MWStake incorporation

This page documents the project for mwstake incorporation. Members of mwstake decided to incorporate with the two main goals being:

1. Bank account for events (EMWCon, etc.)
2. Accept grants from the WMF as a non-profit

To Do

1. Follow instructions to process the grant Y
2. Determine which non-profit type to register as Y
3. Work with lawyer to begin incorporation process Y
4. Finalize the Bylaws Y
5. Describe Activities and Operational Information for IRS 1024 Application Y
6. Open a corporate bank account and make sure it follows WMF rules which are similar to the rules for Rapid Grants Y
7. Reporting on the outcome (what worked well, what didn't work well, and what you would do differently next time, etc.). Some sample reports are available.

History

The following are the major milestones to date:

1. 02 August 2018 - Collected individual statements from MWStake members on what role they felt MWStake should have once incorporated
2. 15 August 2018 - Rapid Grant Proposal was submitted
3. 15 November 2018 - The rapid grant was approved and moved to funded
4. 18 December 2018 - Board meeting
5. 21 November 2019 - Board meeting
6. 20 January 2020 - Board meeting

Board rolls and structure

Name	Role
Bryan Hilderbrand	Secretary
Cindy Cicalese	Member
Evita Hollis	Treasurer
James Montalvo	Vice President
Lex Sulzer	Member
Mark Hershberger	President
Markus Glaser	Member
-	Member (Open position)

Board member applicant request email

The following proposed email will be sent out to mailing lists (Enterprise MediaWiki, SMW Users, MediaWiki-l) in the attempt to fill and open Board Member position.

Hi everyone,

The MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group (MWStake) [1][2] is a MediaWiki user group consisting of MediaWiki developers, system administrators, consultants, and hosting providers who cooperate in order to improve the software and advocate the needs of MediaWiki users outside the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) and its projects. We have recently incorporated as a 501(c)(6), non-profit organization and are looking to fill an open Board Member position.  If you are interested, please send an email to admin@mwstake.org.


If you would like to learn more, feel free to join our next meeting (February 7th) [3] or chat on Riot [4].


Thank you,
Mark Hershberger
President, MWStake

[1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_Stakeholders%27_Group
[2] https://mwstake.org/mwstake/wiki/Main_Page
[3] https://mwstake.org/mwstake/wiki/Event:99
[4] https://riot.im/app/#/room/#mwstake-general:matrix.org

Costs

Cost	Description	Notes
$125	File Articles of Incorporation	Part of Invoice #1 (total = $380)
$85	Publish Legal advertisement (newspaper)
$85	Publish Legal advertisement (legal journal)
$85	Corporate minutes book
$600	Non-profit filing fee	Check sent to Smoker Gard made out to US Treasury
$980	Total

Subpages

• MWStake incorporation/Activities and Operational Information
• MWStake incorporation/Board meeting
• MWStake incorporation/Board meeting/Meeting minutes
• MWStake incorporation/Individual statements
• MWStake incorporation/Non-profit type
• MWStake incorporation/bank account

Files

• EIN Application and Confirmation
• Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
• Smoker Gard Engagement Letter
• Smoker Gard Invoice #1
• Business Resolution Authorization
• Form 2848 to tell the IRS that Smoker Gard is our rep
• Form 1024 -- Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(a)
• Copy of cover letter sent to IRS with the Form 1024
• Smoker Gard Invoice #2

Links

• https://www.501c3.org/nonprofits-board-directors-board/
• https://www.501c3.org/avoiding-conflicts-of-interest/
• https://www.missionbox.com/article/68/board-officers-and-committees-what-structure-works-best