Gimme, Gimme Never Gets

So Wikipedia has launched another fundraiser, and padded the results by starting with $2 million dollars.

It is unfortunate though. At one time, fundraising for Wikipedia was a lot like Wikipedia itself--based on the belief that every little bit helps, that a $5 donation from an impoverished student is just as important as a $500 thousand from some corporate entity. That is not to disparage the larger donations, but rather based on the principle that every donor and every donation counted. That's why, when I oversaw the donations, there was just as much excitement over a touching note that came with $5 as there was from the occasional check for more than $5,000. That was one reason that I attempted to send a thank you note to every donor--a practice that has since been discontinued. The thought behind the donation was just as important as the donation itself.

That is not the case today. On the actual donation page, the lowest suggested sum is $30, an amount that is slightly higher than the average donation just two years ago. I wonder how the poor student who gave up lunch to donate five bucks in gratitude feels when confronted with the $30 sum. Sure, they can click "Other," but do they feel that their donation has the same weight as it did with the message that every little bit helps?

It is also curious when I consider the original debate about membership. For those not familiar with Wikipedia's early history, Florence was originally elected to represent WMF "members," even though there was no membership apparatus in place. In fact, when discussions were underway to create a membership apparatus, Brad stepped in and said that the only way to measure membership was with a membership fee, and the discussion stopped there. While I, and shortly afterwards, Delphine, made a small donation ($5) in return for membership, there was extensive discussion about the amount we could expect other members to pay. Florence insisted that for people in Poland or Africa, even $5 was too much money, and membership would effectively be limited to North Americans and Western Europeans. (Membership eventually became a huge debate between Brad and Erik, with Brad insisting that being a membership organization meant that the Board would be responsible to its members, something they should avoid. The Board eventually took Brad's advice and voted against being a membership organization.)

All of this is interesting when I compare the WMF fundraiser to various other organizations I have donated to. Let's take the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). When I go to their Donate page (which is up all year), the two options I find are "Become a Member" and "Members: Renew or Donate." More interesting is the starting sum: not $30, like the WMF, but $10. And you get a handy dandy tote bag!

For the record, the NRDC took in $90 million in 2007, and spent 78.4 percent of that directly on program expenses. This is according to Charity Navigator, a site which ranks charities according to their efficiency. With the motto, "Find a charity you can trust," it is no wonder that the Wikimedia Foundation is not listed there. To compare the NRDC to Wikipedia, I have to depend on Wikipedia's Annual Report, particularly page 9: only some 10 percent is listed as Programs. Of course, one could argue that Technology and even, generously, Wikimania, are programs, but that still leaves just 56 percent spent on programs.

Reading the Annual Report, it seems to me that the big problem is overbloated administrative costs on the part of the WMF: in fact, the Annual Report lists Board expenses, Office of the ED, Finance and Admin, and Legal as separate items, with no indication of what Fundraising costs are. In fact, I am not exactly sure what "Programs" are, except that on p. 22 of the report, Programs are listed as Cary Bass, Delphine (who has since left), Frank Schulenberg, and Jay Walsh. So, Cary the In-house Troll and Jay Walsh the Propaganda Minister are Programs? Is the goal of WMF's fuindraiser simply to pay their salaries? That is hardly a charity (though in the case of Cary, it can be argued that it is).

As for Administrative expenses, should a charity that lives on $6 million be paying bloated salaries to the ED and her office, i.e., 8 percent of the budget? In his day, Brad made the obscene amount of $160 thousand and Sue started with even more than that. Is that what people should be donating to support? Please donate to Wikipedia, so that Sue Gardner can be among the elite few whom Obama admits he will raise their taxes? No wonder the WMF doesn't want the small donations any more.

In the meanwhile, I will encourage anyone who considers donating to the WMF to read their Annual Report and compare it with the charities listed on Charity Navigator. You may wonder whether the WMF is really where your money should be going in this down economy.