Knowledge is a foundation

We believe that knowledge is a foundation. It is a foundation for human potential, a foundation for freedom, a foundation for opportunity.

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.

Knowledge is powerful. A country or community that has better access to knowledge is more likely to be healthy, more likely to be free, more likely to be happy.[1][2] Unfortunately, access to knowledge is not equal. In some places, people cannot afford to access it, in others, it is censored or constrained.

"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."
— Kofi Annan

The students of Sinenjongo High School know how powerful a foundation of knowledge is for their future.

Sinenjongo High School is located in Joe Slovo Park, a small township on the fringes of Cape Town, South Africa. The high school does not have a library, so students must find other ways to access knowledge in order to complete their assignments and study for university entrance exams.

In 2013, Sinenjongo's Grade 12 students wrote an open letter to South Africa's mobile providers, asking for free access to Wikipedia on their mobile phones. They wanted to remove all barriers to their education. They wanted to hold the world in their hands.

Open video about Sinenjongo High School

A few months later mobile network operator MTN South Africa announced they would make Wikipedia available for free for their 20 million users in partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation.[3]

We believe everyone should have access to all knowledge — for free, without restriction, without limitation. It is a foundation for a brighter future.

Wikipedia is a foundation of knowledge

Go on — explore the outer limits of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is always expanding and never finished. If you don't discover what you're looking for, you can start creating it yourself.

Open video about Wikipedia's year in review

Wikipedia has more than 33 million articles in 288 languages

Wikipedia is the largest source of shared knowledge in human history. It is a living record of discovery, history, and innovation. It is a knowledge engine for the planet, sharing freely licensed content around the world.

Nearly half a billion people turn to Wikipedia every month for everything from preserving cultural heritage, to improving cancer detection, to researching homework. They come to learn. They stay and discover.

"64% of British people trust Wikipedia entries more than they trust BBC News."[4]

Over the course of a year, Wikipedia is edited and read by people on every continent in the world — yes, including Antarctica![5]

Editors and readers — ordinary people — do incredible things with this knowledge. In the United States, a teenager named Jack Andraka invented a test that might be used to detect certain cancers using information he found on Wikipedia.[6]

Photo of Jack Andraka

When Jack was 13, a close family friend passed away from pancreatic cancer, a deadly disease that progresses quickly and quietly.

"I discovered through Wikipedia articles that 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, when someone has less than a 2 percent chance of survival, and the current test is this 60-year-old technique that is incredibly outdated, but also incredibly expensive (800 USD per test), missing 30 percent of all cancers. I knew had to do something."

As a high school student, Jack couldn't afford access to costly academic journals. Instead, he turned to Wikipedia, researching carbon nanotubes and biochemistry.

With knowledge from Wikipedia and free online science journals, Jack developed a prototype for a potential breakthrough method of cancer screening before his 17th birthday.

People are the foundation of Wikipedia

Wikipedia is written by all of us. The articles, words, pictures, and data are created by a diverse community of people who volunteer to share knowledge with the world.

Wikipedians are students, librarians, musicians, lawyers, scientists, scholars, photographers, mathematicians, engineers, retirees, parents, children, advocates, artists, and explorers — among many other things.

We write articles, take photographs, answer questions, and teach new people how to contribute.

75,000 writers and editors wrote more than 4.5 million new articles this year — and improved countless more

In January of 2014, more than 6,000 new articles were created each day on Wikipedia's 288 different language versions. 84,750 people made more than five edits to Wikipedia in that same time — and many more have stopped by to fix a typo or update a statistic. Each gave their time and their passion to share what they know.

 

The above figure represents the total number of edits as of November 26th, 2019.
This figure was initially generated by the edit counter,
a live count of all edits across all databases in Wikimedia's servers.

How does it work?

The edit counter is a live count of all edits across all databases in Wikimedia’s servers.

How does it work? Every five minutes or so, the system queries the databases in the Wikimedia cluster for the sum total of all edits on the Wikimedia projects, and updates this number in a cache. This version queries that cached number of edits using a custom script. It picks a number smaller than the total cached number, displays that, and starts counting upward.

