Minutes | Meeting of the Finance Committee of the Board (BFC) | 6 December 2024

BFC Attendees: Alan Barret, Maarten Botterman, Becky Burr, Amitabh Singhal, Tripti Sinha, and Sajid Rahman (Chair)

ICANN Org Attendees: Xavier Calvez (SVP, Planning and Chief Financial Officer), Vinciane Koenigsfeld (VP, Board Operations), Becky Nash (VP, Planning), Shani Quidwai (VP, Finance), and Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel)

The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken and actions identified:

1. BFC Workplan – The Committee discussed its workplan, which is on target.
2. Agenda Review – The Chair reviewed the agenda for the meeting.
3. Postponed Contracting Approval for ICANN85 – ICANN org reported that the venue initially selected for the ICANN85 Public meeting is no longer available and that ICANN is working to secure an alternate.

4. Draft ICANN FY26-30 Operating and Financial Plan (O&FP) and Draft FY26 Operating Plan and Budget (OP&B) – The BFC reviewed the Draft ICANN FY26-30 O&FP and Draft FY26 OP&B (collectively, draft plans), which are scheduled to be posted for public comment from 17 December 2024 through 17 February 2025. ICANN org provided a brief overview of the process of review and public comments that the draft plans undergo and explained that the draft plans integrate the cost-saving measures that ICANN has been implementing. The BFC reviewed the key planning assumptions and principles, as well as the operating plan structure that includes descriptions of the activities ICANN will undertake to achieve its Strategic Plan, operate the organization, and implement its mission and mandate. ICANN org noted that FY26 is the first year of ICANN's FY26-30 Strategic Plan and 35 initiatives have been identified to support the achievement of the strategies set forth in the draft FY26-30 Strategic Plan. ICANN org explained that the draft plans assume that the Draft ICANN FY26-30 Strategic Plan will be adopted as-is, but they have been structured to allow revisions based on input received from public comment and from ICANN org's new President and Chief Executive Officer, if applicable. ICANN org provided the overview of the actions ICANN org has taken to implement the cost savings initiatives to reduce ICANN's annual rate of costs to be at or below the annual funding expectations. The BFC also reviewed the annualized impact of the fee increases and noted that they have not been reflected in the draft plans. The BFC discussed that the projected funding and operational expenses for FY26 are US$142 million each. ICANN org also provided the BFC with an overview of the operations funding and expense trends. Following discussion of the draft plans, the BFC supported moving forward with publishing the Draft ICANN FY26-30 O&FP and the Draft ICANN FY26 OP&B for public comment.

   • Actions:
     • ICANN org to publish the Draft ICANN FY26-30 O&FP and Draft ICANN FY26 OP&B for public comment from 17 December 2024 through 17 February 2025.
     • ICANN org to conduct two community webinars on 17 December 2024.