[Foundation-l] board candidacies

Sat Aug 12 20:30:22 UTC 2006

On 8/12/06, Jimmy Wales <jwales at wikia.com> wrote:
> Anthere wrote:
> > I am currently required to spend my own money to go and give speeches.
> > This has been the case for over 2 years now.
> The board passed a budget for your expenses and to my knowledge, you
> have never used it all up, nor have you asked
> for an increase, nor have you ever submitted any claim for expenses
> which has been denied.  Standard policy has always
> been that board members should be reimbursed upon request for reasonable
> travel expenses.

I've almost never used any of this, and the candidates for the
election shouldn't be misled into thinking they won't incur
significant personal costs.

The main problem is knowing what is an official Wikimedia related
expense, so I've assumed that little of what I do is. For example, I'm
currently attending conference at which I'm giving a short talk about
Wikipedia tomorrow, and will be spending $90 of my own money on taxis
(I could spend less if I got public transport instead, but that I
don't have time to spend 4 hours on trams). I'm not paid for the
event. (I've never been paid for any event, though one I did was
supposed to have paid me). Is this a valid Wikimedia-related expense?
I have similar things about once a month, often costing far more than
$90 since they're not usually so nearby. I don't see a way of
distinguishing between valid Wikimedia expenses and expenses that are
only indirectly related to me being on the Board.

Angela.