Birgitte SB wrote:
>--- Jimmy Wales <jwales@wikia.com> wrote:
>
>
>>daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>> 7. The Speaker Subcommittee will also request an honorarium, to be
>>>
>>>
>>> paid to the Foundation, for providing a speaker.
>>>
>>>
>>I think this concept of the Foundation receiving
>>speaker's fees makes a
>>lot of sense for employees of the foundation, just
>>as it
>>might for any organization where speakers are being
>>paid by the
>>organization and the speaking is a part of what
>>their salary covers.
>>For volunteers, this makes significantly less sense
>>to me.
>>
>>I have for a very long time now stressed to everyone
>>who invites me to
>>speak that they are inviting me in my personal
>>capacity. So this
>>policy will have no impact on me. But it could have
>>impact on many others.
>>
>>However, it could significantly impact our desire to
>>bring more people
>>to the public eye. For a volunteer to prepare a
>>talk, travel to do it,
>>a typical honorarium will be still be pretty poor
>>compensation for the
>>time away from family, work, etc.
>>
>>I believe, and my memory might be weak here so
>>someone can correct me,
>>that this question first came up when David Gerard
>>gave a
>>talk in the UK, a talk for which there was an
>>honorarium (small)
>>associated with it. The small amount of money
>>involved, it seems to me,
>>quite properly
>>should go to David for his efforts. And why not?
>>
>>
>http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>
>
>
>I am unsure on this issue. On one hand you have a
>good point, but on the other hand there are many tasks
>being done that require volunteers to take time away
>from family, work, etc. without any kind of
>compensation (ie being a Board Member). There is
>somewhat of a double standard when the community seats
>on the Board are uncompensated and require many hours
>per week and David Gerard is compensated for a much
>smaller time commitment.
>
>Perhaps the honorariums collected for speakers could
>pooled allowing each speaker a equal amount of
>honorarium per event (that the board may agree on)
>plus expenses. In that fashion the money would be
>kept seperate from any non-speaking Foundation
>expenses. This could also allow the WMF to send
>speakers to conferences in the developing world which
>may not be able afford covering the expenses involved
>without having to dip into donation money. Or there
>may be some better solution. I do think there needs
>to be some kind of guideline on the matter, but
>perhaps the communication commitee should handle this.
>
>
I tend to agree with Jimbo on this. A volunteer who goes out to speak
is giving his own POV to the audience, and mostly has no official status
in the organization. The role of WMF in this is often limited to that
of a broker who puts the two parties together. If WMF has to subsidize
the speaker's expenses it's likely that the host group can't afford much
of an honorarium anyway, beyond a gift book or potted plant. Shipping
potted plants to St. Petersburg may not be the brightest move.
Ec
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>--- Jimmy Wales <jwales@wikia.com> wrote:
>
>
>>daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>> 7. The Speaker Subcommittee will also request an honorarium, to be
>>>
>>>
>>> paid to the Foundation, for providing a speaker.
>>>
>>>
>>I think this concept of the Foundation receiving
>>speaker's fees makes a
>>lot of sense for employees of the foundation, just
>>as it
>>might for any organization where speakers are being
>>paid by the
>>organization and the speaking is a part of what
>>their salary covers.
>>For volunteers, this makes significantly less sense
>>to me.
>>
>>I have for a very long time now stressed to everyone
>>who invites me to
>>speak that they are inviting me in my personal
>>capacity. So this
>>policy will have no impact on me. But it could have
>>impact on many others.
>>
>>However, it could significantly impact our desire to
>>bring more people
>>to the public eye. For a volunteer to prepare a
>>talk, travel to do it,
>>a typical honorarium will be still be pretty poor
>>compensation for the
>>time away from family, work, etc.
>>
>>I believe, and my memory might be weak here so
>>someone can correct me,
>>that this question first came up when David Gerard
>>gave a
>>talk in the UK, a talk for which there was an
>>honorarium (small)
>>associated with it. The small amount of money
>>involved, it seems to me,
>>quite properly
>>should go to David for his efforts. And why not?
>>
>>
>http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>
>
>
>I am unsure on this issue. On one hand you have a
>good point, but on the other hand there are many tasks
>being done that require volunteers to take time away
>from family, work, etc. without any kind of
>compensation (ie being a Board Member). There is
>somewhat of a double standard when the community seats
>on the Board are uncompensated and require many hours
>per week and David Gerard is compensated for a much
>smaller time commitment.
>
>Perhaps the honorariums collected for speakers could
>pooled allowing each speaker a equal amount of
>honorarium per event (that the board may agree on)
>plus expenses. In that fashion the money would be
>kept seperate from any non-speaking Foundation
>expenses. This could also allow the WMF to send
>speakers to conferences in the developing world which
>may not be able afford covering the expenses involved
>without having to dip into donation money. Or there
>may be some better solution. I do think there needs
>to be some kind of guideline on the matter, but
>perhaps the communication commitee should handle this.
>
>
I tend to agree with Jimbo on this. A volunteer who goes out to speak
is giving his own POV to the audience, and mostly has no official status
in the organization. The role of WMF in this is often limited to that
of a broker who puts the two parties together. If WMF has to subsidize
the speaker's expenses it's likely that the host group can't afford much
of an honorarium anyway, beyond a gift book or potted plant. Shipping
potted plants to St. Petersburg may not be the brightest move.
Ec
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