User:Ijon/CEE/Funds
Abstract[edit]
I've been asked to introduce and moderate a session on Funding at the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012. Below are some notes and points for discussion.
Why funding?[edit]
- Ad-hoc expense reimbursement (materials, travel, equipment, external service providers)
- Recurring operations costs (rent, staff)
Funding sources[edit]
- membership dues
- direct donations
- in-kind donation/services
- grants
- from the Wikimedia Foundation's Wikimedia Grants program, the WMF and Wikimedia Deutschland Participation Support program
- from other Wikimedia organizations
- from external entities (Foundations, governments)
- Funds Dissemination Committee proposals (for eligible entities only)
- fees for services rendered (honorariums for speaking, for workshops, for consulting). (careful!)
Transparency, Accountability, and Controls[edit]
- movement funds are discussed publicly and reported on publicly
- it is important that group funds are never controlled by a single person. Chapter/group bank accounts must always have at least two co-signatories.
- there needs to be a clear process of approving expenses -- who authorizes expenditure of chapter/group funds? What is the process to discuss or object? How are expenses announced/reported to the community?
- grants require public reports. Reports are useful not just for transparency, but also for distilling learning from successes and setbacks.
- See more on governance here, for example.