> on the other hand, is included neither in Revenue nor Net Assets, as it is
>> legally separate.[7]
>>
>> So according to the financial statements for the last five years, the WMF
>> had a revenue surplus of over $100 million over that time period (measured
>> as increase in net assets, from $77.8 million to $180.3 million). But over
>> the same period, the Foundation also accumulated $100 million in Tides
>> Foundation funds (i.e. the Endowment, reported[6] to have passed $90
>> million in early February, and the $8.7 million in Tides Advocacy).
>>
>> This means that the Foundation has actually had a revenue surplus of more
>> than $200 million over the past five years, averaging over $40 million per
>> annum.
>>
>> Could you provide an update on exactly how much many money is in the
>> Endowment and the Tides Advocacy fund at the moment? The Endowment is not
>> very transparent. I understand the only page showing how much money has
>> accumulated in the Endowment is the page on Meta, and this has only
>> sporadically been updated. In this edit,[3] for example, it jumped from
>> $62.9 million to $90 million. Before that, the total had last been updated
>> more than six months prior.[4]
>>
>> Would it be possible to provide, say, monthly updates for the Endowment
>> on Meta? (If I have missed any other pages  or documents containing such
>> information, I would ask you to kindly provide a link.)
>>
>
There has been no answer to this (and these are not questions asked on
Meta). To be clear, the questions are:

1. How much money is there currently in the Endowment and Tides Advocacy
funds?
2. Would it be possible to provide, say, monthly updates for the Endowment
on Meta?



> In the discussions on Meta, Pats Peña pointed me to the FAQ[5] for the
>> most recent financial statements. One thing I miss in these FAQs is any
>> reference to the $100 million held by the Tides Foundation. Readers of the
>> FAQ will remain unaware that the actual amount of investments the WMF was
>> the beneficiary of in July 2020 substantially exceeded the figure of $170
>> million given in the audited financial statements the FAQ refers to –
>> including the Tides funds, by well over $70 million when the FAQ was
>> published.
>>
>> I also cannot see any reference to the fact that the expenses noted in
>> the FAQ include $5 million that the WMF paid into its own endowment. Could
>> this be remedied in this and future FAQs?
>>
>
There has been no answer to this, and they're not questions asked on Meta.
So,

3. Could a mention of the Endowment, and the fact that the posted expenses
include $5 million paid to the endowment, be added to the FAQ?

(The FAQ refers to the most recent audited accounts, and thus is still a
live document. For Awards and grants, which includes the $5 million paid to
the endowment, the FAQ summary is: "We increased our awards and grants as
we continue our commitment to support our Affiliates, Organized Groups, and
Community Members." I don't think the Endowment could reasonably be
described as an "Affiliate, Organized Group, or Community Member", and its
$5 million would surely represent the largest amount in this bracket, after
the Tides Advocacy grant.)



> Finally, if we were trying 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Julia Brungs]

Hi Andreas,

Thank you for bringing these questions together here. As you are aware the
questions and answers are also on meta (both the talk:Endowment [1] and the
talk:Fundraising [2]) and we expect to post further answers to those
talkpages during the US West Coast daytime today.

Thank you very much.
Best wishes,
Julia

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment#Questions_(from_Wikimedia_Enterprise_discussion)
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fundraising
-- 
*Julia Brungs*
Senior Community Relations Specialist
Wikimedia Foundation 

On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 4:01 PM Andreas Kolbe  wrote:

> Hi Lisa and all,
>
> Could you provide any update on what is happening with the $8.7 million in
> the Tides Advocacy fund? I asked about it on the Endowment talk page on
> Meta two weeks ago, and while many other questions there have been
> answered, this one has not.
>
> I also asked on Meta how much money the WMF had contributed to the
> Endowment to date. Amy Parker just replied it had been $20 million,[1] but
> that can't be right, as in the audited 2019/2020 financial statements
> published last year (page no. 14), it was already $25 million ($5 million
> p.a. over five years).[2]
>
> A curious side-effect of the Endowment is that money the WMF pays into its
> own Endowment shows up as an Awards and Grants *expense* in the audited
> statements, reducing the revenue surplus. Money flowing into the Endowment,
> on the other hand, is included neither in Revenue nor Net Assets, as it is
> legally separate.[7]
>
> So according to the financial statements for the last five years, the WMF
> had a revenue surplus of over $100 million over that time period (measured
> as increase in net assets, from $77.8 million to $180.3 million). But over
> the same period, the Foundation also accumulated $100 million in Tides
> Foundation funds (i.e. the Endowment, reported[6] to have passed $90
> million in early February, and the $8.7 million in Tides Advocacy).
>
> This means that the Foundation has actually had a revenue surplus of more
> than $200 million over the past five years, averaging over $40 million per
> annum.
>
> Could you provide an update on exactly how much many money is in the
> Endowment and the Tides Advocacy fund at the moment? The Endowment is not
> very transparent. I understand the only page showing how much money has
> accumulated in the Endowment is the page on Meta, and this has only
> sporadically been updated. In this edit,[3] for example, it jumped from
> $62.9 million to $90 million. Before that, the total had last been updated
> more than six months prior.[4]
>
> Would it be possible to provide, say, monthly updates for the Endowment on
> Meta? (If I have missed any other pages  or documents containing such
> information, I would ask you to kindly provide a link.)
>
> In the discussions on Meta, Pats Peña pointed me to the FAQ[5] for the
> most recent financial statements. One thing I miss in these FAQs is any
> reference to the $100 million held by the Tides Foundation. Readers of the
> FAQ will remain unaware that the actual amount of investments the WMF was
> the beneficiary of in July 2020 substantially exceeded the figure of $170
> million given in the audited financial statements the FAQ refers to –
> including the Tides funds, by well over $70 million when the FAQ was
> published.
>
> I also cannot see any reference to the fact that the expenses noted in the
> FAQ include $5 million that the WMF paid into its own endowment. Could this
> be remedied in this and future FAQs?
>
> Finally, if we were trying to provide a best estimate of the Wikimedia
> Foundation's current total net assets (last reported as $180 million,
> excluding money in the Tides Foundation), would $200 million be in the
> right ballpark, for a grand total of $300 million if we include the Tides
> Foundation money?
>
> I understand that fundraising this fiscal year already exceeded the
> combined year goal for the Foundation and endowment after the first six
> months, followed by the year goal being raised, and exceeded again before
> the end of the second quarter.[8] As fundraising continues (currently in
> Mexico, I understand), it seems certain the WMF net assets are once again
> likely to have risen substantially by the end of the fiscal year,
> especially given that once again, many physical events will have had to be
> cancelled owing to the pandemic.
>
> Best wishes,
> Andreas
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment=21395254=21391565
> [2]
> https://foundation.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf=16
> [3]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Endowment=21014846=21012384
> [4]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Endowment=prev=20317968
> [5]
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Andreas Kolbe]

Hi Lisa and all,

Could you provide any update on what is happening with the $8.7 million in
the Tides Advocacy fund? I asked about it on the Endowment talk page on
Meta two weeks ago, and while many other questions there have been
answered, this one has not.

