Funds Dissemination Committee/Chapter Finances Survey/District of Columbia

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Please complete your Chapter Finances Survey by Friday, May 25th, so that it can be considered by the Funds Dissemination Committee Advisory Group and can be used to develop recommendations for the Wikimedia Board of Trustees.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Divya Narayanan from the Bridgespan Group or to Asaf Bartov at the Foundation.

Key Questions[edit]

For multiple choice questions, please delete all choices except your Chapter's response. Where a question requires a text answer, please use bullets under the question.

Chapter Expenses[edit]

1. Within the following ranges, what were your total expenses (in $US) in your previous financial year?
a. <1,000
2. What do you expect your total expenses will be (in $US) in this financial year?
g. >500,000

Chapter Revenues[edit]

3. In your previous financial year, did you raise revenue from sources other than from the annual fundraiser or grants from the Foundation? If so, how much (in $US)?
b. <1,000
4. If you raised revenue from other sources in the previous financial year, please explain who or what types of groups (e.g., government, members, individual donors, etc.) were major providers of funds. If no, please leave this blank.
  • We collected membership dues from 35 members.
5. In this financial year, do you expect to raise revenue from sources other than from the annual fundraiser or grants from the Foundation? If so, how much (in $US)?
g. 100,000-500,000
6. If you plan to raise revenue for this financial year from sources other than the fundraiser or the Foundation, please explain who or what types of groups (e.g., government, members, individual donors, etc.) were major providers of funds. If no, please leave this blank.
7. When does your financial year end?
  • September 30 each year.

Chapter Re-granting Programs[edit]

8. In your previous financial year, did your chapter provide grants to other individuals or entities? If so, how much (in $US)?
a. We did not provide grants
9. If you provided grants in the previous financial year, can you provide additional detail on your grants program? (e.g., who are the grantees, what kind of projects or activities did you fund?)
10. In this financial year, will you provide grants to other individuals or entities? If so, how much (in US$)?
c. $1000-5000
11. If you plan to provide grants in this financial year, can you provide additional detail on this year’s grants? (e.g., who are the grantees, what kind of projects or activities will you fund?)
  • Through the Events 2012 grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, we have budgeted $2,500.00 for a microgrant program to support activities which further our mission in the region; however, the Board of Directors has not yet implemented a mechanism for distributing these grants.

Funds Dissemination Needs and Timing[edit]

12. Do you anticipate requesting funding through either the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) or the WMF grants process for your next financial year (e.g., 2013)? If so, how much (in $US)?
e. 10,000-50,000
13. What would be your ideal timeline for requesting and receiving funds from the FDC or WMF grants process? (e.g., "request in November/December, receive in January”)
  • Request in November, receive in January.
14. By what date would you need to receive funds through the FDC or WMF grants process? (i.e., At what date will your ability to carry out planned activities be damaged if you haven’t received funding?)
  • January.
15. Do you have any questions about the funds dissemination process that you need to have resolved in order to plan your chapter’s next financial year? By what date do you need an answer?
  • Will there be a dollar figure limit, and how much can we ask for for non-program administration? We have a grant application in the pipeline right now; when will the traditional grant process stop accepting new applications? The first question can be answered by August 1, but I need an answer to the last question as soon as possible.

Additional Comments or Questions[edit]

Please use this section for any comments or questions you have about the funds dissemination process.

  • Bear in mind that our chapter is a special case. Our 'last fiscal year' lasted five months (May 6, 2011 through September 30, 2011) and very little happened, and for this financial year we have the incredibly costly Wikimania 2012 conference. Here's last year's financial report.
  • What additional oversight mechanisms will be put in place? Does performance and under/over-utilization of funds in one year impact funding for the next year? At what point does the FDC say "stop asking us for money and raise money yourselves"? What will be done to ensure that regional politics do not have a harmful effect on the distribution of money? Is the FDC amenable to emergency fund dissemination to rescue chapters from bankruptcy, and if so, what would be the consequences? (I don't expect that to be an issue for Wikimedia DC, but it is a question worth raising.)
  • Please address all financial questions to me, James Hare, the treasurer, at james.hare(_AT_)wikidc.org.

We are seeking your input as we develop a set of recommendations for the FDC. We encourage your contribution on the talk pages of the Draft FDC Proposal to the Board.

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