Talk:Requests for comment/MediaWiki Foundation

But how

 * MediaWiki releases are not done by volunteers currently
 * Where would the new Foundation get money and workers?
 * Who would decide what it does?

Ways of meeting donor's needs
It seems to me that the donors should be in the driver's seat about what the Foundation's money goes toward. They could either earmark donations for a specific project or direct that the money be spent wherever it is needed most. Of course, fungibility of funds can sometimes defeat the purpose of these earmarks; for example, suppose $100,000 in general funding was going to go toward Project X, and then a donor gave $100,000, designating it for project X. Then Foundation could then shift the $100,000 in general funding out of project X, achieving the same effect as if the donor had given the money to the general fund.

By the way, why must it be a nonprofit? Why not set it up as a for-profit entity, and consider the donors as customers who receive software development services in return for their money? My guess is that most customers will be interested in specific projects, rather than in giving money to the general fund. This might be a more efficient way of doing things, since the advantages of nonprofits tend to be illusory. Leucosticte (talk) 23:14, 2 September 2012 (UTC)


 * You seem to have confused yourself there ;-) . The assignment of USD 100,000 to a certain project would help when WMF would otherwise allocate none. Now a better way might be to promote a project is by offering up to USD 100,000 for project X based on equal assignment by WMF from the general fund. Working for profit introduces taxes and many other expenses - which would end up monetizing all the assets. 84.3.85.135 20:06, 3 September 2012 (UTC)