I also asked on Meta how much money the WMF had contributed to the
Endowment to date. Amy Parker just replied it had been $20 million,[1] but
that can't be right, as in the audited 2019/2020 financial statements
published last year (page no. 14), it was already $25 million ($5 million
p.a. over five years).[2]

A curious side-effect of the Endowment is that money the WMF pays into its
own Endowment shows up as an Awards and Grants *expense* in the audited
statements, reducing the revenue surplus. Money flowing into the Endowment,
on the other hand, is included neither in Revenue nor Net Assets, as it is
legally separate.[7]

So according to the financial statements for the last five years, the WMF
had a revenue surplus of over $100 million over that time period (measured
as increase in net assets, from $77.8 million to $180.3 million). But over
the same period, the Foundation also accumulated $100 million in Tides
Foundation funds (i.e. the Endowment, reported[6] to have passed $90
million in early February, and the $8.7 million in Tides Advocacy).

This means that the Foundation has actually had a revenue surplus of more
than $200 million over the past five years, averaging over $40 million per
annum.

Could you provide an update on exactly how much many money is in the
Endowment and the Tides Advocacy fund at the moment? The Endowment is not
very transparent. I understand the only page showing how much money has
accumulated in the Endowment is the page on Meta, and this has only
sporadically been updated. In this edit,[3] for example, it jumped from
$62.9 million to $90 million. Before that, the total had last been updated
more than six months prior.[4]

Would it be possible to provide, say, monthly updates for the Endowment on
Meta? (If I have missed any other pages  or documents containing such
information, I would ask you to kindly provide a link.)

In the discussions on Meta, Pats Peña pointed me to the FAQ[5] for the most
recent financial statements. One thing I miss in these FAQs is any
reference to the $100 million held by the Tides Foundation. Readers of the
FAQ will remain unaware that the actual amount of investments the WMF was
the beneficiary of in July 2020 substantially exceeded the figure of $170
million given in the audited financial statements the FAQ refers to –
including the Tides funds, by well over $70 million when the FAQ was
published.

I also cannot see any reference to the fact that the expenses noted in the
FAQ include $5 million that the WMF paid into its own endowment. Could this
be remedied in this and future FAQs?

Finally, if we were trying to provide a best estimate of the Wikimedia
Foundation's current total net assets (last reported as $180 million,
excluding money in the Tides Foundation), would $200 million be in the
right ballpark, for a grand total of $300 million if we include the Tides
Foundation money?

I understand that fundraising this fiscal year already exceeded the
combined year goal for the Foundation and endowment after the first six
months, followed by the year goal being raised, and exceeded again before
the end of the second quarter.[8] As fundraising continues (currently in
Mexico, I understand), it seems certain the WMF net assets are once again
likely to have risen substantially by the end of the fiscal year,
especially given that once again, many physical events will have had to be
cancelled owing to the pandemic.

Best wishes,
Andreas

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment=21395254=21391565
[2]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf=16
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Endowment=21014846=21012384
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Endowment=prev=20317968
[5]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/Financial/Audits/2019-2020_-_frequently_asked_questions=21317632
[6]
https://www.axios.com/exclusive-the-end-of-the-maher-era-at-wikipedia-c1ed1408-bab7-4308-9407-db093e24c80d.html
[7]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Wikimedia_Endowment=21366511=21366424
[8]
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Wikimedia_Foundation_second_quarter_2020-2021_tuning_session_-_Advancement.pdf

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 5:54 PM Lisa Gruwell  wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Thanks for the questions. We intend to announce the Knowledge Equity Fund
> in early 2021, once we have a bit more details and specifics worked out.
> However, we can share the overall intention today.
>
> Some background: Our fiscal year runs from July through June, which means
> that the second half of last year was heavily affected by the 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Mario Gómez]

On Sun, Jan 3, 2021 at 2:00 PM Gnangarra  wrote:

> > A portion of our grant to Tides Advocacy will be used to launch the
>> Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a new fund that the Wikimedia Foundation
>> is establishing this fiscal year to invest in new grant-making
>> opportunities in support of groups that are advancing equitable, inclusive
>> representation in free knowledge.
>
>
> Does this mean that funds will be used for work not related to Wikimedia
>> projects?
>
>
> since our goal is to "freely share the sum of all knowledge"  anything
> that leads to that goal does benefit the projects, there are place and
> reasons thats not happening because of other issues so if this is a
> solution to some of those then its worth the effort.  Everything that is
> freely licensed becomes available to the Movement anyway
>

I assumed that was the rationale behind the wording. It's just an
assumption, so I'm asking for clarification.

During the Strategy discussions it became clear that part of the community
is concerned about the WMF moving from support to the Wikimedia movement to
a grant-making organization for external projects.

Best,

MarioGom
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Gnangarra]

Kaya



> > A portion of our grant to Tides Advocacy will be used to launch the
> Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a new fund that the Wikimedia Foundation
> is establishing this fiscal year to invest in new grant-making
> opportunities in support of groups that are advancing equitable, inclusive
> representation in free knowledge.


Does this mean that funds will be used for work not related to Wikimedia
> projects?


since our goal is to "freely share the sum of all knowledge"  anything that
leads to that goal does benefit the projects, there are place and reasons
thats not happening because of other issues so if this is a solution to
some of those then its worth the effort.  Everything that is freely
licensed becomes available to the Movement anyway

On Sun, 3 Jan 2021 at 20:19, Mario Gómez  wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> > A portion of our grant to Tides Advocacy will be used to launch the
> Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a new fund that the Wikimedia Foundation
> is establishing this fiscal year to invest in new grant-making
> opportunities in support of groups that are advancing equitable, inclusive
> representation in free knowledge.
>
> Does this mean that funds will be used for work not related to Wikimedia
> projects?
>
> Best,
>
> MarioGom
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GN.

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Mario Gómez]

Hi,

> A portion of our grant to Tides Advocacy will be used to launch the
Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a new fund that the Wikimedia Foundation
is establishing this fiscal year to invest in new grant-making
opportunities in support of groups that are advancing equitable, inclusive
representation in free knowledge.