Every few minutes it checks for a new, updated total count. If the live counter has gotten ahead of itself, and the latest cached number is smaller than the script's current count, it jumps back to that; otherwise it keeps counting. The number usually runs about 3 to 5 minutes behind the actual total number of edits on all the Wikimedia projects.

Edit Counter homepage

Over any given three months, people make edits to Wikipedia from more than 170 different countries, from Andorra (a landlocked European microstate) to Zimbabwe (with 16 official languages).

Everyone is a potential Wikipedian. All it requires is a belief in our shared vision — a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

Meet some members of our community:

Photo of Netha Hussain

Dr. Netha Hussain is a surgical resident in Kerala, India. There are few encyclopedias in Malayalam, her native language. She found Wikipedia, including Malayalam Wikipedia, powerful and inspiring. She began returning from lectures and and checking her notes against articles — improving quality and depth on subjects such as microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and forensic medicine. She considers contributing to Wikipedia a part of her mission as a medical professional — helping empower people with knowledge.

Cropped photo of an auto-portrait of Jacek Halicki

Jacek Halicki first discovered the Wiki Loves Monuments[7] photo contest through a banner located on top of the main page of the Polish Wikipedia[8]. It was the first time he ever realized he could actually edit Wikipedia, and it quickly became a passion. As a former photojournalist, amateur radio operator, jazz lover, and pensioner with severe mobility impairment, Wikipedia was a way for Jacek to explore the world, contribute his photographic talents, and overcome the barriers in his life.

"It is a great use of my free time to the benefit of others and also a way to prove to myself and others that illness does not mean idleness, apathy and depression... I'm glad I'll leave something good behind when I'm gone from this world. I'm glad that my pictures will live on and perhaps, will be useful to people."
— Jacek Halicki, Poland
Photo of Dumisani Ndubane

Dumisani Ndubane comes from a family of modest means.[9] When he was accepted to study electrical engineering at a university in Johannesburg, he found his educational grant did not cover food or housing, and was ultimately compelled to suspend his education. He discovered the free curriculum on Wikiversity and continued his studies as a companion to pursuing online accreditation at the University of South Africa. He received his degree and joined a firm, where he now mentors young engineers and contributes learning modules of his own to teach others.

Photo of Adrianne Wadewitz

Dr. Adrianne Wadewitz was an early and prolific contributor to Wikipedia, but it took a while before she felt she could admit that to fellow scholars.[10] Eventually, Dr. Wadewitz, a scholar of 18th century English literature, went public with her passion, becoming one of Wikipedia's first Campus Ambassadors. She consulted with professors, taught students to contribute, and advocated for better representation of women among editors and article subjects. She passed away in a rock climbing accident but her work lives on, helping university professors throughout the world use Wikipedia as a teaching tool.[11]

Photo of Ihor Kostenko

Ihor Kostenko was an active contributor to the Ukrainian Wikipedia, writing under the username Ig2000[12]. Ihor registered an account on July 23, 2011, and began writing his first articles right away. In just two and a half years, he wrote more 280 articles and made more than 1,600 edits, becoming a passionate advocate for increasing contributors to Ukrainian Wikipedia. In February 20, 2014, during the protests in Kiev, Ihor — an active Wikipedia contributor, journalist, and geography student — died tragically after being shot on the Euromaidan.

Photo of Dorothy Howard

Dorothy Howard is a Wikipedian-in-Residence at the Metropolitan New York Library Council, where she works to build relationships with galleries, archives, libraries, and museums around New York City.[13] She is also one of the originators of Art+Feminism, a global editing project to improve coverage of women, feminism, and the arts on Wikipedia. For their efforts, Dorothy and her fellow collaborators were recognized as among Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers for 2014.[14] The Wikimedia Foundation is funding Art+Feminism with a grant to expand and grow their networks.

Photo of Ram Prasad Joshi

Ram Prasad Joshi doesn't have a computer and his village has no electricity.[15] It's a three-hour walk to the nearest road. Despite this, Ram Prasad has made more than 6,000 edits to the Nepali Wikipedia using nothing more than a simple phone, which he carries with him always. He also has made contributions to the Fijian, Sanskrit, Hindi, Bhojpuri and Gujarati Wikipedias. Thanks to Ram Prasad, Wikipedia now features an image of the first known writing of the Nepali language.

