Sharing the Wikimedia Endowment’s Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 – 2024

Following the publication of the Foundation’s fiscal year 2023 – 2024 Form 990, we have now published the Wikimedia Endowment’s first separate Form 990. It covers the time the Endowment became its own standalone 501(c)(3) charity in September 2023 through June 2024. Going forward, the Wikimedia Endowment will be reported in a separate Form 990 from the Foundation, though the Endowment’s leadership and its mission to support the Wikimedia projects in the long-term will stay the same. 

The Form 990 is the annual tax form required by the US Internal Revenue Service of all nonprofits in the United States. It is intended to provide the public with information on how the organization is being run. The Form 990 takes the financial information from an organization’s audit report and combines it with additional information on governance practices and activities. Highlights from the Foundation’s audit report for fiscal year 2023-2024 were previously shared on Diff. Additional takeaways from the Wikimedia Endowment’s Form 990 are outlined below.

Key takeaways from the Wikimedia Endowment’s fiscal year 2023-2024 Form 990

Best practices implemented for governance reporting

Part IV of the Endowment’s Form 990 covers topics related to the Endowment’s governance system, policies, and disclosure reporting practices. The Wikimedia Endowment follows governance best practices, such as ensuring that senior leaders on our staff and Board of Trustees do not have family or business relationships with one another, that the Endowment did not discover a major diversion of assets (which would indicate theft or fraud), and that notes are taken at all Board of Trustees meetings. In 2027 after two more Form 990s are submitted, the Endowment will be eligible to receive an overall rating from Charity Navigator since its ratings are based on three years of operations.

Revenue from Tides transfer and increased funding to support Wikimedia projects

Financial highlights reiterated from the Endowment’s audit report include:

• Breakdown of revenue for the Endowment. The Endowment’s total revenue was $132M for fiscal year 2023-2024. The vast majority of this revenue came from the transfer of $116.2M from the Tides Foundation. Funds for the Endowment were held by the Tides Foundation from 2016-2023. In 2023, the Endowment became its own standalone 501(c)(3), and the funds held by Tides were transferred to the new entity. The Endowment received $13.4M in new donations during FY 2023-2024 and had $2.4M in investment income.
• Funding to support Wikimedia projects reaches $2.9M. During FY 2023-2024, the Endowment provided $2.9M in movement funding to support technical innovation on the Wikimedia projects: $1.5M for MediaWiki upgrades, $600,000 for Abstract Wikipedia, $500,000 for efforts aimed at reaching new audiences, and $278,375 for Kiwix. More information about this round of Endowment funding is available as part of the Endowment’s July 2024 update. 
• Expenses to support the Endowment. The Endowment’s expenses totalled $5M, made up of $2.9M in movement funding and $2.1M in other costs. These other costs are primarily paid to the Wikimedia Foundation for fundraising and general and administrative support services provided to the Endowment through a cost-sharing agreement.
• Strong financial position. The Endowment’s net assets totalled $144.3M, made up primarily of cash of $20.1M and investments of $123.4M. The Wikimedia Endowment’s investment policy also offers further information about its stewardship practices and management of reserves.

You can review the full Form 990 for the Wikimedia Endowment on our website. You can also read answers to frequently asked questions on Meta-Wiki.