Bob Schwartz

Do you visit Wikipedia once in a while? Once a day? Multiple times a day?

Wikipedia is operated by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which is funded by donations. Astonishingly but maybe not surprising, only 1% of Wikipedia visitors contribute:

Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in the world.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn’t belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.

When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission efficiently.

If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. But not everyone can or will donate. And that’s fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

This year, please consider making a donation of $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales
Wikipedia Founder

All of us—me included—have gotten used to being online freeloaders. The truth is, though, that as we wander through the orchard picking free fruit, somebody planted those trees, watered those trees, tended those trees, and helped them grow.

Please donate to the Wikimedia Foundation today, and tell your friends to donate. The next time you visit Wikipedia (probably within the next hour), you will know that you helped.