Does this mean that funds will be used for work not related to Wikimedia
projects?

Best,

MarioGom
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Dan Garry (Deskana)]

On Sat, 2 Jan 2021 at 07:46, rupert THURNER 
wrote:

> have a good start into the new year everybody! should not, ideally, the
> legal team of amanda keton be able to tell if fundting something is legal?
> or is this a liability issue, so tides would be liable for misconduct, and
> not a person within wikimedia foundation?
>

Given Tides' core competencies as an organisation, one would expect that
the legal folks there have more experience in handling matters relating to
things like what activities a 501(c)(3) can fund, more knowledge of the
statutes, case law, precedent, etc. I'm sure the Legal team at the WMF
could do this too, but they might have less experience with it than in
other areas of the law, meaning they'd have to start from scratch with lots
of time-consuming research, whereas contracting with an organisation that
specialises in exactly this might be better.

So, I don't think it's quite as simple as whether they can do it or not,
but more about what would be more efficient and comprehensive.

Dan
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[rupert THURNER]

hi lisa,

have a good start into the new year everybody! should not, ideally, the
legal team of amanda keton be able to tell if fundting something is legal?
or is this a liability issue, so tides would be liable for misconduct, and
not a person within wikimedia foundation?

rupert


On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 PM Lisa Gruwell 
wrote:

> Hi Mike-
>
> Thanks for the question.  The review and oversight that we will get from
> Tides is nothing like the FDC review.  They will be looking at, for
> example, "Is this grant supporting activity that is legal for a 501c3 to
> fund?"  It is in no way a replacement for the work that the FDC or the
> Global Council would do regarding grants.
>
> Best,
> Lisa
>
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 12:55 PM Michael Peel  wrote:
>
>> Hi Lisa,
>>
>> Isn’t this the oversight work that the WMF wanted to be able to do when
>> it changed from Wikimedia affiliates being able to fundraise directly to
>> the FDC process? Why has WMF chosen to outsource this to Tides rather than
>> continuing to do it in-house? And why does Tides now get to approve such
>> grants, rather than a community appointed committee?
>>
>> FDC was a process that worked extremely well, and was discontinued for
>> obscure reasons. The Global Council approach that the strategy was heading
>> towards looked like it might be a good replacement. Outsourcing it to Tides
>> seems really bad.
>>
>> Boldly creating a new fund for fellow organisations looks nice, but
>> without community involvement it’s a controversy in development.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>>
>> On 14 Dec 2020, at 20:11, Lisa Gruwell  wrote:
>>
>> Hi Chris-
>>
>> I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not
>> picking the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the
>> grants comes from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of
>> the grants,  approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding
>> to the grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides
>> were to see one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be
>> open to hearing their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and
>> transparency requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making
>> recommendations for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will
>> play a similar role as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there
>> will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your
>> patience for the folks initiating this and trust that they will share more
>> soon.
>>
>> Best,
>> Lisa
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating <
>> chriskeatingw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some
>>> questions still.
>>>

 Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
 community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
 (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for
 affiliates for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising
 performed. It also gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time
 to work together to make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush.
 All affiliates who will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of
 the arrangement last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants,
 Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly,
 as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.

>>>
>>> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or
>>> will Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and
>>> what amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change
>>> to the reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants?
>>> What is the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was
>>> abolished a couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any
>>> community-driven replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has
>>> gone into the implementation of the strategy?
>>>
>>>
 As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million.
 We are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how
 it will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as
 we go.

>>>
>>> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not
>>> previously heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million
>>> transfer without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there
>>> anything more that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund
>>> knowledge equity somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led
>>> process (maybe even involving the community), or will Tides be actually
>>> making recommendations about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are
>>> Tides going to adjust to the Wikimedia community's expectations 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Yair Rand]

(@Deskana: When 6-18 months go by and there is no information made public
until finally forced by either legal requirements (eg the form 990s) or
basic reporting standards (eg the audit report, without which the WMF would
lose ratings in sites like Charity Navigator), that indicates a lack of
desire for transparency. The text in the FAQ does include any information
not already included in the report except the "we'll share more information
later" bit and a slight elaboration of the meaning of "unconditional
grant".)

Note that the "Tides" which (as mentioned by the CAO above) the WMF has
been working with for years is the Tides Foundation, which is not the same
organization as the grantee here (the advocacy/lobbying group called Tides
Advocacy), which unlike Tides Foundation is not a 501(c)(3). (There are
ambiguous "ties" between the two organizations, but they are separate
entities.)

If the Board approved this major action, as mentioned, it means that the
Board minutes (and presumably resolutions list) are so incomplete that they
cannot be relied upon to include essentially anything. If they can
specifically omit such things, they do little to ensure transparency in the
Board's activities. This is a very disappointing development.

I do not understand how WMF internal accounting issues justify transfering
the grant money to an outside organization, which additionally appears to
have no obligation to publicly report where the transferred money is going.

-- Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ג׳, 15 בדצמ׳ 2020 ב-10:52 מאת ‪Pharos‬‏ <‪
pharosofalexand...@gmail.com‬‏>:‬

> Hi Lisa and all,
>
> Thanks for your responses and thoughts. This is an important area, and key
> to get right with a consensus-driven approach.
>
> Are we going to announce the process for giving grants to organisations
> outside the movement, including the process for community involvement, in
> the spirit of the strategy recommendations?
>
> Or should we just expect an announcement of the first recipients?
>
> Thanks,
> Richard
> (User:Pharos)
>
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 12:54 PM Lisa Gruwell 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Thanks for the questions. We intend to announce the Knowledge Equity Fund
>> in early 2021, once we have a bit more details and specifics worked out.
>> However, we can share the overall intention today.
>>
>> Some background: Our fiscal year runs from July through June, which means
>> that the second half of last year was heavily affected by the unforeseen
>> effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Community events were canceled, hiring
>> slowed, and we put work on pause while we responded to the changing
>> circumstances. As a result, we ended the year with funds that were
>> underspent, relative to what we had planned for the budget.
>>
>> In May of last year, we were also planning for this current fiscal year
>> and had very little insight about how fundraising would perform in this
>> pandemic. People around the world were losing their sources of income, as
>> unemployment soared. We worked with the board to plan for different
>> scenarios, including if fundraising went really poorly.
>>
>> As a general matter, when the budget is underspent, any remainder goes
>> into the reserve. For accounting purposes, it cannot be carried over into
>> the budget of a new fiscal year. Because we were concerned about the
>> uncertainty of fundraising this year, we decided to set aside underspent
>> funds from the past fiscal year, so that we could keep our commitment to
>> our grantees even if fundraising fell short and also make progress on
>> knowledge equity. (Good news: Fundraising ended up going a lot better than
>> we expected when we were planning in the early months of this pandemic.
>> More to come on that.)
>>
>> With the WMF board’s approval, we set up a US$8.7 million grantmaking
>> fund at Tides Advocacy, which has two purposes: 1) Funding Annual Plan
>> Grants (APG) to the affiliates this year and 2) Funding Knowledge Equity.
>> We have been working with Tides since 2016 when we launched the Endowment.
>> The relationship has gone well and they have a lot of expertise at
>> administering grants internationally.
>>
>> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
>> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
>> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for
>> affiliates for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising
>> performed. It also gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time
>> to work together to make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush.
>> All affiliates who will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of
>> the arrangement last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants,
>> Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly,
>> as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>>
>> As the Audit Report FAQ states,[1] the remaining funds will be used to
>> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Pharos]

