Wikimedia Endowment reports/Financial/Form 990/2023-2024 - frequently asked questions

Executive Summary

The Wikimedia Endowment (the Endowment) began operations as a standalone tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization on September 30, 2023, with the mission to act as a permanent fund that can support in perpetuity the operations and activities of current and future Wikimedia projects.

The Endowment published its first Form 990 with the IRS in May 2025, spanning the time that the Endowment began operations as a standalone 501(c)(3) organization on 30 September 2023 through the end of the fiscal year on 30 June 2024. The completed form is available on our website. We also published a Diff post to announce and summarize key takeaways from this year’s form.

The Form 990 is the annual informational document required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for non-profit organizations in the United States. Every year, the Endowment completes an audit report for the previous fiscal year, and then uses that data to complete the Form 990, which is submitted to the IRS by May 15.

The Form 990 contains financials from the FY 2023-2024 Audit Report, along with information about governance, policies, and programs. The vast majority of the financial information contained in this Form 990 is a reiteration of information previously disclosed in our FY 2023-2024 Audit Report. This Audit Report can be found on the Endowment website, along with a Diff post explaining the highlights and an FAQ.

The Form 990 is made up of two sections: a “core form”, which includes a snapshot of financial, programming, and governance information, and additional “schedules”, which dive deeper into specific topics. The summaries from each of those sections are explained below.

The “Core Form”

The “core form” lists the Endowment’s revenue, expenses, and net assets, all of which are based in large part on the FY 2023-2024 audit report and related FAQs, released in November 2024. The Core Form also contains a section about governance and other related topics.

Revenue (Part VIII)

During FY 2023-2024, the Endowment’s total revenue as reported in the Form 990 was $132M. However, the vast majority of this revenue came from the transfer of $116.2M of the Endowment fund from the Tides Foundation, which housed the Endowment from 2016 to 2023. This was a one-time transfer to establish the Endowment as its own standalone 501(c)(3) organization. The Endowment received $13.4M in donations during FY 2023-2024 and had $2.4M in investment income.

Expenses (Part IX)

The Endowment’s expenses totaled $5.0M, made up of $2.9M in awards and $2.1M in other costs - primarily paid to the Wikimedia Foundation for fundraising and general and administrative support services provided to the Endowment through a cost-sharing agreement.

Net Assets (Part X)

Net assets are the value of assets (cash and investments) minus liabilities. At the end of FY 2024, net assets totaled $144.3M, made up primarily of cash of $20.1M and investments of $123.4M. The Wikimedia Endowment’s investment policy also offers further information about our stewardship practices and management of reserves.

Governance and Related Topics (Part VI)

The other major section of the “core form” in the Form 990 covers topics related to the Wikimedia Endowment’s governance, policies, and disclosure practices. In the Form 990, the Wikimedia Endowment verifies that we follow a number of best practices (e.g., ensuring that officers and the Board of Directors do not have family or business relationships with one another, that the Endowment did not discover a major diversion of assets (which may indicate theft or fraud), that notes are taken at all Board of Director meetings, etc.).

Additional “Schedules”

The Wikimedia Endowment also completes various “schedules” on topics such as our public charity status, lobbying activities, and supplemental financial information.

Schedule A verifies the Wikimedia Endowment’s public charity status. Schedule B lists donor information for any donors that contributed 2% or more of the overall contributions/donations during the fiscal year; in FY 2023-2024 the Tides Foundation contributed $116.2M for the one-time transfer to establish the Endowment as a standalone 501(c)(3). More information is available in the FAQ.

Schedules F and I list regional data about our grantmaking inside and outside the United States. In FY 2023-2024, the Endowment spent $278K in grants for organizations outside of the United States for a grant to Kiwix and $2.6M in grants for organizations and individuals within the United States for grants to the Wikimedia Foundation, focusing on support for technical innovation.

Schedule M reports noncash donations, including stock donations received by the Endowment.

More information on the Form 990, including a full list of the additional “schedules”, can be found in the FAQ.

FAQs: General topics

What is a Form 990 and what is its purpose?

The Form 990 is the annual informational document required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for non-profit organizations in the United States. The purpose of the filing is to provide information to the IRS and the public for evaluation purposes; this is in addition to our public financial reports and our annual audit performed by KPMG.

The IRS, Charity Navigator, and other donors read the Form 990 to assess an organization's financial and governance well-being.

What time periods does the Form 990 cover?

This Form 990 is referred to as the 2023 return because the fiscal year period that the return refers to began in 2023. A fiscal year is the 12-month period around which an organization builds its budget plans and reporting. For this year’s Form 990, that covers the nine month time period from 30 September 2023 - 30 June 2024, from the time that the Endowment began operations as a standalone 501(c)(3) organization on 30 September 2023 through the end of the fiscal year on 30 June 2024. The financial statements cover a comprehensive range of financial activities during that time period and are meant to give the IRS and the public an overview of the organization’s financial status and conduct.

When did you file the 2023 Form 990, and where can I find it?