Photo of Jake Orlowitz

Jake Orlowitz makes it easier for people to access research materials, and started with a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation.[16] He developed The Wikipedia Library, an online resource that provides free accounts to paywalled publications, databases, universities, and libraries. Now, Jake and his team of volunteer community organizers are working to build The Wikipedia Library into a global open research hub. This year 1,940 people improved their contributions to Wikipedia using 2,924 donated accounts worth 1,263,011 USD.

We were deeply saddened this year by the passing of members of the Wikimedia communities. We are honored to have shared a passion for free knowledge with Ntsika, Adrianne, Ihor, Jim, and others. Their bravery, generosity, and enthusiasm continue to inspire us.

We are the Wikimedia Foundation

The job of the Wikimedia Foundation is to be just that: a foundation. We support the Wikimedia communities. We keep Wikipedia online. We build for the future.

We believe in a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

Every month around 500 million people visit Wikipedia.
That's nearly 2.5 million people per Wikimedia Foundation staff person.

The Wikimedia Foundation was established as a non-profit in 2003 to support Wikipedia its sister projects, and the Wikimedia vision.

We keep the websites fast, secure, and available. We make free knowledge accessible wherever you are — on your phone or laptop, on a boat in the South Pacific or in the western hills of Nepal. We bring new knowledge online, lower barriers to access, and make it easier for everyone to share what they know.

We believe everyone has the right to knowledge. We defend our communities when they are threatened, legally or otherwise. We stand against censorship, and support open licenses, open access, and open source. We engineer privacy for readers and contributors.

We support our contributors, users, and developers. Last year we gave more than 5.7 million USD to projects that increase the quantity, quality, diversity, and reach of knowledge around the world. We offer resources to people and organizations that believe in the Wikimedia vision.

We will only achieve our vision when we share it. By supporting communities, building technology, and funding great ideas, the Wikimedia Foundation is a foundation for people everywhere to change their world.

"I never would have imagined I would be doing what I am doing for so many people... knowing they are going to have a chance to get to access Wikipedia, and be empowered by it. That is when I feel that my job brings an impact to the people around the world."
— Adele Vrana
"...What I love about the team here is the passion to do what we think is the right thing in providing these incredible projects to the communities. It’s a passion from a legal perspective to defend the public domain."
— Geoff Brigham
I know from personal experience that the only real way to improve the conditions of civilizations is to provide open access to information for education and culture. Knowledge is more powerful than any one of us — it belongs to all of us.
 


I was born in Moscow, in what was then the Soviet Union. Unbiased information was scarce, powerful, and precious.[17]

As a teenager, I moved to the United States alone. I enrolled in high school and learned English. I became captivated by computer science: it combined my passions for the arts and mathematics. It offered the promise of creating a more open future.

This year, I became the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. I joined a community of thousands of passionate creators around the globe, and a staff of 200 people who support the world’s largest free knowledge resource. It was the easiest decision I ever made.

At the Wikimedia Foundation, we help support the Wikimedia vision: the sum of knowledge, shared by all. This vision has never been more important.

The world is changing. Reliable, neutral, and trusted information is as powerful as it has ever been. Every day, we ask ourselves how we can increase our impact, and ensure Wikipedia and the sister projects are even more relevant, trusted, and accessible tomorrow than they are today.

Lila Tretikov
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation

Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation

Jan-Bart de Vreede, chair
(2006-2015)
Patricio Lorente, vice-chair
(2012-2016)
Phoebe Ayers
(2010-2012)(2013-2015)
Frieda Brioschi
(2007-2008)(2014-2016)
Bishakha Datta
(2010-2014)
Samuel Klein
(2009-2015)
María Sefidari
(2013-2015)
Jimmy Wales
(2003-2015)
Stu West
(2008-2015)
Alice Wiegand
(2012-2016)

Former members:

Kat Walsh
(2006-2013)
Ana Toni
(2013-2014)

The whole world needs knowledge: more people than before, in different ways than before. Our mission is to ensure that everyone, now and in the future, can access all information. In the hands of everyone, it can cure disease, settle disputes, lift oppression, and inspire creativity.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a four-star rated charity according to Charity Navigator.