Hi Lisa and all,

Thanks for your responses and thoughts. This is an important area, and key
to get right with a consensus-driven approach.

Are we going to announce the process for giving grants to organisations
outside the movement, including the process for community involvement, in
the spirit of the strategy recommendations?

Or should we just expect an announcement of the first recipients?

Thanks,
Richard
(User:Pharos)

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 12:54 PM Lisa Gruwell 
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Thanks for the questions. We intend to announce the Knowledge Equity Fund
> in early 2021, once we have a bit more details and specifics worked out.
> However, we can share the overall intention today.
>
> Some background: Our fiscal year runs from July through June, which means
> that the second half of last year was heavily affected by the unforeseen
> effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Community events were canceled, hiring
> slowed, and we put work on pause while we responded to the changing
> circumstances. As a result, we ended the year with funds that were
> underspent, relative to what we had planned for the budget.
>
> In May of last year, we were also planning for this current fiscal year
> and had very little insight about how fundraising would perform in this
> pandemic. People around the world were losing their sources of income, as
> unemployment soared. We worked with the board to plan for different
> scenarios, including if fundraising went really poorly.
>
> As a general matter, when the budget is underspent, any remainder goes
> into the reserve. For accounting purposes, it cannot be carried over into
> the budget of a new fiscal year. Because we were concerned about the
> uncertainty of fundraising this year, we decided to set aside underspent
> funds from the past fiscal year, so that we could keep our commitment to
> our grantees even if fundraising fell short and also make progress on
> knowledge equity. (Good news: Fundraising ended up going a lot better than
> we expected when we were planning in the early months of this pandemic.
> More to come on that.)
>
> With the WMF board’s approval, we set up a US$8.7 million grantmaking
> fund at Tides Advocacy, which has two purposes: 1) Funding Annual Plan
> Grants (APG) to the affiliates this year and 2) Funding Knowledge Equity.
> We have been working with Tides since 2016 when we launched the Endowment.
> The relationship has gone well and they have a lot of expertise at
> administering grants internationally.
>
> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates
> for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also
> gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to
> make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who
> will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement
> last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants,
> Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly, as usual.
> There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>
> As the Audit Report FAQ states,[1] the remaining funds will be used to
> launch the Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund. This new fund is in addition to
> the existing grants that are already available for the communities
> (Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project Grants, and APGs) and does not
> impact the amount of funds in those grant portfolios.
>
> Our goal is to use this fund to invest in new opportunities that increase the
> availability of free knowledge for marginalized people and counteract
> structural inequalities. Knowledge equity is a key pillar of the 2030
> movement strategy, and this investment will help us to address some of the
> barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to free
> knowledge.
>
> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We
> are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it
> will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we
> go.
>
> We’ll share more details in early 2021 about the Knowledge Equity Fund. We
> are excited to see what progress we can make for knowledge equity with this
> investment.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Lisa Gruwell
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/Financial/Audits/2019-2020_-_frequently_asked_questions/id#This_year%E2%80%99s_report_says_that_the_Wikimedia_Foundation_provided_an_unconditional_grant_of_$8.723_million_to_Tides_Advocacy_for_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund._What_is_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund?
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga]

Thanks Lisa,
It makes total sense.

Galder

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of Lisa 
Gruwell 
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2020 6:53 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge 
Equity Fund"


Hi all,


Thanks for the questions. We intend to announce the Knowledge Equity Fund in 
early 2021, once we have a bit more details and specifics worked out. However, 
we can share the overall intention today.


Some background: Our fiscal year runs from July through June, which means that 
the second half of last year was heavily affected by the unforeseen effects of 
the Covid-19 pandemic. Community events were canceled, hiring slowed, and we 
put work on pause while we responded to the changing circumstances. As a 
result, we ended the year with funds that were underspent, relative to what we 
had planned for the budget.


In May of last year, we were also planning for this current fiscal year and had 
very little insight about how fundraising would perform in this pandemic. 
People around the world were losing their sources of income, as unemployment 
soared. We worked with the board to plan for different scenarios, including if 
fundraising went really poorly.


As a general matter, when the budget is underspent, any remainder goes into the 
reserve. For accounting purposes, it cannot be carried over into the budget of 
a new fiscal year. Because we were concerned about the uncertainty of 
fundraising this year, we decided to set aside underspent funds from the past 
fiscal year, so that we could keep our commitment to our grantees even if 
fundraising fell short and also make progress on knowledge equity. (Good news: 
Fundraising ended up going a lot better than we expected when we were planning 
in the early months of this pandemic.  More to come on that.)


With the WMF board’s approval, we set up a US$8.7 million grantmaking fund at 
Tides Advocacy, which has two purposes: 1) Funding Annual Plan Grants (APG) to 
the affiliates this year and 2) Funding Knowledge Equity. We have been working 
with Tides since 2016 when we launched the Endowment. The relationship has gone 
well and they have a lot of expertise at administering grants internationally.


Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support 
community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants (APG) 
for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates for this 
year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also gives staff 
at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to make thoughtful 
grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who will be receiving 
funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement last summer. All other 
grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being 
funded through WMF directly, as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go 
out via Tides this week.


As the Audit Report FAQ states,[1] the remaining funds will be used to launch 
the Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund. This new fund is in addition to the 
existing grants that are already available for the communities (Community 
Grants, Rapid Grants, Project Grants, and APGs) and does not impact the amount 
of funds in those grant portfolios.


Our goal is to use this fund to invest in new opportunities that increase the 
availability of free knowledge for marginalized people and counteract 
structural inequalities. Knowledge equity is a key pillar of the 2030 movement 
strategy, and this investment will help us to address some of the barriers 
preventing people from accessing and contributing to free knowledge.


