Resolution: Consideration of future Endowment structure
 | 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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| The Consideration of future Endowment structure was approved by the Board of Trustees on June 12, 2018 |
Whereas, the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation passed a resolution establishing the Wikimedia Foundation Endowment at the Tides Foundation (Tides) on December 9, 2015; and
Whereas, the Board of Trustees, believing at the time that the appropriate long-term structure for the Endowment likely would be a separate independent entity, instructed staff to investigate this structure within 18 months of the date of Endowment's establishment; and
Whereas, the Board of Trustees at its December 2016 meeting discussed potential advantages and disadvantages of several options for hosting the Endowment, and determined that the Endowment should stay with Tides for present, with the continued understanding that there might come a point when it was advisable for the Endowment to be moved to an independent structure; and
Whereas, the Board of Trustees, having further discussed the matter at its April 19 board meeting, has determined that retaining the Endowment at Tides continues to provide the optimal hosting structure at the present time, and that at present it is neither necessary nor desirable to designate any particular funding level as a trigger for moving the Endowment out of Tides; and
Whereas, the Board of Trustees wishes by the end of the Wikimedia Foundation's fiscal year 2018-2019 to receive an updated and comprehensive analysis of options for structuring and recommendation from staff regarding the future structure of the Endowment;
Now, therefore, it is:
Resolved, upon due consideration, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees hereby instructs staff to provide by the end of the Wikimedia Foundation's fiscal year 2018-2019 an updated analysis and recommendation regarding the future structure of the Endowment, which among other things shall take into consideration key factors, including but not limited to, assuring to the extent possible the legal protection of the Endowment, optimal development opportunities, and a long-term future in which the Endowment will be used to further the purposes for which the Wikimedia Foundation established it—namely, to support in perpetuity the Wikimedia projects.
- Approve
- Christophe Henner (Chair), María Sefidari (Vice Chair), Kelly Battles, James Heilman, Jimmy Wales, Nataliia Tymkiv, Alice Wiegand, Raju Narisetti, and Esra'a Al Shafei
Not Present
- Dariusz Jemielniak
References:
- Establishment of the Endowment (December 9, 2015)
- Resolution approving various Endowment operations (June 29, 2016)
- Minutes of Board (December 16, 2016)
- Minutes of Board (April 19, 2018)