Join our mission. Share your knowledge. Work with us.[18] Contribute.

Your contributions are the foundation of free knowledge

Every year, fewer than .5% of Wikipedia users make a gift to keep knowledge online and independent. They are an exceptional group.

Last year, 2.5 million people from all over the world gave an average of 15 USD. Their gifts ranged from 1 to 1 million dollars.

Every gift is meaningful, every gift has impact. We are honored to have the support of these generous readers from every corner of the globe.

How can we imagine the sum of all human knowledge without every person?

"The millions of hours contributed by volunteer writers and editors leverage this modest budget, funded by donations, into an asset worth tens of billions of dollars that produces hundreds of billions of dollars of...benefit."
— Band and Gerafi[19]

This spring we had the honor of getting to know Jim Pacha, an engineer from Colorado.[20]

"Educating the world and getting everybody on the same playing field - I think it's great. And the fact that it's done with no advertising is a big thing, because I really don't like what's happening in the world today, with corporate involvement in everything. And I like the fact that Wikipedia is on the World Wide Web, so basically the whole world can access it."
Open video with a message from Jim Pacha

An illness prompted Jim to consider the legacy he wanted to leave behind. He decided to donate much of his estate to the Wikimedia Foundation in support of the Wikimedia vision and mission.

Jim passed away on May 7th, 2014. His gift to the Wikimedia Foundation is the largest legacy gift in our history. We are extremely grateful for his generous donation and ongoing gift. Thank you, Jim.

Thank you, everyone.

From the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation:

"Wikipedia is a unique human project, a radical idea of creating a world where everyone can freely share the sum of all human knowledge. A warm and heartfelt THANK YOU for supporting our mission and making Wikipedia possible!"
— Jessica Robell
"It's a humbling thing to work for a place that exists because of human generosity and altruism (and because I know some of you got to win some bets!), and I'm very grateful. Thank you. This helps keep me going."
— Gayle Karen Young
"This is the hardest, most fulfilling work of my life. Thank you for making Wikipedia possible!"
— Monte Hurd
"Thanks to the world for supporting Wikipedia and playing a most important role in continuing the never-ending mission to share all of the world's knowledge with every person on the planet. With your generosity, Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects will be here for all well into the future! "
— Emily Blanchard
"You are the silent supporters of the largest open knowledge project on the planet. Big and small, your donations help make this happen - year after year. Thank you for your support, thank you for your trust, and thank you for your commitment to free knowledge."
— Sylvia Ventura
"Gratias vobis agimus, propter magnificentiam vestram, qua colimus vici. Speramus nos permanere dignos."
— Asaf Bartov

We are grateful to be supported by people around the world. We want to give special thanks to those who gave over 1,000 USD this year:

1+ million USD

  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  • Brin Wojcicki Foundation
  • Stanton Foundation

100,000 USD - 999,999 USD

  • Google Matching Gifts
  • John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
  • Microsoft Matching Gifts Program
  • Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing
  • Jim Pacha
  • Anonymous (1)

25,000 USD - 99,999 USD

  • Apple Matching Gifts Program
  • Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation
  • Craigslist Charitable Fund
  • Dalio Foundation, Inc.
  • Keel Foundation
  • Mary Graham
  • MathWorks
  • Newsmax Media
  • Two Sigma Investments, LLC
  • Stavros Niarchos Foundation
  • Charina Endowment Fund
  • Anonymous (7)

