Grants:APG/2012/Historical development

On July 11, 2012, the Board of Trustees approved a resolution establishing the Funds Dissemination Committee outlined in the Framework for the Creation and Initial Operation of the FDC drafted with public input over the course of April - June 2012.

Important pages to visit:

• FDC portal
• Round 1 2012 eligible entities list
• 2012 (inaugural) FDC members
• Concise FDC timeline

Attention: These pages may be out of date, for current documents please see the FDC portal.

Funds Dissemination Committee – index Edit
Guiding principles discussion WMF resolution: Wikimedia fundraising principles (10-9-2010) WMF communication: Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees letter regarding fundraising accountability (8-5-2011) Resolution:Developing Scenarios for future of fundraising (1-18-2012) Final Board resolutions (discuss)(3-31-12) | FAQ Overview of relevant data Interview summaries Draft grantmaking survey Funds Dissemination Criteria Table Resource list (for survey preparation) Where the money comes from today Funds Dissemination Committee Funds Dissemination Committee/Feedback Design principles List of design decisions to be made FDC Advisory Group FDC Advisory Group Mailing List Archive Advisory Group Meeting 1 Advisory Group Meeting 2 Operations Framework for creation and initial operation FDC Pledge of Commitment and Conflict of Interest Questionnaire Nominations to serve on the FDC

In late 2011, the Wikimedia Foundation began considering the creation of a community-led Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) to help make movement-wide decisions about how to allocate funds to programs and other projects. This was part of a broader discussion about fundraising and funds dissemination led by Sue, resulting in recommendations she made to the Wikimedia Board in March 2012. During the Wikimedia Conference 2012 in Berlin, the Board of Trustees resolved to create the FDC as a body advising the Board on how to divide and disseminate movement funds between the different movement groups including the Foundation itself, on a no entitlement basis.

This page is the archive of the planning and design work that led to the founding of the FDC through a July 2012 Board resolution. If you would like to participate in the FDC process itself, see the FDC portal page.

Overall timeline for the FDC design process

The timeline to develop and implement the FDC process was as follows:

• April-June 2012: Build the fact base and develop a recommendation
  • Understand the benefits and challenges of the current funds dissemination process
  • Gather community input on the future funds dissemination process
  • With deep community input on the Meta, develop a recommendation on the design of future funds dissemination process
• July-August 2012: Prepare for implementation
  • Define the core documents and processes necessary for the recommended funds dissemination plan
  • Appoint members to serve on the inaugural FDC and begin the first round of proposals

Why such an elaborate process?

The FDC design process is more complex than it looks on the face of it and it is vital to the future effective functioning of the entities/groups involved in the movement. The design process was intended to provide the resources needed to address the challenges that the implementation of a new process would inevitably entail and avoid the risk of serious gridlock that might occur once a new committee was chartered. The process also helped prospective members of the FDC by reducing the upfront burden on them to establish policies and processes. It also provided for a participative approach to the design that helped to address the diverse needs of different groups in the funding process.

FDC Advisory Group

The Funds Dissemination Committee is being supported by an Advisory Group. The advisory group is providing input on the formation of the FDC and its first steps, and will follow the FDC work for the couple of years of its existence. This group is not the FDC itself, rather its purpose is to:

1. Guide the development of recommendations for the design of the funds dissemination committee and process with support and facilitation by The Bridgespan Group (April – June 2012)
2. Support the implementation of the new funds dissemination committee and process (July - October 2012)
3. Serve as active observers and participants in the early FDC process (October 2012 - March 2013)
4. Provide guidance, feedback, and advice on how refine the FDC process at key junctures after a few rounds of funding have been completed (likely March 2013 and March 2014)

See the FDC Advisory Group page for a list of its members and minutes from its formal meetings early in the process.

External Consultant Process Facilitation and Support

From April to August 2012, the nonprofit consulting firm, The Bridgespan Group, was retained by the Wikimedia Foundation to facilitate and consult on the process of designing and implementing the FDC. Here's an overview of the FDC set-up project and Bridgespan's involvement.

Bridgespan's core team includes:

• Laura Lanzerotti, Manager
• Libbie Landles-Dowling, Manager
• Meera Chary, Consultant
• Divya Narayanan, Associate Consultant

Information and Analysis to Inform the Process

Over the course of the framework development period, information and analysis was gathered from a variety of sources to inform the design and development of the funds dissemination process. These included:

• Outreach to the community and notes from interviews with Board members, staff, and community members
• Notes and insights from benchmarking analyses
• Key financial data and insights from Chapters
• 2012 Round 1 entity eligibility status

Draft Documents Created During the Development Process

• Initial set of design principles for the formation of the FDC and funds dissemination process
• Initial list of key design decisions to be made in the FDC framework
• Final Framework for the Creation and Initial Operation of the FDC submitted to the Board