As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We are 
still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it will 
operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we go.


We’ll share more details in early 2021 about the Knowledge Equity Fund. We are 
excited to see what progress we can make for knowledge equity with this 
investment.


Thank you,


Lisa Gruwell


[1] 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/Financial/Audits/2019-2020_-_frequently_asked_questions/id#This_year%E2%80%99s_report_says_that_the_Wikimedia_Foundation_provided_an_unconditional_grant_of_$8.723_million_to_Tides_Advocacy_for_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund._What_is_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund?<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/Financial/Audits/2019-2020_-_frequently_asked_questions/id#This_year%E2%80%99s_report_says_that_the_Wikimedia_Foundation_provided_an_unconditional_grant_of_$8.723_million_to_Tides_Advocacy_for_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund._What_is_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund?>


On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 12:35 PM Katherine Maher 
mailto:kma...@wikimedia.org>> wrote:
Hi folks,

Happy Sunday from San Francisco -- we

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Michael Peel]

Hi Lisa,

OK, so who in the Wikimedia movement is reviewing the funding applications and 
deciding where the money that Tides has been entrusted with gets spent?

Thanks,
Mike

> On 14 Dec 2020, at 21:17, Lisa Gruwell  wrote:
> 
> Hi Mike-
> 
> Thanks for the question.  The review and oversight that we will get from 
> Tides is nothing like the FDC review.  They will be looking at, for example, 
> "Is this grant supporting activity that is legal for a 501c3 to fund?"  It is 
> in no way a replacement for the work that the FDC or the Global Council would 
> do regarding grants.
> 
> Best,
> Lisa
> 
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 12:55 PM Michael Peel  > wrote:
> Hi Lisa,
> 
> Isn’t this the oversight work that the WMF wanted to be able to do when it 
> changed from Wikimedia affiliates being able to fundraise directly to the FDC 
> process? Why has WMF chosen to outsource this to Tides rather than continuing 
> to do it in-house? And why does Tides now get to approve such grants, rather 
> than a community appointed committee?
> 
> FDC was a process that worked extremely well, and was discontinued for 
> obscure reasons. The Global Council approach that the strategy was heading 
> towards looked like it might be a good replacement. Outsourcing it to Tides 
> seems really bad.
> 
> Boldly creating a new fund for fellow organisations looks nice, but without 
> community involvement it’s a controversy in development.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mike
> 
>> On 14 Dec 2020, at 20:11, Lisa Gruwell > > wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Chris-
>> 
>> I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not picking 
>> the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the grants comes 
>> from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of the grants,  
>> approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding to the 
>> grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides were to 
>> see one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be open to 
>> hearing their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and 
>> transparency requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making 
>> recommendations for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will 
>> play a similar role as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there 
>> will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your 
>> patience for the folks initiating this and trust that they will share more 
>> soon.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Lisa
>> 
>> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating > > wrote:
>> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some 
>> questions still.
>> 
>> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support 
>> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants 
>> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates 
>> for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also 
>> gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to 
>> make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who 
>> will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement 
>> last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project 
>> Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly, as usual. There is a 
>> round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>> 
>> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or will 
>> Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and what 
>> amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change to the 
>> reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants? What is 
>> the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was abolished a 
>> couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any community-driven 
>> replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has gone into the 
>> implementation of the strategy?
>>  
>> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We 
>> are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it 
>> will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we 
>> go. 
>> 
>> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not previously 
>> heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million transfer 
>> without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there anything more 
>> that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund knowledge equity 
>> somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led process (maybe even 
>> involving the community), or will Tides be actually making recommendations 
>> about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are Tides going to adjust 
>> to the Wikimedia community's expectations about transparency?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Chris
>> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Lisa Gruwell]

Hi Mike-

Thanks for the question.  The review and oversight that we will get from
Tides is nothing like the FDC review.  They will be looking at, for
example, "Is this grant supporting activity that is legal for a 501c3 to
fund?"  It is in no way a replacement for the work that the FDC or the
Global Council would do regarding grants.

Best,
Lisa

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 12:55 PM Michael Peel  wrote:

> Hi Lisa,
>
> Isn’t this the oversight work that the WMF wanted to be able to do when it
> changed from Wikimedia affiliates being able to fundraise directly to the
> FDC process? Why has WMF chosen to outsource this to Tides rather than
> continuing to do it in-house? And why does Tides now get to approve such
> grants, rather than a community appointed committee?
>
> FDC was a process that worked extremely well, and was discontinued for
> obscure reasons. The Global Council approach that the strategy was heading
> towards looked like it might be a good replacement. Outsourcing it to Tides
> seems really bad.
>
> Boldly creating a new fund for fellow organisations looks nice, but
> without community involvement it’s a controversy in development.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> On 14 Dec 2020, at 20:11, Lisa Gruwell  wrote:
>
> Hi Chris-
>
> I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not picking
> the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the grants comes
> from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of the
> grants,  approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding to
> the grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides were
> to see one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be open to
> hearing their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and
> transparency requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making
> recommendations for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will
> play a similar role as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there
> will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your
> patience for the folks initiating this and trust that they will share more
> soon.
>
> Best,
> Lisa
>
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating 
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some
>> questions still.
>>
>>>
>>> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
>>> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
>>> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for
>>> affiliates for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising
>>> performed. It also gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time
>>> to work together to make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush.
>>> All affiliates who will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of
>>> the arrangement last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants,
>>> Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly,
>>> as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>>>
>>
>> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or
>> will Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and
>> what amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change
>> to the reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants?
>> What is the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was
>> abolished a couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any
>> community-driven replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has
>> gone into the implementation of the strategy?
>>
>>
>>> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million.
>>> We are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how
>>> it will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as
>>> we go.
>>>
>>
>> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not
>> previously heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million
>> transfer without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there
>> anything more that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund
>> knowledge equity somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led
>> process (maybe even involving the community), or will Tides be actually
>> making recommendations about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are
>> Tides going to adjust to the Wikimedia community's expectations about
>> transparency?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Chris
>> ___
>> 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,
>> 
>>
>
>
> --
>
> Lisa 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Chris Keating]

Thanks Lisa, that's very reassuring.

Again, I know there will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the
> new year.  I ask your patience for the folks initiating this and trust that
> they will share more soon.
>

I look forward to hearing more from those folks in due course. There must
be some more details circulating internally though? I'm guessing the Board
probably had more information than "$4.5M for Knowledge Equity, to be
specified" in front of them when they agreed the grant? (Not that these
questions are addressed to you personally...)