5,000 USD - 24,999 USD

  • John E. Abele
  • Anurag Acharya and Madhuri Chattopadhyay Anurag
  • The Blackburn Family Fund
  • Boeing Co. Matching Gifts
  • The Brightwater Fund — Gloria Jarecki, President
  • Annette Campbell-White
  • Caulkins Family Foundation
  • CNCRepair.com
  • Liam Connell
  • David Dacus
  • Carl de Marcken
  • eBay Foundation
  • Douglas Ferguson
  • In Memory of David Garbers
  • GE Foundation Matching Gifts
  • Goldman Sachs & Co. Matching Gifts Program
  • Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund of the Tides Foundation
  • Graphics Press, LLC
  • Michael and Andrea Hale
  • David Marin and Amanda Halpin
  • Mark Heising and Liz Simons
  • John Horne
  • Interlude
  • Jonathan Jarvis
  • JP Morgan Chase Foundation
  • Steve Kass
  • Takashi Kousaka
  • The Lehoczky Escobar Family
  • Nicholas Logothetis
  • Bill and Marilyn McCune
  • Joseph K. McLaughlin
  • Metz Family Foundation
  • Roberto Mignone
  • Miller-Wehrle Family Foundation
  • The Montgomery Family Foundation
  • Sheila Mossman
  • Maran Elancheran — Newgen KnowledgeWorks
  • The Nia/Zahiri Foundation
  • P&C Collins Fund at the Bessemer Trust
  • Yana and Stephen Peel
  • Post Investment Group
  • Qualcomm Matching Gifts Program
  • Tom and Xiaoling Rawson
  • RetailMeNot
  • Rick & Susan Goings Foundation
  • Philip Rogers
  • Bow Ruggeri
  • Richard Saada
  • Scooter Software
  • The Selz Foundation
  • Shaked Family, Tel Aviv
  • Silverleaf Foundation
  • Stack Exchange
  • TheLadders
  • Peter Wheeler and Elizabeth Munro
  • Hal Varian
  • Yardi Systems
  • David and Monica Zwirner
  • Anonymous (101)