The 2023 Form 990 was filed with the IRS on April 29, 2025, and has now been posted on the Wikimedia Endowment website. It will also eventually propagate to other websites such as Charity Navigator from IRS reporting.

Who is responsible for filling out the Form 990 for the Wikimedia Endowment?

The Form 990 is the responsibility of the management of the Wikimedia Endowment. KPMG provides guidance, helps create the Form 990 in the proper IRS format, and reviews the final product for accuracy and completeness.

What is the process for completing and reviewing the Form 990 for the Wikimedia Endowment?

The Wikimedia Foundation accounting and management staff work to provide data to KPMG. KPMG then provides a first draft of the Form 990 to the Endowment. There may be several drafts, as the draft Form 990 is reviewed internally by the Wikimedia Foundation as well as the Endowment Treasurer and President. Once Wikimedia Endowment accounting staff and management have prepared a “final draft,” it is presented to the Wikimedia Endowment Audit Committee for a detailed review. Once the Audit Committee approves it, it is shared with the Wikimedia Endowment Board, and then the Form 990 is officially filed with the IRS by KPMG.

What are the due dates for filing the Form 990?

The Form 990 is due on the 15th of the 5th month following the fiscal year-end, so in our case, November 15 after the June 30 fiscal year end. However, the IRS grants a six-month extension to anyone who requests it, thus moving the Form 990 deadline to May 15.

We requested an extension because the Form 990 includes financial information that is not finalized until the Endowment’s financial audit is finalized, which is typically in November each year. It would be less efficient to try to work on the Form 990 before those numbers are finalized. The Form 990 also has additional information requirements beyond the audited financial statements and requires analysis with KPMG.

It is best practice to request the extension from the IRS so that the Endowment can be as efficient as possible with its release of the Form 990 (and other important financial documents) without compromising the accuracy of its contents. This timeline is consistent with the timelines of other comparable organizations.

What are your legal responsibilities for posting the Form 990?

By law, we must submit the full Form 990 to the IRS, and if members of the public request, we must also provide copies for their review for the last three years. As part of the Wikimedia Endowment’s commitment to accountability and transparency, and to make it easy for people to find, we post the Form 990 as a PDF on the Wikimedia Endowment website.

This return is 43 pages long – can you give a quick overview of how it is organized?

The Form 990 consists of the core return form with parts numbered from Part I to Part XII.

Part I (Summary) provides a snapshot of the core form, including the organization’s mission, activities and current and prior years’ financial results;
Part II is for the signature of the Wikimedia Endowment officer verifying the accuracy and completeness of the information in the Form 990;
Part III is a summary of the main program service accomplishments (i.e., what are the main focus areas of our work);
Part IV includes a checklist to determine which additional schedules need to be completed outside of the core form (see list below for the schedules we are required to complete);
Part V includes statements regarding other IRS filings and tax compliance (this answers questions related to other tax filings that may be required, for example, federal employment taxes);
Part VI includes questions/statements regarding governance, management, and disclosure (this explains our governing body and management policies);
Part VII includes compensation information (note that the Endowment does not have any personnel cost);
Part VIII includes revenue information (this includes primarily donations and grants, as well as other sources of revenue such as investment income);
Part IX includes the functional expense statement (i.e., expense details split out by functional categories of programmatic, management & general administration, and fundraising);
Part X includes balance sheet information (this is a snapshot of our assets, liabilities, and net assets);
Part XI includes the reconciliation of net assets (i.e., how our net assets changed in the year); and
Part XII includes the financial statements and reporting method (this explains that we use the accrual method of accounting and that our financials were audited).

Additional schedules that the Wikimedia Endowment completes include:

Schedule A – Public Charity Status and Public Support (this includes the test to make sure that we are properly considered a 501(c)(3) public charity as opposed to a different type of charity);
Schedule B - Schedule of Contributors (this is required to be completed if any one donor gave 2% or more of the organization’s overall contributions - see question below for an explanation of the donation reported).
Schedule D – Supplemental Financial Statements (this includes a reconciliation of revenue and expenses per our audited financial statements versus revenue and expenses per the Form 990);
Schedule F – Statement of Activities Outside the U.S. (this includes operational activities as well as grants or assistance to organizations and/or individuals outside of the United States);
Schedule I – Grants and Other Assistance to Organizations and Individuals in the United States (this includes detail on grants we gave within the United States and information on our overall grant process);
Schedule M – Noncash Contributions (this includes stock donations received by the Endowment); and
Schedule O – Supplemental Information (this includes information on process and policies and continuation of items that don’t fit completely on the standard form pages such as the full mission statement which is asked for in Part III but does not fit in its entirety in the dedicated space).

When will the Endowment be rated on Charity Navigator?

The Wikimedia Endowment already has a profile on Charity Navigator, but the Endowment won’t be eligible for an overall rating until 2027.

Charity Navigator bases its overall ratings on multiple “beacons”. Charity Navigator’s Accountability & Finance beacon requires an organization to release a 990 for three straight years, and the Wikimedia Endowment just released its first one. We expect to release our third 990 in 2027 — so sometime after then, Charity Navigator would give the Wikimedia Endowment a rating based on that Accountability & Finance beacon.