Chris
___
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, 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Michael Peel]

Hi Lisa,

Isn’t this the oversight work that the WMF wanted to be able to do when it 
changed from Wikimedia affiliates being able to fundraise directly to the FDC 
process? Why has WMF chosen to outsource this to Tides rather than continuing 
to do it in-house? And why does Tides now get to approve such grants, rather 
than a community appointed committee?

FDC was a process that worked extremely well, and was discontinued for obscure 
reasons. The Global Council approach that the strategy was heading towards 
looked like it might be a good replacement. Outsourcing it to Tides seems 
really bad.

Boldly creating a new fund for fellow organisations looks nice, but without 
community involvement it’s a controversy in development.

Thanks,
Mike

> On 14 Dec 2020, at 20:11, Lisa Gruwell  wrote:
> 
> Hi Chris-
> 
> I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not picking 
> the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the grants comes 
> from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of the grants,  
> approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding to the 
> grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides were to see 
> one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be open to hearing 
> their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and transparency 
> requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making recommendations 
> for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will play a similar role 
> as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there will be more info on 
> the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your patience for the folks 
> initiating this and trust that they will share more soon.
> 
> Best,
> Lisa
> 
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating  > wrote:
> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some 
> questions still.
> 
> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support 
> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants (APG) 
> for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates for this 
> year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also gives 
> staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to make 
> thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who will be 
> receiving funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement last summer. 
> All other grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are 
> still being funded through WMF directly, as usual. There is a round of APG 
> grants set to go out via Tides this week.
> 
> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or will 
> Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and what 
> amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change to the 
> reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants? What is 
> the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was abolished a 
> couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any community-driven 
> replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has gone into the 
> implementation of the strategy?
>  
> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We 
> are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it 
> will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we go. 
> 
> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not previously 
> heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million transfer 
> without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there anything more 
> that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund knowledge equity 
> somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led process (maybe even 
> involving the community), or will Tides be actually making recommendations 
> about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are Tides going to adjust to 
> the Wikimedia community's expectations about transparency?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Chris
> ___
> 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 
> , 
>  ?subject=unsubscribe>
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> Lisa Seitz Gruwell 
> Chief Advancement Officer
> Wikimedia Foundation  
> 
> ___

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Samuel Klein]

This is great to see.  Thank you for helping to ensure continuity of
support in a tense time.  SJ

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 3:11 PM Lisa Gruwell  wrote:

> Hi Chris-
>
> I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not picking
> the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the grants comes
> from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of the
> grants,  approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding to
> the grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides were
> to see one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be open to
> hearing their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and
> transparency requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making
> recommendations for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will
> play a similar role as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there
> will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your
> patience for the folks initiating this and trust that they will share more
> soon.
>
> Best,
> Lisa
>
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating 
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some
>> questions still.
>>
>>>
>>> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
>>> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
>>> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for
>>> affiliates for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising
>>> performed. It also gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time
>>> to work together to make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush.
>>> All affiliates who will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of
>>> the arrangement last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants,
>>> Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly,
>>> as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>>>
>>
>> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or
>> will Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and
>> what amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change
>> to the reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants?
>> What is the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was
>> abolished a couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any
>> community-driven replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has
>> gone into the implementation of the strategy?
>>
>>
>>> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million.
>>> We are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how
>>> it will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as
>>> we go.
>>>
>>
>> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not
>> previously heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million
>> transfer without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there
>> anything more that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund
>> knowledge equity somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led
>> process (maybe even involving the community), or will Tides be actually
>> making recommendations about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are
>> Tides going to adjust to the Wikimedia community's expectations about
>> transparency?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Chris
>> ___
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>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
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>
>
> --
>
> Lisa Seitz Gruwell
>
> Chief Advancement Officer
>
> Wikimedia Foundation 
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Lisa Gruwell]

Hi Chris-

I am happy to answer your questions about Tides.  No, Tides is not picking
the grantees.  The docket of grantees and the specific of the grants comes
from us.  Tides provides legal and administrative review of the
grants,  approves them, and processes the grants(i.e. wires the funding to
the grantees).  It is rare that there is ever a problem, but if Tides were
to see one, we actually appreciate the outside review and would be open to
hearing their reasons.  There is no change for the reporting and
transparency requirements for APG grants. Tides will also not be making
recommendations for the grants for the Knowledge Equity Fund.  They will
play a similar role as I described for the APG grants. Again, I know there
will be more info on the Knowledge Equity Fund in the new year.  I ask your
patience for the folks initiating this and trust that they will share more
soon.

Best,
Lisa

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 10:18 AM Chris Keating 
wrote:

> Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some
> questions still.
>
>>
>> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
>> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
>> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for
>> affiliates for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising
>> performed. It also gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time
>> to work together to make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush.
>> All affiliates who will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of
>> the arrangement last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants,
>> Rapid Grants, Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly,
>> as usual. There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>>
>
> Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or will
> Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and what
> amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change to
> the reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants?
> What is the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was
> abolished a couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any
> community-driven replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has
> gone into the implementation of the strategy?
>
>
>> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million.
>> We are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how
>> it will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as
>> we go.
>>
>
> Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not
> previously heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million
> transfer without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there
> anything more that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund
> knowledge equity somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led
> process (maybe even involving the community), or will Tides be actually
> making recommendations about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are
> Tides going to adjust to the Wikimedia community's expectations about
> transparency?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chris
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Chief Advancement Officer

Wikimedia Foundation 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Chris Keating]

Thanks Lisa. That statement makes a lot of sense, though I do have some
questions still.

>
> Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
> community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
> (APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates
> for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also
> gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to
> make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who
> will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement
> last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants,
> Project Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly, as usual.
> There is a round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.
>

Are Tides simply administering these funds at the WMF's direction, or will
Tides start to take over decisions about who gets these grants and what
amount different entities are eligible for? Has there been any change to
the reporting and transparency requirements that go with the APG grants?
What is the intention about how APG grants will work, since the FDC was
abolished a couple of years ago and there is unlikely to be any
community-driven replacement for it until at least a year or two's work has
gone into the implementation of the strategy?


> As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We
> are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it
> will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we
> go.
>

Funding knowledge equity sounds like a great idea, but I have not
previously heard of an organisation making an irrecoverable $4.5 million
transfer without knowing what that money will be used to fund. Is there
anything more that can be shared apart from "it'll be used to fund
knowledge equity somehow"? And as above - is this going to be a WMF-led
process (maybe even involving the community), or will Tides be actually
making recommendations about who and what is funded? If the latter, how are
Tides going to adjust to the Wikimedia community's expectations about
transparency?