1,000 USD - 4,999 USD

  • Adobe
  • AIG Matching Grants Program
  • Airbus Group, Inc.
  • David P. Albrecht
  • J. Alex Graeffe
  • In Memory of Tim Allen
  • Fatima Al-Sabah
  • American Express Company Employee Giving Program
  • Ameriprise Financial
  • Amgen Foundation
  • Seonhee An & Vincent Leung
  • The Anderson Family
  • Dalibor Antonić
  • AON Foundation
  • Etienne Ardant
  • AT&T Foundation
  • Jesse Ausubel
  • Prabhu Balasubramanian
  • R & A Bandela
  • Bank of America Matching Gifts Program
  • In Honor of Kathy Bates
  • Ben Bayer
  • Jack Baylis
  • BD Group
  • Heather Bendler
  • William Benter
  • Jayashree and K.S. Bhaskar
  • Butch Biendara
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Matching Gifts Program
  • Graeme Birchall
  • BlackRock Matching Gifts Program
  • BluePromoCode
  • BMT Micro, Inc.
  • David Bohnett Foundation
  • Beverly & George Bond
  • Antoine Boulin
  • Ernest L. Bruns Jr. and Sue Ann Kendall
  • David Bydeley
  • CA Technologies Matching Gift Program
  • In Honor of Donald Thomas Campbell
  • Brian Cairns
  • Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation
  • In Memory of Andrea F. Carret
  • Raul Carmenate
  • Adam Carte
  • Vint Cerf
  • Crystal Chen, MD
  • Stuart Cheshire
  • Chevron Humankind Matching Gifts Program
  • James Cho and Sophia Kim
  • Michael Choy and Shannon Moffett
  • Nicholas Chu
  • Ryan Conlon
  • Tom Cooper
  • CouponFollow
  • CouponLawn
  • Ardelle Cowie
  • CRAIC Technologies
  • Kevin Cramer
  • Fred Dart, FTDI
  • Ad Davidse & Cathie Schrier
  • Dell Employees Giving Program
  • Stephen & Elizabeth Detwiler
  • Hester Diamond
  • DirecTV Matching Gift Center
  • Michael and Denise Doyen
  • DreamHost and its Customers
  • Mark Duttweiler and Christine Pajak
  • Kenneth Eddings
  • entimovi.net
  • Davide G. Erro
  • Extra Space Storage
  • Damian Farry
  • Flipit
  • Carla & Charlie Flournoy
  • Marc Forand
  • Gregory Fox
  • Janet and Lloyd Frink
  • Paul Funk
  • Ken Geib
  • Genentech Employee Giving Program
  • General Mills Foundation Gift Matching Program
  • May-Ling Gonzales and Leith Abdulla
  • Lawrence Greenfield
  • Rakesh and Kirti Gupta
  • Alexandre Haag
  • The Hamilton Foundation
  • Josh Bernoff and Kimberley Harding
  • In Honor of Tom and Shoshana Harper
  • healthinsurance.org
  • The Harrity Family
  • Charles F. Hebert and Marie Alida Desselle Hebert
  • Paul Henry
  • Hewlett Packard Company Foundation
  • Hillspire, LLC
  • Zach Hoeken
  • Michael Hollihan-Sarmiento
  • Chris Horning
  • HSBC
  • Lisha and Andy Hu
  • Ted Huber
  • IBM Employee Donations
  • Imperial Reach
  • INSERTO
  • Insiders Finland Oy Ab
  • Intetics Co.
  • Intuit Foundation
  • Douglas Jaffe
  • Kent Janér
  • John P. McCaskey Foundation
  • Dan Jones
  • Joy is one's fuel
  • In Memory of our smart, loving Grandma Judy
  • Lucian Kafka and aura.travel
  • Ellen Karaku
  • In Honor of Harold King
  • The Kipping Family
  • In Honor of SJ Klein, Jr. and Jimmy Wales
  • The KlickEx Group
  • In Memory of George Steven Knowles
  • Little Johnny Koerber
  • Igor Kopylov
  • Corey Kosak
  • Mr. & Mrs. Steve Kropla
  • Pradhan Kumar
  • En souvenir de Réal Labelle
  • 乐进会
  • Pete Large & Mandy Loomis
  • Lawrence Livermore Labs
  • Linda Lee
  • In Memory of Mary Lew
  • Leong & Richards
  • Lincoln Loop
  • Gregg and Libby Lindahl
  • Christopher J. Lingle
  • John Longres & Jeff Graham
  • Erin Lowry
  • Marilyn Lucht
  • Greg and Liz Lutz
  • In Memory of Shaynon MaGee Jordan
  • Make-A-Website
  • Lenza McElrath
  • In Memory of Nadia L. Mead, Mandarin, Florida
  • Helen and Stephen Mildenhall
  • Kelly T. Miller
  • Ryan Mills
  • Dr. L. David Mirkin
  • Alan Mishchenko
  • Ty Mulroy and Ellen Ray
  • Umesh Nagarkatte
  • National Instruments
  • In Memory of Robert Neale
  • Netmail & Messaging Architects Employee-Owners
  • Donors of Network For Good
  • In Memory of Marjorie Yospin Newman
  • Héléne Nivoix, Besançon, France
  • North American Herb and Spice
  • Nvidia Employee Giving Program
  • Diya Obeid
  • On Behalf of the Scientists of Huntsville, Alabama
  • Oracle Corporation Matching Gifts Program
  • John and Rita Ousterhout
  • In Memory of my beloved mother, Pravina Patel
  • Terrence D. Paul
  • Daniel Perlman
  • PCH Integrated Regulatory Services, Inc.
  • Lena Pepper
  • Drew Perkins
  • In Honor of Nick Peter
  • Bryce and Shonni Peterson
  • Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program
  • Duane Phillips
  • In Memory of Donald R. Pieper
  • Joseph Pistritto
  • Doug Pitcock
  • Rahn Pitzer
  • Alexander Polsky
  • Prakhar Prerak Akta Pravin
  • Robert and Anna Prestezog
  • Quality Logo Products
  • Radon.com
  • PVS Raju
  • B S Ramamurtie
  • Rear Admiral Gametools
  • Richard and Lisa Reichman
  • Paul Resnick and Caroline Richardson
  • Sean Rhea and Lucy Almers
  • George & Alice Rich Charitable Foundation
  • Deborah and Peter Rieman
  • Gaspar Cabrera Roca
  • Arnold G. Rogers
  • Rohini and Prasana Family Trust
  • Alexander and Jeannine Rubenstein
  • Robert Rubenstien
  • Matt Rudary
  • Runtime Design Automation
  • Salesforce.com Foundation Matching Gifts
  • Dorothea and Hartmut Samtleben
  • SAP Matching Gift Program
  • John and Susan Savva
  • E. Schmale
  • Roy Schneiderman (Bard Consulting)
  • Josh Schripsema and Kresta Austin
  • Anna Scott
  • SelectAware Coupons
  • Shell Matching Gifts Program
  • Russel Simmons
  • Wilmar Siqueira
  • www.ski-epic.com
  • skiprobert
  • Petr Skrla
  • Dick Smith, Sydney, Australia
  • Minyoung Sohn
  • Solera Family
  • Space Exploration Technologies Corp
  • Spellbook
  • Stratos
  • H. Scott Stillings
  • Studio Alchemy
  • SumoCoupon
  • David Sunderland
  • Roger Suss
  • G. & M. Swaminathan
  • Bronwyn Miriam Syed
  • Terry Tai
  • In Memory of Andrea Tallant
  • Targit
  • Luigi Tempini and Family
  • Thanksgiving Fund
  • Thatai Family
  • Sudhir Thomas
  • Thomson Reuters My Community Program
  • Min Thu
  • Viajes Tierra Sinai
  • Tikvah Philanthropic Fund
  • TisBest Charity Gift Cards
  • Jonathan Tobert
  • E. Trewitt
  • Tripling Elephants
  • Rui Ueyama
  • Jason Ursaner
  • Maarten Vaandrager
  • Erik Vaaler
  • David L. Van Brunt
  • Sami Vanhatalo
  • Jason VanWees
  • Ajit Varki
  • Verizon Foundation
  • Visa Matching Gifts Program
  • VMware Foundation
  • Chad and Kim Wagner
  • In Memory of Jack Wahl
  • Robert Wares
  • Jim and Judy Warner
  • Rich Warner
  • 丁磊
  • Web Hosting Coupon Codes
  • Dr. Jack Widrich Foundation
  • Wikimedia Foundation Staff
  • Wil Wilstro
  • The Walt Disney Company Foundation
  • The Wolff Family
  • Oliver Wright
  • Xie Wu
  • Yahoo Employee Funds Matching Gifts
  • Jeff Yass
  • Brian Ho Tze Yew
  • Zephyr Charitable Foundation
  • Greg Zeschuk
  • Anonymous (592)

