WMF Annual Report (2010-11) Options

[thekohser]

If you can stand reading it.

(link)

[gomi]

There are a couple of remarkable things:

1) They spend well over $7m on salaries, for a total of 80 employees;

2) They made only $37,000 on investment return on investable assets of $5.8m, an investment return of 0.6%;

3) As noted, they have (at year-end) over $12m of cash that is NOT included in "investments". Even on a short-term basis, this is a quasi-endowment that should be invested;

4) $5.9 for "operating expenses" and travel seems very high for 80 employees. Only $1.8m of nearly $18m in expenses is for hosting -- they spend $1.7 on the Board, and 18% of their total expenses, or $3.6m on administration;

5) Hilariously, the alphabetize their donor list by first name, making it virtually impossible to find specific individuals on it.

It is a very unusual profile for a "charitable" organization with only 80 employees.

It is instructive to compare Wikimedia with the Mozilla Foundation and Corporation.