Thanks,

Chris
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Lisa Gruwell]

Hi all,

Thanks for the questions. We intend to announce the Knowledge Equity Fund
in early 2021, once we have a bit more details and specifics worked out.
However, we can share the overall intention today.

Some background: Our fiscal year runs from July through June, which means
that the second half of last year was heavily affected by the unforeseen
effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Community events were canceled, hiring
slowed, and we put work on pause while we responded to the changing
circumstances. As a result, we ended the year with funds that were
underspent, relative to what we had planned for the budget.

In May of last year, we were also planning for this current fiscal year and
had very little insight about how fundraising would perform in this
pandemic. People around the world were losing their sources of income, as
unemployment soared. We worked with the board to plan for different
scenarios, including if fundraising went really poorly.

As a general matter, when the budget is underspent, any remainder goes into
the reserve. For accounting purposes, it cannot be carried over into the
budget of a new fiscal year. Because we were concerned about the
uncertainty of fundraising this year, we decided to set aside underspent
funds from the past fiscal year, so that we could keep our commitment to
our grantees even if fundraising fell short and also make progress on
knowledge equity. (Good news: Fundraising ended up going a lot better than
we expected when we were planning in the early months of this pandemic.
More to come on that.)

With the WMF board’s approval, we set up a US$8.7 million grantmaking fund
at Tides Advocacy, which has two purposes: 1) Funding Annual Plan Grants
(APG) to the affiliates this year and 2) Funding Knowledge Equity. We have
been working with Tides since 2016 when we launched the Endowment. The
relationship has gone well and they have a lot of expertise at
administering grants internationally.

Our first priority was to ensure that we had enough funding to support
community grants. We transferred the full amount for Annual Plan Grants
(APG) for FY20-21 over to Tides to ensure that all funding for affiliates
for this year was secured, regardless of how fundraising performed. It also
gives staff at affiliates and the Foundation more time to work together to
make thoughtful grants, instead of an end-of-year rush. All affiliates who
will be receiving funding through Tides were informed of the arrangement
last summer. All other grantmaking (Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project
Grants) are still being funded through WMF directly, as usual. There is a
round of APG grants set to go out via Tides this week.

As the Audit Report FAQ states,[1] the remaining funds will be used to
launch the Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund. This new fund is in addition to
the existing grants that are already available for the communities
(Community Grants, Rapid Grants, Project Grants, and APGs) and does not
impact the amount of funds in those grant portfolios.

Our goal is to use this fund to invest in new opportunities that increase the
availability of free knowledge for marginalized people and counteract
structural inequalities. Knowledge equity is a key pillar of the 2030
movement strategy, and this investment will help us to address some of the
barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to free
knowledge.

As of now, this is a one-time commitment of approximately $4.5 million. We
are still working on the specific initial objectives of the fund and how it
will operate. As a pilot initiative, we’ll be learning and adapting as we
go.

We’ll share more details in early 2021 about the Knowledge Equity Fund. We
are excited to see what progress we can make for knowledge equity with this
investment.

Thank you,

Lisa Gruwell

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/Financial/Audits/2019-2020_-_frequently_asked_questions/id#This_year%E2%80%99s_report_says_that_the_Wikimedia_Foundation_provided_an_unconditional_grant_of_$8.723_million_to_Tides_Advocacy_for_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund._What_is_the_Wikimedia_Knowledge_Equity_Fund?



On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 12:35 PM Katherine Maher 
wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> Happy Sunday from San Francisco -- we've seen the questions on this list,
> and we'll reply tomorrow when folks are back at work. Thanks for your
> understanding!
>
> Hope everyone is staying well and safe,
>
> Katherine
>
> On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 5:36 AM Isaac Olatunde 
> wrote:
>
>> I agree with Dan. A question about this should have been directed to the
>> WMF and allow them to respond prior to raising it here (if 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Katherine Maher]

Hi folks,

Happy Sunday from San Francisco -- we've seen the questions on this list,
and we'll reply tomorrow when folks are back at work. Thanks for your
understanding!

Hope everyone is staying well and safe,

Katherine

On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 5:36 AM Isaac Olatunde 
wrote:

> I agree with Dan. A question about this should have been directed to the
> WMF and allow them to respond prior to raising it here (if that's even
> necessary in the first place.)
>
> Regards
>
> Isaac
>
>
> On Sun, 13 Dec 2020, 14:30 Dan Garry (Deskana),  wrote:
>
>> It seems disingenous to describe it as "secret" given that it was
>> willingly acknowledged in the the FAQ of the annual financial audit
>> .
>> The information provided in the FAQ is somewhat lacking, but these are not
>> the actions of people trying to sweep it under the rug.
>>
>> Let us politely ask for more information without being unnecessarily
>> alarmist.
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> On Sun, 13 Dec 2020 at 08:54, Yair Rand  wrote:
>>
>>> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
>>> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
>>> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
>>> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
>>> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
>>> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
>>> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
>>> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
>>> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
>>> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
>>> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
>>> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>>>
>>> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
>>> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
>>> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
>>> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
>>> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
>>> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
>>> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
>>> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
>>> the text of the grant agreement.
>>>
>>> I am appalled.
>>>
>>> -- Yair Rand
>>>
>>> [1]
>>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
>>> ___
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>>>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Chris Keating]

So, the text in the FAQs is as follows:

"This year’s report says that the Wikimedia Foundation provided an
unconditional grant of $8.723 million to Tides Advocacy for the Wikimedia
Knowledge Equity Fund. What is the Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund?

A portion of our grant to Tides Advocacy will be used to launch the
Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a new fund that the Wikimedia Foundation
is establishing this fiscal year to invest in new grant-making
opportunities in support of groups that are advancing equitable, inclusive
representation in free knowledge. The remainder will be used to equitably
fund the annual operating expenses of other Wikimedia affiliate
organizations in service of our mission of free knowledge. The Wikimedia
Foundation is still setting up the specifics of the Knowledge Equity Fund
and will share more information in late 2020."



Which sort of answers "what", but not at all "why" ... we know Wikimedia
movement grantmaking is a complex area and the WMF has fairly good
experience in doing it. We also know that the WMF's record of outsourcing
anything relating to the Wikimedia movement is pretty disastrous, even
(especially?) where it's outsourced to an American consultancy, no matter
how focused on nonprofits. What exactly will Tides be doing, and why do we
think they are going to be any good at doing it? How is the movement going
to exercise scrutiny of this $10M?

