Grants:Project/Rapid/MW-SG/Legal fees for MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group incorporation as a non-profit/Report
- Report accepted
- To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/MW-SG/Legal fees for MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group incorporation as a non-profit.
- You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
- You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.
Goals[edit]
The MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group are now incorporated and recognized as a non-profit, 501(c)(6) by the IRS. The process took longer than expected, however we are happy with the results and very grateful to the WMF for providing the grant.
Outcome[edit]
| Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
| Determine which type of non-profit is best for the MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group (MWStake) | MWStake decided on 501(c)(6) | After investigation, MWStake decided on becoming a 501(c)(6) |
| Minimize lawyer costs by doing as much work ourselves | We largely developed the MWStake Bylaws on our own | Many thanks to Frank Taylor who helped us create our own Bylaws saving us a much larger lawyer bill |
| Incorporate the MWStake in the USA | MWStake has been incorporated | The State of Pennsylvania has recognized MWStake as an incorporated entity in addition to the IRS recognition. |
| Approval from the IRS for non-profit status | The IRS now recognizes MWStake as a non-profit | We are now able to accept grants, membership dues, and other activities based on our non-profit status |
Learning[edit]
- What worked well?
- Developing our own Bylaws allowed us to complete the project using much less money than expected ($2,410 actual vs. $3,500 expected).
- Having our own members involved early gave us much more in-depth insight into some choices (non-profit type, entity structure, bylaw creation, etc.) which allowed us to make better decisions
- What did not work so well?
- Our original timeline was way to aggressive given all of our prior commitments and the general pace of incorporate/lawyers
- What would you do differently next time?
- More realistic schedule
Finances[edit]
Grant funds spent[edit]
As detailed on the MWStake website, the following was spent:
| Cost | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| $125 | File Articles of Incorporation | Part of Invoice #1 (total = $380) |
| $85 | Publish Legal advertisement (newspaper) | |
| $85 | Publish Legal advertisement (legal journal) | |
| $85 | Corporate minutes book | |
| $600 | Non-profit filing fee | Check sent to Smoker Gard made out to US Treasury |
| $1,430 | Invoice #2 | Final invoice |
| $2,410 | Total | |
Remaining funds[edit]
We have spent all the grant funds ($2,000), the difference in what we owe ($2,410) will be raised by seed money from board members.
Anything else[edit]
We would like to thank the WMF for the grant and are looking forward to benefiting the 3rd party MediaWiki community through conferences, strategic development work (bug fixes, feature enhancements, documentation, etc.), and promotion of MediaWiki.