Financial position and performance

The Wikimedia Foundation is proud to be one of the most transparent non-profit organizations in the world. We consider all of our expenditures against a framework of our strategy, values, and mission. We carry financial reserves in accordance with non-profit best practices to ensure the future and health of the Wikimedia projects.

This year we highlight our efforts in three main areas: how donor contributions support Wikimedia project websites, our communities, and free knowledge overall. The following designations are as reported by the Wikimedia Foundation’s departments themselves.



Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2014
In thousands, In US dollars

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents27,880
Current portion of contributions receivable1,800
Investments23,261
Prepaid expenses and other current assets1,600
Total current assets54,541
Property, plant, and equipment, net4,053
Noncurrent portion of contributions receivable1,967
Total assets60,561

Liabilities and Net Assets

Current liabilities

Accounts payable2,029
Accrued expenses3,577
Deferred revenue18
Other liabilities1,462
Total current liabilities7,086
Total liabilities7,086

Net assets

Unrestricted49,825
Temporarily restricted3,650
Total net assets53,475
Total liabilities and net assets60,561

Unrestricted net assets

Support and revenue

Donations and contributions49,612
In-kind service revenue370
Other income, net989
Investment income, net244
Release of restrictions on temporarily restricted net assets1,589
Total support and revenue52,804

Expenses

Salaries and wages19,980
Awards and grants5,705
Internet hosting2,529
In-kind service expenses371
Other operating expenses12,485
Travel and conferences1,966
Depreciation2,722
Special event expense, net143
Total expenses45,900
Increase in unrestricted net assets6,904

Temporarily restricted net assets

Contributions2,971
Release of restrictions on temporarily restricted net assets(1,589)
Increase in temporarily restricted net assets1,382
Increase in net assets8,286
Net assets at beginning of year45,189
Net assets at end of year53,475

Departmental Allocation of Expenses

For the period from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014
In thousands, In US dollars

Product and Engineering19,813
Grants5,705
Grantmaking and Programs4,779
Fundraising4,018
Management and Governance1,175
General and Administration10,410
Total45,900