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== How is the Wikimedia Foundation funded? ==
The Wikimedia Foundation is funded primarily through [https://donate.wikimedia.org/?uselang=en&utm_medium=donatewiki_page&utm_campaign=donate_link&utm_source=FAQ donations] from millions of individuals around the world. The average donation is about
The Wikimedia Foundation has 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in the United States. Donations made from other nations may also be tax deductible (see [[tax deductibility]] for more details). See [[Ways to Give]] for details on how to make a donation via credit or debit card, PayPal, Amazon and several other methods. If you have any questions, please contact us at [mailto:donate@wikimedia.org donate@wikimedia.org].<ref name="zd">Due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we use [[w:Zendesk|Zendesk]] as a donor response platform. By emailing donate@wikimedia.org, you understand that your information will be processed by the Zendesk Group in accordance with Zendesk’s [https://www.zendesk.com/company/customers-partners/privacy-policy/ terms]. Users from the following countries should consult Section 13 of Zendesk’s [https://www.zendesk.com/company/customers-partners/master-subscription-agreement/#country-specific-terms privacy policy] for more information about Zendesk’s country-specific practices: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore.</ref>
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== Why should I donate and where does my money go? ==
Over the past 20 years, Wikipedia has become a trusted source of information that millions of people rely on every day. With more than 6,700 pageviews every second and more than 350 edits a minute, Wikipedia is one of the top 10 websites in the world, and the only major website run by a nonprofit organization, the Wikimedia Foundation.
Unlike other top websites, Wikipedia is not funded through advertising, nor does it rely on selling data about users for profit. Instead, Wikipedia is supported by its readers - people who find value in Wikipedia and want to continue to support its success, with the average donation being about $15 USD. This financial model enables Wikipedia to remain neutral, trusted, and free from commercial interests.
Here are just some of the ways we use donations to sustain Wikipedia and free knowledge:
* '''Providing top-notch technical infrastructure for a global website''' - To meet the needs of Wikipedia readers around the world, we operate an international technology infrastructure comparable to the world’s largest commercial websites. This includes hosting costs like keeping our servers running, as well as significant, ongoing engineering work to make sure Wikipedia is reliable, secure, loads quickly, and protects your privacy.
* '''Ensuring you can access Wikipedia in every language on every device''' - Donations also allow us to dedicate engineering resources to ensure that you can access Wikipedia in your preferred language, on your preferred device, no matter where you are in the world — from a dial-up modem to a brand new smartphone. Most major websites support an average of 50-100 languages — Wikipedia supports roughly 300 languages, a number that grows every year. When you break it down, we have about one employee for every four million monthly readers of Wikipedia.
* '''Supporting community-led projects to increase access to trusted information''' - We collaborate with Wikipedia volunteers around the globe to support their ideas and help them bring more free knowledge to the world. Every year, about 10% of our budget is specifically dedicated to supporting community projects that enrich, grow, and improve knowledge on Wikipedia.
* '''Defending and protecting free knowledge around the world''' - The Wikimedia Foundation’s policy and legal efforts help ensure that everyone has the right to access, share, and create knowledge, while defending our volunteers from threat of reprisal, and upholding our commitment to free expression and open knowledge. We advocate for free licenses and open source software and work to make sure that copyright laws are built and reformed so that people can share and use knowledge more broadly. We also fight against censorship and protect the right of everyone to speak and learn freely. Support for this work is vital to giving users everywhere equal access to Wikimedia projects.
== Wikipedia’s fundraising requests seem urgent, despite the Wikimedia Foundation’s sizable reserve. Why do you need additional funding? ==
We are fortunate to have a reserve. These are not funds that we use on a day-to-day basis; they can only be accessed in exceptional circumstances, such as an economic crisis. Wikipedia and its projects are critical resources that the world relies on daily. Our reserve funds are intended to ensure that we can remain sustainable even if the worst eventuality occurs. Our operating budget and annual plan are developed through an open, transparent process, subject to feedback from Wikipedia volunteers and Board approval. The details of our budget and plan are always available to the public for further review.
== Staff compensation is part of your operating costs. Can you explain how this is determined? ==
Altogether more than 250 people work on engineering and product at the Wikimedia Foundation, handling technology infrastructure for more than 20 billion monthly pageviews. Compared to most major websites, we do a lot with a little. Additionally, approximately 100 staff work on our community support and grantmaking; partnerships with global organizations to make knowledge more freely available; and legal and policy work that helps advocate for copyright reform, prevent censorship and uphold free expression, and ensure that privacy and security policies in countries everywhere protect our readers and editors.
We know that salaries vary across the world and we hire in very competitive markets. At the same time, we are a non-profit. As such, we make an effort to be fair, adjusting for inflation and income inequality, while providing equitable compensation to all.
== How can I donate? ==
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== How can I participate in Wikimedia? ==
Firstly, thank you for your interest in supporting Wikipedia! We understand that not everyone will be able to donate, and that’s okay. Wikipedia will always be free for everyone, and there are several ways that you can contribute to Wikipedia beyond making a donation.
* You can read and use Wikipedia as your source of trustworthy information across more than 300 languages.
* You can make an edit on Wikipedia - if you want to fix a mistake on an article or add a citation to a trusted source, please do so! [[w:Help:Getting started|This guide]] is helpful for getting started on your first edit.
* Are you a photographer? Consider sharing your photos for anyone to reuse on Wikimedia Commons, which powers many of the images you see on Wikipedia articles. Learn more about how to upload photos [[c:Commons:First_steps/Uploading_files|here]].
* Are you a developer? You can contribute code to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia sites. Find the [[mw:New Developers|guide for new developers]] on MediaWiki.org. ▼
* You can follow Wikipedia and Wikimedia on social media and share stories that are meaningful to you. Check out @Wikimedia on [https://twitter.com/wikimedia Twitter], [https://www.facebook.com/wikimediafoundation Facebook], and [https://www.instagram.com/wikimediafoundation Instagram] and @Wikipedia on [https://twitter.com/wikipedia Twitter], [https://www.facebook.com/wikipedia Facebook], and [https://www.instagram.com/wikipedia Instagram].
▲* Are you a developer? You can contribute code to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia sites.
== How can I contact the Wikimedia Foundation? ==
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