In the meantime, our profile on Charity Navigator does include “Rating Reports” on two other beacons: “Culture and Community” and “Leadership and Adaptability.” For both of these beacons, the Wikimedia Endowment has received perfect scores of “100.”

FAQs: Specific form items

The page numbers used are based on the page number in the bottom center of each page in the Form 990 PDF.

Volunteers: On page 2, Part I, Summary, line 6, the total number of volunteers is listed as 11 – where does this number come from?

This is the number of members on the Endowment’s Board of Directors, as they are volunteer roles. The Endowment’s mission is to support Wikimedia projects. While the Wikimedia Foundation lists almost 300,000 volunteers in its 990 to reflect the number of active volunteer contributors to the Wikimedia projects around the world, the Endowment does not specifically have any volunteers of its own other than the Board members.

Staff & Compensation: On page 2, Part I, Summary, line 5, why is the number of staff employed in the calendar year 2023 shown as zero and why does line 15 show $0 in compensation?

Per IRS requirements, line 5 is required to be the number of individuals that were issued W-2s by the organization in the calendar year 2023. The Endowment does not have any employees of its own and does not pay compensation to any staff. In order to maximize cost efficiency, beginning in FY 2023-2024, the Endowment formed a cost sharing agreement with the Foundation in which the Endowment reimburses the Foundation for the work the Foundation does to support the Endowment, primarily fundraising and general and administrative support, including Foundation staff cost. As such, the Endowment does not have any employees of its own, does not issue any W-2s, and does not pay compensation.

Staff & Compensation: On page 8, Part VII, Section A, there is a list which includes officers and Board members but $0 in compensation. Why?

Per IRS requirements, this is required to be the W-2 compensation for officers, directors, trustees, key employees, highest compensated employees, and independent contractors. As explained in the question above, the Endowment does not have any employees of its own and thus does not issue any W-2s. The staff who support the Endowment are paid by the Foundation, and the Endowment pays the Foundation for their services. Compensation for the officers that are reported are included in the Wikimedia Foundation Form 990. Board members do not receive compensation.

Expenses: Page 11, Part IX, can you describe the allocation of Endowment expenses by functional categories?

The statement of functional expenses in Part IX breaks down the Endowment expenses by three spending categories: program services expenses, management & general expenses, and fundraising expenses. In FY 2023-2024, the Endowment spent $3.1M (62%) on program expenses related to funding to support Wikipedia projects, $707K (14%) on management and general expenses, and $1.2M (24%) on fundraising expenses.

As an Endowment with the mission to act as a permanent fund, the ratio of total spend across the three categories is different from non-profit organizations like the Wikimedia Foundation, which typically spend closer to the amounts raised each year. The Endowment is still prioritizing growing the corpus of the Endowment, which does not factor into this metric. With $1.2M in fundraising expenses and $14M in donations in FY 2023-2024, it cost the Endowment less than 10 cents to raise $1 in donations, which meets the benchmark for efficient fundraising set by Charity Navigator.

Net Assets: Page 13, Part XI is a reconciliation of net assets, can you describe the information it contains?

The reconciliation of net assets summarizes the change to net assets, meaning our total financial holdings including both cash on hand and the investments that make up our financial reserves, net of liabilities such as accounts payable. It is calculated by adding the Endowment’s revenue that fiscal year (primarily from donations) and subtracting our expenses, such as salaries, grants paid, and server costs.

The number is also adjusted for accounting differences between what is required in our audited financial statements and what is required by the IRS in the Form 990. This adjustment results in an ending net asset balance of $144.3M, which ties to our audited financial statements.

Per IRS rules, there is one item from our audited financial statements that are excluded from Form 990 reporting, and thus need to be included as adjustments in this reconciliation - Net unrealized gains or (losses) on investments (line 5). The Wikimedia Endowment holds our financial assets in a number of different forms, including U.S. treasuries, bonds, and stocks. The value of these investments goes up and down over time, and FY 2023-2024 was a year where the overall value went up, mostly due to market fluctuations. They are “unrealized” because the Endowment did not sell the assets, and will hold them until maturity or until they realize positive returns in line with our investment policy. Unrealized gains and losses from investments are not reported within net income under IRS rules. In FY 2023-2024, the Endowment had unrealized gains of $17.3M from investments. In the audited financial statement these are reported as non-operating revenue.

Contributions: What is Schedule B (starting on page 22) and why did the Endowment complete it in this Form 990?

The Endowment, as a 501(c)(3) organization, is required to complete Schedule B, Schedule of Contributors, if any one contributor contributed 2% or more of the overall contributions/donations during the fiscal year. The $116.2M contribution from the Tides Foundation was a one-time transfer to establish the Endowment as its own standalone 501(c)(3) organization from the Tides Foundation, which housed the Endowment from 2016 to 2023. This donation will not repeat in future years.