Resolution:Consideration of future Endowment structure

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Consideration of future Endowment structure

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The Consideration of future Endowment structure was approved by the Board of Trustees on June 12, 2018

Whereas, the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) passed a resolution establishing the Wikimedia Foundation Endowment at the Tides Foundation (Tides) on December 9, 2015; and

Whereas, the Board of Trustees, believing at the time that the appropriate long-term structure for the Endowment likely would be a separate independent entity, instructed staff to investigate this structure within 18 months of the date of Endowment's establishment; and

Whereas, the Board of Trustees at its December 2016 meeting discussed potential advantages and disadvantages of several options for hosting the Endowment, and determined that the Endowment should stay with Tides for present, with the continued understanding that there might come a point when it was advisable for the Endowment to be moved to an independent structure; and

Whereas, the Board of Trustees, having further discussed the matter at its April 19 board meeting, has determined that retaining the Endowment at Tides continues to provide the optimal hosting structure at the present time, and that at present it is neither necessary nor desirable to designate any particular funding level as a trigger for moving the Endowment out of Tides; and

Whereas, the Board of Trustees wishes by the end of WMF's FY 2018-19 to receive an updated and comprehensive analysis of options for structuring and recommendation from staff regarding the future structure of the Endowment;

Now, therefore, it is:

Resolved, upon due consideration, the WMF Board of Trustees hereby instructs staff to provide by the end of WMF's FY 2018-19 an updated analysis and recommendation regarding the future structure of the Endowment, which among other things shall take into consideration key factors, including but not limited to, assuring to the extent possible the legal protection of the Endowment, optimal development opportunities, and a long term future in which the Endowment will be used to further the purposes for which the WMF established it—namely, to support in perpetuity the Wikimedia projects.

Approve

Christophe Henner (Chair), Maria Sefidari (Vice Chair), Kelly Battles, James Heilman, Jimmy Wales, Nataliia Tymkiv, Alice Wiegand, Raju Narisetti, and Esra'a Al Shafei

Not Present

Dariusz Jemielniak

References:

• Establishment of the Endowment (December 9, 2015)
• Resolution approving various Endowment operations (June 29, 2016)
• Minutes of Board (December 16, 2016)
• Minutes of Board (April 19, 2018)