Flo and Andreas, Have you asked these questions to [email protected]?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/2023-05-18_Conversation_with_Trustees#Submit_your_questions -LW On Thu, May 11, 2023 at 12:22 PM Florence Devouard <[email protected]> wrote: > > Speaking of which... I was reading with a lot of interest the new policy > regarding severance packages... > > > I read on the diff (1) > > > "The guidelines have also provided an opportunity to better align our > processes globally when staff leave the Foundation. This includes a new > standardized severance policy for staff at all levels of one month of > severance pay for every year of their employment, up to nine months (unless > local laws require otherwise) – any exceptions require a joint recommendation > by the Head of Talent & Culture and the General Counsel, with final approval > from the CEO. The guidelines have allowed us to make these and other policies > more transparent to staff irrespective of where they live and work. " > > > I suppose this decision was partly made because some staff did not benefit > from a severance package (or only from a very poor one), in particular in > cases of non-US based staff. If that's the case, it is a good move to > introduce more equity. > > Out of curiosity... > > 1) is the one month of severence pay entirely based on the last month salary, > or the last year salary, or does it take into account the previous years > (which were presumbly at lower salary) ? > > 2) for those staff who are "exceptions", is the agreement with the exception > done at the beginning of the tenure, at the end of the tenure (as part of the > departure discussion) or can be discussed-rediscussed at any time during the > agreement ? > > 3) do you plan to communicate on the number (or percentage) of staff who are > actually in the "exception" packages ? (no name obviously, but an idea of the > size of that segment. Because if the "exception" segment is 50% of the 700+ > staff, then equity is not it...) > > 4) do you plan to adopt a "maximum" for those in the exception segment (for > example, the standard is 1 month per year employed... to limit the severance > to equivalent "xx months of employed years") > > 5) last... is there an incentive system in place to invite WMF staff to make > donations to WMF or to the other Wikimedia entitites (such as doubling their > donations) > > > Salaries at the WMF seem to have climbed tremendously the past few years (2). > Severance packages seriously climb as well. Many will turn a blind eye on > this, but I am sure you realize that others might be concerned. > I fully understand and support the approach that would result in more equity > for WMF staff and recognise that this must be a challenge to implement due to > the diversity of countries they live in. > I also recognise the need to make working for WMF appealing, hence > confortable packages. > But still...Is there anything done to better address the serious escalation > of severance packages of the high level executives ? (beside inviting them to > leave asap they have been employed more than 5 years that is) > > > Flo > > > (1) > https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/06/wikimedia-foundation-global-guidelines-policies-practices/ > > (2) https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_salaries > > > Le 09/05/2023 à 21:55, effe iets anders a écrit : > > 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, protecting whistleblowers, guidelines for data >>> retention 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. >>> >>> 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, in the >>> Foundation’s Annual Report, and in a series of Diff posts about the >>> Foundation’s compensation practices, global guidelines, and our approach to >>> hiring. >>> >>> >>> The Community Affairs Committee of the Board will host its regular Open >>> 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. >>> [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! >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>> Public archives at >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/LUM4FS6ABPG4TBUFF6QHYJD3FT36W2AU/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/YB3QIEPJM43ZAKNMOGRV3ONYK6STKY2H/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/TDLWFERUGSG5CR7VL5OEIU2RDKYLFQHQ/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/62ZB2GLRRQGXGFUUU7SRPJGP6BUGKPHO/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/NCE6V2SBLKHFHJTO3TGT2YAI2DWDBWVF/ To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
