Assumptions for the recommendations[edit]

In 2019, the Wikimedia movement is facing external challenges to its current revenue model, which primarily relies on a large number of donors giving small amounts through banners on Wikipedia. Simultaneously, the ambitious strategic direction for 2030 is calling for an increase in revenue for the movement beyond incremental growth. The convergence of these events requires us to look into revenue opportunities across the movement, and learn from different models that have been explored by Wikimedia organizations.

Revenue Streams has more externalities than possibly other areas or working groups.
The current funding is not enough now to achieve our vision. The working group is assuming we will need significantly more revenue for 2030.
The necessary increase in revenue requires an expansion and diversification of revenue streams, and associated safeguards are needed to ensure the novel revenue streams are aligned with Wikimedia principles.
Not prescribing a structure of roles but describe the features necessary for revenue generation
The recommendations are areas for further in-depth research

Principles for movement wide Revenue Streams[edit]

Principles For Movement Organizations

Movement organizations will be free from undue influence, including a clear separation between financial support and website content
Movement organizations will not allow advertising on the websites
Movement organizations will make conscientious decisions regarding anonymous donations
Movement organizations will carefully consider relationships that might endanger future revenue and reputation of the movement

Principles For Donors

Donors are essential stakeholders in movement organizations, and as such movement organizations will adopt a set of principles from the Donor's Bill of Rights:

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

(1) Turn the Wikimedia API into a revenue source[edit]

Recommendation

The APIs of Wikipedia and Wikidata are among the most widely used on the planet. While keeping the APIs free for everyone, we can offer “tiered” premium service for large users of our API such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others. The tiered may cost between thousands of dollars to millions of dollars, depending on usage amount, and will enable the Movement to provide dedicated development time for the APIs, as well as services like dedicated API gateways or better provisioning of API regions, if those are requested by clients.

Inspiration for this can be the GNIP / Twitter service, which has tiered support - the basic API is free for everyone, but access to the Twitter “firehose” (tweets generated in real-time) costs up to $100,000 / month.

(2) Provide Paid Wiki-related Services[edit]

Recommendation

The Movement can create professional and consultancy services around technologies (e.g. MediaWiki and Wikibase) aimed at organizations seeking to implement those internally.

(3) Monetize merchandise[edit]

Recommendation

Research merchandising and leveraging the Wikimedia brand as a new revenue opportunity. (license trademark, partner with other companies, etc. Research examples such as National Geographic and NASA).

(4) Expand global fundraising[edit]

Recommendation

Most of the Movement work with charitable foundations and individual major donors is focused in the United States. There is a large opportunity to develop fundraising worldwide in major gifts, foundations, legacy giving, corporate giving, and events. The Movement will need to develop the skills to fundraise effectively in different countries and cultures while always remaining consistent with the Wikimedia values and brand.

(5) Develop non-fundraising revenue streams for affiliates[edit]

Recommendation

Affiliates should develop in-kind donations and partnerships, EU and government grants, and earned income (consulting services e.g. with GLAMs)

(6) Set a goal of financial sustainability for all movement actors[edit]

Recommendation

All movement actors should strive to be financially self-sustaining and self-sufficient given the methods at their disposal, and to fuel the rest of the movement to the extent of their capacity

(7) Diversification of revenue channels[edit]

Recommendation

Expand payment methods available to readers worldwide and continually update methods with changing technologies to provide an optimized, localized, and convenient donation experience. (Examples: mobile payment methods, cash, local country methods.)

v t e Movement Strategy Working Group recommendations (September 2019) Now merged into the final 10 recommendations
Advocacy	1. Transparency 2. Diversity 3. Global conversation 4. Knowledge management 5. Advocacy Hub 6. Common positioning 7. Partnerships 8. Empowerment of advocates 9. Self-Determination 10. Protection of Advocates
Capacity Building	1. Building Capacity for Capacity Building 2. Matching human assets and online knowledge resources with capacity building needs 3. Capacity Building Should Occur in Context 4. Provide Capacity Building for Organizational Development 5. Resources for Capacity Building 6. Evaluating Capacity Building 7. Online Training 8. Mentoring and leadership development 9. Recognizing Individuals 10. Independently governed Capacity Building ‘Unit’
Community Health	1. A joint set of rules we all agree to live by (a.k.a. Code of Conduct) 2. Redefining power structures to better serve the communities 3. Building the leadership of the future 4. Structure for handling conflicts- before, during and after 5. Investing in building an inclusive global community 6. Newcomers are a key indicator to the success of the movement 7. “Democratizing” participation (making Wikipedia/Wikimedia everyone’s responsibility) and reducing barriers for participation 8. Privacy and security for everyone 9. Opening the circle: All terrain readiness 10. Network to continually support community health 11. Aligning resource allocation with community health goals 12. Investing in equity-centered technologies
Diversity	1. Introducing people-centered principles within the Wikimedia movement 2. Reaching a self-aware and dynamic structure aimed at community diversity and health 3. Redesigning the platforms for more diversity of people and content experiences 4. Planned community diversification 5. Reflective policies for participation and governance 6. Establishing partnerships in order to represent and protect worlds’ cultural diversity 7. Decentralized administrative structure for resource allocation 8. Bridging different local contexts and Wikimedia projects' notability and verifiability policies
Partnerships	1. Provide the knowledge needed for understanding and solving global issues 2. Wikimedia as steward of the Free Knowledge Ecosystem 3. Shared ecosystem of services and tools for content partnerships 4. Data partnerships approach to fulfill the vision of knowledge as a service for our partners 5. Focus on knowledge equity when determining priorities for Partnerships 6. Partnerships as part of a Distributed Vision 7. Partnerships as a shared and equitable resource and activity 8. Prioritise documentation 9. Invest in sharing knowledge about partnerships across the movement 10. Support the skills development of people working on partnerships 11. Invest in the leadership potential of community members 12. Establish recognition principles for new partners for attribution and content donation 13. Additional research for areas where we have identified issues but haven’t made recommendations
Product & Technology	1. Evaluate and Decentralize Technology Components 2. Support Community Decision-making 3. Open Product Proposal Process 4. Deployment Council 5. Disseminate Product Knowledge 6A. Improve Technical Contributor Engagement 6B. Modernize Technical Contributor Tooling 7. Realize the Potential of the Third-Party Ecosystem 8. Movement Technology Ethics Review Process 9. Monitoring Product Trust and Availability 10. Developing an Evolving Technology Vision and Strategy
Resource Allocation	A. Set Common Framework of Principles for Resource Allocation B. Design participatory decision making for Resource Allocation C. Recognize privileges / Design for equity D. Distribute existing structures E. Build Thematic hubs – to provide services to the free knowledge movement long term F. Ensure flexible approach to resource allocation in a complex, fast moving and changeable space G. Allocate resources for capacity and sustainability H. Allocate resources to new types of partners/organisations (essential infrastructure of the free knowledge ecosystem) I. Include knowledge consumers
Revenue Streams	1. Turn the Wikimedia API into a revenue source 2. Provide Paid Wiki-related Services 3. Monetize merchandise 4. Expand global fundraising 5. Develop non-fundraising revenue streams for affiliates 6. Set a goal of financial sustainability for all movement actors 7. Diversification of revenue channels
Roles & Responsibilities	0. Scenario 1. All of this exists to support our primary purpose: free knowledge and its distribution (Original) 2&3. Decentralisation and self-management 4&5. Establish a Movement Charter 6. Wikimedia movement organisations will be governed by inclusive, diverse, and accountable boards 7. Capacity building