Volunteers - Frequently Asked Questions

Members

Being a Member

How do I become a member?

You can join online or fill out a paper form to apply for membership of Wikimedia UK. You application will be reviewed and you will be notified by email when it has been approved.

Payment can be made in the following ways:

• Pay online using our online form using the link above - this is the quickest and easiest method.
• Pay by cheque made payable to 'Wikimedia UK' and sent using 'FREEPOST WIKIPEDIA' - no stamp required. (Please note in order to be eligable to vote at an AGM or EGM your payment must have been processed 24 hours before the session is due to start as announced in the notice. You can pay in cash on the day if you attend if this is preferred)
• Pay in cash - you must indicate on your application form the name of the member you have given this too, or enclose with your form and post as with a cheque.
• Pay by online transfer to account 'Wikimedia UK' Account No: 20300612, Sort Code:08-60-01. Please use your email as the transaction reference and email membership@wikimedia.org.uk to confirm the transfer of funds.

In applying you are accepting limited liability if Wikimedia UK dissolved during your membership or within 12 months after it ends , by contributing not more than £1 to any outstanding costs. You are also undertaking to provide accurate and truthful details about your name and place of address, and informing Wikimedia UK if this changes so the register of members remains accurate.

Why do you keep a register of members?

Wikimedia UK keeps a record of membership details on a contact management database, which must include at minimum the name and postal address and start and end dates of a membership term for any approved member. This is because Wikimedia UK as a charity is based on Wikimedia UK - a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, and the Companies Act 2006 requires it to keep a formal register of members.

You can read more about how the law requires the charity to keep this record here and some FAQs here.

How do you protect my privacy and data as a member?

Your details of member must be retained in accordance with company law for ten years, even if you do not renew your membership. However, the list is only accessible to charity staff and elected trustees - any request to access the list outside this group must be made in accordance with company law. If such a request is properly made the only information that the charity is required to disclose is name, address and membership term dates - no additional information will be shared.

For more information about how the charity manages data you may want to read our Data Protection Policy.

Board meetings

What happens at board meetings?

Board meetings are an opportunity for Trustees to come together to review staff reports, the status of community issues, and discuss and agree top level items that are vital to the management of the Charity such as budget and activity planning, policy an legal work and strategic direction and evaluation. They have been held around the UK and tend to alternate between meeting at the London office and another venue tied to community activity or a partnership collaboration.

Typically a meeting may open with a short in-camera session (This means that only board members and possibly one member of staff to take minutes are present) followed by an agenda that has been collaboratively drawn together in the preceding weeks in consultation with the Trustee acting as secretary. This will include review of staff reports and outstanding actions, specific items in relation to particular projects and decisions, and possibly broader items for more nuanced or wide-reaching discussions. From this actions will arise for Trustees, staff, and members of the volunteer community to take forward.

Between formal meetings Board members communicate through a closed wiki for Board members only, via email, and more broadly through various channels of communication with volunteers and staff to ensure decisions and discussions are moved forward.

Can I attend a board meeting?

Yes. In fact, you don't even have to be a member to attend a board meeting - we encourage volunteers and interested parties to attend to gain insight into to the workings of the charity and ways they may choose to participate or feedback.

There is no right to attend a Board meeting per se, and if the board chose to hear an item in an in-camera session then it is expected that only board members will be present unless a member of staff is required to assist with minute taking. However, typically the Board of Trustees aims to make items open and for anyone to observe as part of the charity's broader commitment to transparency in governance. If you wish to attend a meeting drop a line to secretary@wikimedia.org.uk so we can ensure we can accommodate all attendees - you can ask to have copies of board papers emailed to you in advance and notify us of any access requirements you may have.

Can I listen in/watch a board meeting remotely?

Board meetings are not currently routinely streamed live either as audio or video - in the past some meetings have been filmed and the media files subsequently released on Wikimedia Commons. There was a discussion about live-streaming board meetings amongst trustees at a board meeting in May 2013 and at the time it was decided that remote attendance at that board meeting would not be supported.

If you would like observe the business of the meeting but cannot attend there are several ways to remain informed and involved.

Can I ask questions about reports for board meetings?

Yes - members are welcome to review and discuss the contents of all reports presented to meetings; indeed feedback and additional information is often useful.

You can see the schedule for Board meetings which contains links to the agendas of forthcoming meetings. If you don't see a topic you would like discussed a good place to ask is on the discussion page of the agenda, or by writing on the talk page of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. It may be for example the the topic is being discussed at committee level, or is included in a staff or trustee report and so will be covered in that section.

You can also ask questions of specific reports on the discussion pages for the file or page in question, and again, you can contact Trustees and Staff on their talk pages or by email to ask questions. Use whatever medium you are comfortable with - but remember, the advantage of posting on this wiki is that other members can read your queries and may feel motivated to contribute to a discussion too.

Trustees

Who are the Trustees?

Wikimedia UK as a registered company has articles of association which govern the procedures that constitute how the company works (you can read more below.) The membership elect the directors of the company who serve as Trustees on the board of the charity.

In 2013 the Articles of Association for the company were changed, making it possible for members to directly elect seven directors, and for a further three directors to then be supplied through co-option by the elected directors, with a possibility of a fourth coop-tee helping to fill an interim vacancy in advance of a director making it known they intend to step down.

Our Trustees have come from a variety of backgrounds - some have been existing editors whereas some were entirely new to the Wikimedia movement. Some have had a lifetime of professional experince or experience serving on other boards; some have been in university or school when starting as Trustees. All have held in common a commitment to upholding the key principles of the charity; promoting the development and sharing of freely licensed educational content and putting volunteers at the heart of the projects that support it. Any member is eligible to stand for election or be coopted, and if you would be interested in finding out more a good place to start is joining a committee as a volunteer.

What is the role of Trustees? Is it the same as being Directors?

Directors have the responsibility to ensure the financial probity of Wikimedia UK and its compliance with relevant legal requirements placed on it by company and accountancy law.

Trustees' responsibilities go beyond this - they have to ensure that the activities of the organisation are compliant with charity law, and are delivering the 'public benefit' requirement that merits the organisation's charitable status. This means they have to consider spending and strategic decision making in light of how well and directly they help us deliver our mission and charitable objects. Also, because of Wikimedia UKs values statement they are obliged to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with being transparent and putting volunteers first in delivering our programme of work.