Hello,

I'm a bit lost on this, probably because I'm not familiar with US Work
laws. Why did Katherine Maher received $623,286 on severance pay? Was she
fired?

Best,
Paulo

Andreas Kolbe <[email protected]> escreveu no dia terça, 9/05/2023 à(s)
22:17:

> The information is right there, Lodewijk, all you need to do is click the
> link. The Form 990 discloses
> <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikimedia_Foundation_2021_Form_990.pdf#page=49>
>  that
> the WMF paid five executives a combined total of over $1.2 million in
> severance pay. About half of this went to Katherine Maher. Individual
> severance figures are given on page 50
> <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikimedia_Foundation_2021_Form_990.pdf#page=50>
> :
>
>    - Katherine Maher $623,286 (over 150% of her base compensation in her
>    last full year)
>    - Janeen Uzzell $324,748 (over 100% of her base compensation in her
>    last full year)
>    - Heather Walls $153,612
>    - Lynette Logan $74,645
>    - Anthony Negrin $70,920
>
> For historical comparison, the severance payment Lila Tretikov got in 2016
> was $262.5K, approx. 77% of her $342K base compensation in 2015, her last
> full year.
>
> So severance payments for top executives seem to be trending up.
>
> Andreas
>
> On Tue, May 9, 2023 at 8:56 PM effe iets anders <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> I'm sure someone at the Foundation will have a better response, and you
>> may have puzzled this together yourself already, but we've seen in previous
>> years that the reported salary went up in the last year of someone's
>> service, possibly due to consulting fees and severance packages. Both Maher
>> and Uzzell left the Foundation in 2021. Typically the WMF has been cautious
>> to give much detail on this though (understandably).
>>
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> On Tue, May 9, 2023 at 10:03 AM Andreas Kolbe <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> Page 49 of the new Form 990 (2021) shows the following total
>>> compensation figures for former CEO Katherine Maher and Janeen Uzzell in
>>> that year:
>>>
>>> *$798,632 and $515,553 *respectively. Both figures far exceed all prior
>>> records.
>>>
>>>
>>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/14/Wikimedia_Foundation_2021_Form_990.pdf#page=49
>>>
>>> The Form 990 now shows a total of *six* executives whose total
>>> compensation exceeded *$400,000*.
>>>
>>> For comparison, the Form 990 for the year before (2020) showed a total
>>> of *eight* executives whose total compensation exceeded *$300,000*:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e4/Wikimedia_Foundation_2020_Form_990.pdf#page=48
>>>
>>> These are interesting developments.
>>>
>>> Andreas
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 9, 2023 at 4:25 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> Today, the Wikimedia Foundation published the Form 990 [1], an
>>>> informational tax form required annually of all nonprofit organisations
>>>> based in the US. The Form 990 provides a financial overview of the
>>>> Foundation, including the balance sheet, revenue and expenses, as well as
>>>> grantmaking, governance, and other financial policies. It also includes
>>>> compensation information required for senior executives. This document is
>>>> reviewed by the Board each year before it is published on the Foundation
>>>> website.
>>>>
>>>> Because of reporting periods, the Form 990 provides a look back at the
>>>> activities and budget for the Foundation in prior years. This year’s Form
>>>> 990 covers last fiscal year (July 2021-June 2022), and for compensation
>>>> related reporting, it covers the 2021 calendar year. Because the Form 990
>>>> is a tax document with a complicated format, this year the Foundation
>>>> has also published a Diff post [2] that provides an overview of the
>>>> different sections of the form; an executive summary [3] of the Form, and
>>>> an FAQ on Meta [4].
>>>>
>>>> This year’s Form 990 contains several key takeaways:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>    -
>>>>
>>>>    Growth in support of Wikimedia projects: In the 2021-2022 fiscal
>>>>    year, the Foundation invested 77% in Program Services, an increase of 4
>>>>    percentage points as compared to fiscal year 2020–2021 of 73%. This 
>>>> measure
>>>>    reflects how much of the organisation’s expenses are allocated towards 
>>>> the
>>>>    programs and services that it exists to deliver. This surpasses 
>>>> third-party
>>>>    standards for how much nonprofit organisations should spend on programs,
>>>>    which should be the majority of their budget (more than 65% according to
>>>>    the Better Business Bureau).
>>>>    -
>>>>
>>>>    Increase in community grants: During fiscal year 2021-2022, the
>>>>    Foundation’s revenue received through donations and grants, totaled 
