Funds Dissemination Committee/Draft FDC Proposal for the Board/Glossary

Purpose of this document

The following terms are frequently used in discussion related to WMF funds dissemination. This page defines them in the context of the Wikimedia movement. Please feel free to expand on the list of terms and definitions.

Glossary of Funds Dissemination terms

• Affiliations Committee (formerly the Chapters Committee)
• Allocation
• Annual plan
• Chapter agreement
• Core expenditures
• Costs
• Currency requested
• Due-diligence
• Eligible entity
• Entity
• Evaluation criteria
• FDC Ombudsman
• Fiduciary responsibility
• Funds Dissemination
• Fund-seeker
• Funds application package
• Funds Dissemination Committee
• Fundraising agreement
• General funding
• Grantee
• Grant Advisory Committee
• Letter of Intent
• Long-term contractors
• Non-core expenditures
• Operating reserve
• Other revenues
• Payment processor
• Program / initiative
• Project funding
• Reserve balance
• Revenue
• Slate of FDC recommendations
• Spending
• Staff
• Thematic organization
• Wikimedia chapter
• Wikimedia Grants Program

Definitions

Affiliations Committee (formerly the Chapters Committee)

• The Affiliations Committee is entrusted with advising the WMF Board of Trustees on the creation and approval of new chapters and other affiliations.

Allocation

• A set of funds to be used towards a specific purpose
• The FDC allocation is one such parcel of funds, designated by the Board of Trustees for the FDC to make a recommendation on regarding distributing to eligible entities

Annual plan

• A plan that articulates the primary initiatives of an organization an annual basis, including the descriptions, objectives, activities, and timelines associated with these initiatives in order to aid in the prioritization and allocation of resources to fund those intiatives.

Chapter agreement

• A signed agreement between a chapter and the Foundation confirming their right to use the Wikimedia trademarks and the conditions of the renewal of their chapter status.

Core expenditures

• Expenses that are essential to the operation and ongoing maintenance of the Wikimedia websites and global organization. The Board of Trustees' definition of "core" gives, as examples, legal, fundraising, accounting, HR, governance, and communications expenses at the Wikimedia Foundation.

Costs

• Costs include the expenditures that an entity incurs over a period of time (also known as spending)

Currency requested

• The currency in which you wish to receive funds (e.g., EUR, GBP, INR).

Due diligence

• Research and analysis of a fund-seeker's financial and organizational health and capacity, conducted to inform an investment or funding decision.

Eligible entity

• Entities are deemed "eligible" if they meet the following six requirements:

1. They have been formally acknowledged by the Wikimedia Board of Trustees as a Wikimedia-affiliated entity;
2. They have a signed agreement with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g., chapter agreement);
3. They have a record of either:
   • Successfully completing two grants from the Wikimedia Foundation; OR
   • Successfully completing one grant and participating in one fundraising campaign as a payment-processor; OR
   • Participating in two fundraising campaigns as a payment processor;
4. They have submitted a letter of intent to seek an allocation from the FDC;
5. They comply with contractual obligations agreed with the Wikimedia Foundation, such as those in chapter agreements, fundraiser agreements, grant agreements, or other formal agreements;
6. They comply with all relevant US and local laws.

Entity

• A Wikimedia-affiliated organization.

Evaluation criteria

• A set of defined principles or standards against which funds requested are judged before the FDC's recommendation on funds alloation. Specifically, the FDC evaluates applications from eligible entities based on their likely impact in supporting the mission goals of the Wikimedia movement.

FDC Ombudsperson

• An elected individual responsible for coordinating feedback about the FDC, and funds dissemination processes and outcomes.
• The Ombudsperson is responsible for a developing an annual report to the Board summarizing feedback on the FDC received from members of the community.

Fiduciary responsibility (or fiduciary duty)

• The legal or ethical obligation of one party (the fiduciary) to act in the best interest of another. For example , the WMF Board has fudiciary responsibility for the WMF, meaning that it is the trustee of the WMF's assets and must exercise due diligence to ensure that the organization is well-managed and that its financial situation remains sound.

Funds dissemination

• The act of distributing funds raised via Wikimedia websites to eligible entities within the Wikimedia movement

Fund-seeker

• An individual or entity seeking funds for a specific program or set of activities.

Funds application package

• The set of materials that eligible entities complete to request funds from the FDC.

Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC)

• A committee of the Wikimedia Board of Trustees comprising volunteers. The FDC advises the Board on how to disseminate movement funds to eligible entities in the movement. The FDC was created as part of a set of recommendations made by Sue Gardner to the Board in March 2012.

Fundraising agreement

• An agreement that defines the scope of a fundraising partnership between the Wikimedia Foundation and a Wikimedia chapter.

General funding

• General funding supports an organization’s overall annual plan to achieve mission objectives. This includes ongoing expenses (e.g. salaries, office expenses) and any programmatic costs that organizations incur in pursuit of their goals.

Grantee

• An individual or entity to whom a grant or disbursement of funds is made.

Grant Advisory Committee (GAC)

• A group of volunteers from the Wikimedia community whose role is to advise chapters, groups, and the Foundation on improving grant applications and the grants process. Volunteers, chapters, and other groups that are not eligible for funds from the FDC may apply for restricted funding through the Wikimedia Grants Program.

Letter of Intent

• A very short form to be completed by entities that plan to request funds from the FDC. Submitting a Letter of Intent is the first step in the application process.

Long-term contractors

• Individuals with contracts of at least six months in length.

Non-core expenditures

• Programmatic activities that are not required on a permanent basis to support the operation and ongoing maintanence of Wikimedia websites and global organization (e.g, outreach work in India, editor engagement projects)

Operating reserve

• A safeguard allotment of funds defined by the Board of Trustees to ensure the WMF's ability to continue core operations in the event of unanticipated expenses or a shortfall in future revenues.

Other revenues

• Sources of funding for the WMF or other entities that are not initiated from Wikimedia websites or grants raised from cultivated relationships. Examples of other revenues include membership dues and endowments.

Payment processor

• An organization (the Foundation or a chapter) able to process donations directly from project websites as part of the annual fundraising campaign.

Program / initiative

• A set of activities sustained over a period of time which have a specific objective or goal.

Project funding

• Project funding supports specific projects or programs in which funds are tied to specific line-item activities. An entity may apply for a project grant from the Wikimedia Grants Program or other granting entity if the project involves no ongoing expenses such as staff and the entity is ineligible to apply for general funding from the FDC.

Reserve balance

• The amount of net funds (revenue less cost) that your entity has accumulated.

Revenue

• Any funds that are earned by an entity. Revenues may include grants, membership fees, or earned income.

Slate of FDC recommendations

• The overall recommendation from the FDC to the WMF Board on the funds to be disseminated to requesting entities, which should not exceed the total annual budget allocated to the FDC.

Spending

• The expenditures that an entity incurs over a period of time (also known as costs)

Staff

• Full and part-time entity employees.

Thematic organizations

• Wikimedia-affiliated groups that support and promote the movement with respect to a specific field or area. For example, Wikimedia Catalan, whose focus is to promote the Catalan language and culture, might be considered a thematic organization.

Wikimedia Chapter

• Independent organizations founded to support and promote Wikimedia projects within a specified geographical region (country).
• Like the Foundation, they aim to "empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally".

Wikimedia Grants Program

• A process managed by the Foundation to support movement groups by funding mission-aligned innovation-focused programs and activities.
• Chapters and other individuals or entities can request restricted funds through the Wikimedia Grants Program throughout the year on an as-needed basis.