Since the FAQs says more information will be available in "late 2020" maybe
this could be answered now?

Thanks,

Chris  / The Land







On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 1:29 PM Dan Garry (Deskana) 
wrote:

> It seems disingenous to describe it as "secret" given that it was
> willingly acknowledged in the the FAQ of the annual financial audit
> .
> The information provided in the FAQ is somewhat lacking, but these are not
> the actions of people trying to sweep it under the rug.
>
> Let us politely ask for more information without being unnecessarily
> alarmist.
>
> Dan
>
> On Sun, 13 Dec 2020 at 08:54, Yair Rand  wrote:
>
>> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
>> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
>> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
>> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
>> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
>> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
>> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
>> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
>> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
>> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
>> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
>> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>>
>> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
>> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
>> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
>> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
>> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
>> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
>> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
>> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
>> the text of the grant agreement.
>>
>> I am appalled.
>>
>> -- Yair Rand
>>
>> [1]
>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
>> ___
>> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
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>> 
>>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Isaac Olatunde]

I agree with Dan. A question about this should have been directed to the
WMF and allow them to respond prior to raising it here (if that's even
necessary in the first place.)

Regards

Isaac


On Sun, 13 Dec 2020, 14:30 Dan Garry (Deskana),  wrote:

> It seems disingenous to describe it as "secret" given that it was
> willingly acknowledged in the the FAQ of the annual financial audit
> .
> The information provided in the FAQ is somewhat lacking, but these are not
> the actions of people trying to sweep it under the rug.
>
> Let us politely ask for more information without being unnecessarily
> alarmist.
>
> Dan
>
> On Sun, 13 Dec 2020 at 08:54, Yair Rand  wrote:
>
>> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
>> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
>> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
>> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
>> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
>> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
>> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
>> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
>> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
>> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
>> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
>> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>>
>> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
>> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
>> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
>> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
>> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
>> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
>> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
>> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
>> the text of the grant agreement.
>>
>> I am appalled.
>>
>> -- Yair Rand
>>
>> [1]
>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
>> ___
>> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
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>> 
>>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Dan Garry (Deskana)]

It seems disingenous to describe it as "secret" given that it was willingly
acknowledged in the the FAQ of the annual financial audit
.
The information provided in the FAQ is somewhat lacking, but these are not
the actions of people trying to sweep it under the rug.

Let us politely ask for more information without being unnecessarily
alarmist.

Dan

On Sun, 13 Dec 2020 at 08:54, Yair Rand  wrote:

> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>
> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
> the text of the grant agreement.
>
> I am appalled.
>
> -- Yair Rand
>
> [1]
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
> ___
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> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
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> 
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Christophe Henner]

It is the endowment.

Le dim. 13 déc. 2020 à 10:37 AM, Yair Rand  a écrit :

> No, the Wikimedia Endowment is a separate thing.
>
> -- Yair Rand
>
> ‫בתאריך יום א׳, 13 בדצמ׳ 2020 ב-4:18 מאת ‪Michael Peel‬‏ <‪
> em...@mikepeel.net‬‏>:‬
>
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Endowment ?
>>
>> On 13 Dec 2020, at 08:33, Yair Rand  wrote:
>>
>> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
>> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
>> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
>> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
>> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
>> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
>> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
>> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
>> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
>> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
>> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
>> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>>
>> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
>> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
>> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
>> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
>> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
>> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
>> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
>> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
>> the text of the grant agreement.
>>
>> I am appalled.
>>
>> -- Yair Rand
>>
>> [1]
>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
>> ___
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Yair Rand]

No, the Wikimedia Endowment is a separate thing.

-- Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום א׳, 13 בדצמ׳ 2020 ב-4:18 מאת ‪Michael Peel‬‏ <‪
em...@mikepeel.net‬‏>:‬

> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Endowment ?
>
> On 13 Dec 2020, at 08:33, Yair Rand  wrote:
>
> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
> some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
> to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
> "managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
> previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
> served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
> search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
> the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
> move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
> Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
> the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."
>
> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of
> movement funds to an outside organization not recognized by the
> Affiliations Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board
> resolutions or minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not
> mentioned in the public annual plan, which set out rather less than this
> amount for the entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was
> made through any of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further
> information has been provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on
> the text of the grant agreement.
>
> I am appalled.
>
> -- Yair Rand
>
> [1]
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
> ___
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>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Michael Peel]

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Endowment ?

> On 13 Dec 2020, at 08:33, Yair Rand  wrote:
> 
> According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at some 
> point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia 
> Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred to 
> it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is "managed 
> and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit previously 
> led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who served as CEO, 
> Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google search for 
> "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to the release of 
> the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant move completely 
> secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The Report FAQ additionally 
> emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to the grant funds provided, 
> with the exception of unexpended funds."
> 
> The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of movement 
> funds to an outside organization not recognized by the Affiliations 
> Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board resolutions or 
> minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not mentioned in the 
> public annual plan, which set out rather less than this amount for the entire 
> grantmaking budget for the year. No application was made through any of the 
> various Wikimedia grants processes. No further information has been provided 
> on the administration of this new Fund, or on the text of the grant agreement.
> 
> I am appalled.
> 
> -- Yair Rand
> 
> [1] 
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
>  
> ___
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[Wikimedia-l] WMF transfers $8.7 million to "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund"

[Yair Rand]

According to the recent Independent Auditors' Report of the WMF [1], at
some point prior to the end of June 2020, an entity called the "Wikimedia
Knowledge Equity Fund" was established, and $8.723 million was transferred
to it by the WMF, in the form of an unconditional grant. The Fund is
"managed and controlled by Tides Advocacy" (a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit
previously led by the WMF's current General Counsel/Board Secretary, who
served as CEO, Board Secretary, and Treasurer there). Given that a Google
search for "Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund" yields zero results prior to
the release of the report, it is clear that the WMF kept this significant
move completely secret for over five months, perhaps over a year. The
Report FAQ additionally emphasizes that the WMF "has no right of return to
the grant funds provided, with the exception of unexpended funds."

The WMF unilaterally and secretly transferred nearly $9 million of movement
funds to an outside organization not recognized by the Affiliations
Committee. No mention of the grant was made in any Board resolutions or
minutes from the relevant time period. The amount was not mentioned in the
public annual plan, which set out rather less than this amount for the
entire grantmaking budget for the year. No application was made through any
of the various Wikimedia grants processes. No further information has been
provided on the administration of this new Fund, or on the text of the
grant agreement.

I am appalled.

-- Yair Rand

[1]
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2019-2020_Audit_Report.pdf
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