>>>> $164.2
>>>>    million, a roughly $9 million increase from the prior fiscal year. The
>>>>    Foundation increased its grants programme by 50%, from $10.1M in the 
>>>> prior
>>>>    fiscal year to $15.2M in fiscal year 2021-2022.
>>>>    -
>>>>
>>>>    Comprehensive governance policies: The Foundation follows a number
>>>>    of best practices for governance as an established nonprofit 
>>>> organisation.
>>>>    The Form 990 includes a section confirming written policies regarding 
>>>> our
>>>>    approach to conflicts of interest
>>>>    
>>>> <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Conflict_of_interest_policy>,
>>>>    protecting whistleblowers
>>>>    <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Whistleblower_policy>,
>>>>    guidelines for data retention
>>>>    <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Data_retention_guidelines>
>>>>    and governance practices, including those related to the Foundation's 
>>>> Board
>>>>    structure, voting rights, and independence. These governance policies 
>>>> and
>>>>    practices have helped the Foundation to receive the highest rating from
>>>>    sites like Charity Navigator
>>>>    <https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/200049703>.
>>>>    -
>>>>
>>>>    Leadership Transition: This year’s Form 990 also reports on a
>>>>    period of significant leadership transition at the Wikimedia Foundation,
>>>>    including the CEO stepping down. The Form includes compensation 
>>>> information
>>>>    as well as severance disclosures for Foundation executives who departed 
>>>> in
>>>>    2021. This January, the Wikimedia Foundation introduced a new 
>>>> standardised
>>>>    severance policy, which was shared in a Diff post [5]. Separation
>>>>    payments to two additional executives that precede the implementation of
>>>>    this standardised policy will be disclosed in future Form 990s.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Finally, the Form 990 is one of several documents that the Foundation
>>>> publishes each year, to provide more visibility into the budget and how the
>>>> Foundation allocates resources towards its work. In addition to the Form
>>>> 990, you can find additional information in this year’s Annual Plan
>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2023-2024>,
>>>> in the Foundation’s Annual Report
>>>> <https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/annualreport/2022-annual-report/>,
>>>> and in a series of Diff posts about the Foundation’s compensation
>>>> practices
>>>> <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/02/17/wikimedia-foundation-remote-first-and-global-community-of-staff/>,
>>>> global guidelines
>>>> <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/06/wikimedia-foundation-global-guidelines-policies-practices/>,
>>>> and our approach to hiring
>>>> <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/05/03/building-a-global-staff-community-at-the-wikimedia-foundation/>
>>>> .
>>>>
>>>> The Community Affairs Committee of the Board will host its regular Open
>>>> Conversation with Trustees
>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/2023-05-18_Conversation_with_Trustees>
>>>> next Thursday May 18 at 1800 UTC where this topic will be on the agenda
>>>> along with a final opportunity for feedback on the Foundation’s Annual
>>>> Plan. Questions about the Form 990 are invited on the talk page on Meta
>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:IRS_tax_related_information/2021_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions&action=edit&redlink=1>.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [1]
>>>> https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/financial-reports/#a2-2021-2022
>>>> [2]
>>>> https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/05/09/highlights-of-form-990-for-the-wikimedia-foundation/
>>>> [3]
>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_related_information/2021_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions#FY_2021-2022_Form_990:_Executive_Summary
>>>> [4]
>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_related_information/2021_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions#Overview
>>>> [5]
>>>> https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/06/wikimedia-foundation-global-guidelines-policies-practices/
>>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>> antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
>>>> Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
>>>>
>>>> *NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal
>>>> working hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during
>>>> weekend. You should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off.
>>>> Thank you in advance!*
>>>>
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