Wikimedia Foundation elections/2024/Resources for candidates

Candidate onboarding

Current and future candidates are encouraged to complete this wikilearn module. The module covers eligibility requirements, needed skills, and more information about the role of a Trustee.

Information sessions

Video about the work of the trustees and the relationship between the Board and the communities

During the selection cycle, there are several opportunities for candidates or those who are interested in becoming a candidate to ask questions in small group settings.

Sign up below for any or all of these sessions. Please list your username and any potential questions you might have.

Peer support with current WMF Trustees

This informal preliminary process is meant to help connect potential candidates to current Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees members. These current trustees can provide mentorship and peer support during a one-on-one consultation session. This idea was initially proposed during the 2021 elections, and seeks to foster a "culture of invitation" so that potential candidates have someone helpful to talk to before they might choose to register officially as candidates. (20-30 minute session with you and the Trustee).

Sign-up:

1. [sign here]
2. [sign here]
3. [sign here]

Informational sessions with WMF Trustees

Do you have questions about what it means to be a volunteer on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees? Come ask your questions to current members of the Board. You can learn more about what being a Trustee is like, what skills have been important for Trustees, and how the Board does its work. (60 minute session with multiple participants)

Sign-up:

1. [sign here]
2. [sign here]
3. [sign here]

Information sessions with WMF staff

Are you curious about how the Board works with Wikimedia Foundation staff? Are you interested in learning more about the work of the Foundation and how the Board does and does not support that work? We are offering information sessions with WMF staff on particular areas of work: Advancement and Product and Technology. (30-60 minute sessions with multiple participants)

Sign-up:

1. Nadzik (talk) 09:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC) – I would like to participate in two sessions, one about Product and Technology, the other about Advancement. I am interested in both the way how Wikimedia Foundation operates and about Board involvement (a bit more specific than just a RASCI matrix), or its lack. I am happy to provide more detailed questions if needed based on the material received before the meeting, but for now the topics (with context) that are of interest for me to make more informed comments/decisions are:
   1. Product and Technology, the current work concerning eradicating/minimizing the effects and spread of technical debt – It is worth acknowledging that the Wikimedia Foundation has been doing some belated but good steps towards this goal (as described in the WMF Annual Plans (2023/2024 and the draft of 2024/2025)), however I would like to learn more about the effects and steps taken/planned in this direction. Information on that is partially available publicly, but a broad strategic overview of actions taken (and planned) would be beneficial to guide a discussion on the topic forward during these elections. How is the Board usually updated on the strategic developments in the P&T department? How are results reported?
   2. Advancement:
      1. Changes to the grant reporting – Kudos for the recent extended grantmaking reports which are getting more advanced every year, really! This is the information that I am glad to see easily available in a condensed form in one place, affiliates and their communities have been asking for that for some time. What is the future of these reports? What additional information is being planned to be shared publicly (if any)?
      2. Changes to movement financing:
         1. During financial year 2023/2024 it was announced that the budget allocated for the regional Rapid grants for the CEE region has been depleted quite early on and it was announced that no new grants would be accepted until the end of the financial year. This has led to some people announcing waiting until 1 July to immediately propose their ideas for next year, out of fear that the money will be again spent too soon; which goes against the very idea of a Rapid grant (a non-planned activity during a year for an additional small grassroot project). A while back a similar situation occurred with affiliate funding, when the funds dried up during negotiations and organisations needing to change their plans mid-year, as they were operating based on the WMF promises, which were not fulfilled (as far as I am aware, no nominal decreases took place, but there were cases of lack of planned increases during a period of high inflation (which resulted in a decrease in real terms of spending power)). What actions are being taken to preserve the grassroot/rapid way of Movement financing? Is there a strategy to maintain it? How are the affiliates supported to increase their independence in funding?
         2. In addition, it has been stressed repeatedly by the Wikimedia Foundation that in the recent years the budget allocated for grants has grown faster than the budget of the WMF. The WMF has also recently experienced a change in the influx of money in the recent years, both due to the global factors, but also the change in the fundraising strategy due to the community resistance to previous "morally sub-optimal" tactics. What is the role of the Board of Trustees in the current resource allocation system (with the understanding that the incoming Movement Charter may change that)? How is the Board informed (if it is) about the Movement spending and its performance during the year? What is the Board's role in fundraising (both in terms of oversight, but also active engagement)?
2. [sign here]
3. [sign here]