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{{short description|American charitable organization}}
{{Redirect|Wikimedia|the software|MediaWiki|the free file repository|Wikimedia Commons}}
{{For|information about the Wikimedia Foundation's involvement with the English Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Wikimedia Foundation|selfref=yes}}
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The '''Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.''', abbreviated '''WMF''', is an American [[501(c)(3)]] [[nonprofit organization]] headquartered in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], and registered there as [[foundation (United States law)|a charitable foundation]].<ref name="Hanson2016">{{cite book|first=Jarice|last=Hanson|title=The Social Media Revolution: An Economic Encyclopedia of Friending, Following, Texting, and Connecting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ePEZDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA375|year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-768-2|page=375}}</ref> It is the host of [[Wikipedia]], the seventh [[List of most-visited websites|most visited website]] in the world. InIt addition, the foundationalso hosts fourteen other related contentsimilar projects. Itand supports the development of [[MediaWiki]], the [[wiki]] software that underpins them all.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jacobs |first1=Julia |title=Wikipedia Isn't Officially a Social Network. But the Harassment Can Get Ugly. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/wikipedia-harassment-wikimedia-foundation.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 8, 2019 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914160713/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/wikipedia-harassment-wikimedia-foundation.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Cohen |first1=Noam |title=Wikipedia Is Finally Asking Big Tech to Pay Up |url=https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-finally-asking-big-tech-to-pay-up/ |magazine=Wired |date=March 16, 2021 |access-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317004641/https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-finally-asking-big-tech-to-pay-up/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Culliford |first1=Elizabeth |title=Exclusive: Wikipedia launches new global rules to combat site abuses |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wikipedia-rules-exclusive-idUSKBN2A21PW |work=Reuters |date=February 2, 2021 |language=en |access-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803193444/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wikipedia-rules-exclusive-idUSKBN2A21PW |url-status=live }}</ref> The Foundation was established in 2003 in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] by [[Jimmy Wales]], as a nonprofitnon-profit way to fund [[Wikipedia]], [[Wiktionary]], and otherhis [[crowdsourced]] wiki projects.<ref name="Announcing Wikimedia Foundation" /> UntilThey then,had they hadpreviously been hosted by [[Bomis]], Wales's for-profit company.<ref name="Announcing Wikimedia Foundation"/>
 
To serve this mission, theThe Wikimedia Foundation provides the technical and organizational infrastructure to enable members of the public to develop wiki-based content in languages across the world.<ref name="wikimedia-mission"/> The foundationFoundation does not write or curate any of the content on the wikisprojects itselfthemselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/10/05/a-victory-for-free-knowledge-florida-judge-rules-section-230-bars-defamation-claim-against-the-wikimedia-foundation/ | title=A victory for free knowledge: Florida judge rules Section 230 bars defamation claim against the Wikimedia Foundation | publisher=diff.wikimedia.org | date=October 5, 2021 |quote=the plaintiff argued that the Foundation should be treated like a traditional offline publisher and held responsible as though it were vetting all posts made to the sites it hosts, despite the fact that it does not write or curate any of the content found on the projects}}</ref> Instead, this is done by volunteer editors, such as the [[Wikipedians]]. However, it does collaborate with a network of individual volunteers and affiliated organizations, such as Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, user groups and other partners.▼
The Foundation finances itself mainly through millions of small donations from Wikipedia readers, collected through email campaigns and annual fundraising banners placed on Wikipedia and its sister projects.<ref name="FRReport2021">{{cite web | url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/2020-21_Report | title=Fundraising report 2020–2021 | publisher=Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref> These are complemented by grants from philanthropic organizations and tech companies, and starting in 2022, by services income from [[Wikimedia Enterprise]]. As of December 31, 2023, it has employed over 700 staff and contractors, with annual revenues of $180.2 million, annual expenses of $169 million, net assets of $255 million and a growing endowment, which surpassed $100 million in June 2021.<!-- for sources see infobox -->▼
 
▲The Foundation finances itself mainly through millions of small donations from Wikipedia readers, collected through email campaigns and annual fundraising banners placed on Wikipedia and its sister projects.<ref name="FRReport2021">{{cite web | url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/2020-21_Report | title=Fundraising report 2020–2021 | publisher=Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref> These are complemented by grants from philanthropic organizations and tech companies, and starting in 2022, by services income from [[Wikimedia Enterprise]]. As of December 31, 2023, it has employed over 700 staff and contractors, with annual revenues of $180.2 million, annual expenses of $169 million, net assets of $255 million and a growing endowment, which has surpassed $100 million in June 2021.<!-- for sources see infobox -->
== Mission ==
The Wikimedia Foundation's mission is "to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally."<ref name="wikimedia-mission">{{cite web | url = https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement | title = Mission statement | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | access-date = January 28, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080117000000/https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement | archive-date = January 17, 2008 | first = Florence | last = Devouard | author-link = Florence Devouard | url-status = live }}</ref>
 
▲To serve this mission, the Wikimedia Foundation provides the technical and organizational infrastructure to enable members of the public to develop wiki-based content in languages across the world.<ref name="wikimedia-mission"/> The foundation does not write or curate any of the content on the wikis itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/10/05/a-victory-for-free-knowledge-florida-judge-rules-section-230-bars-defamation-claim-against-the-wikimedia-foundation/ | title=A victory for free knowledge: Florida judge rules Section 230 bars defamation claim against the Wikimedia Foundation | publisher=diff.wikimedia.org | date=October 5, 2021 |quote=the plaintiff argued that the Foundation should be treated like a traditional offline publisher and held responsible as though it were vetting all posts made to the sites it hosts, despite the fact that it does not write or curate any of the content found on the projects}}</ref>
 
Instead, this is done by volunteers who work as editors, such as the [[Wikipedians]] who create and maintain Wikipedia. However, the foundation does collaborate with a network of individual volunteers and affiliated organizations, such as Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, user groups and other partners.
 
The Wikimedia Foundation promises in its mission statement to make useful information from its projects available on the internet free of charge in perpetuity.<ref name="wikimedia-mission" /> It engages in [[advocacy group|political advocacy]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Jasper |date=February 12, 2017 |title='We always look for reliability': why Wikipedia's editors cut out the Daily Mail |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/12/wikipedia-daily-mail-reliability-ban-katherine-maher |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=February 13, 2017 |quote="Another core job for the foundation – and Maher – is political advocacy. While copyright and press freedom are important issues for Wikipedia, there is one area even more fundamental to its operation – the rules that protect web firms from full liability for what their users post." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213213309/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/12/wikipedia-daily-mail-reliability-ban-katherine-maher |archive-date=February 13, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Foundation's strategic direction, formulated in 2017, envisages that it "will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge" by 2030.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017|title=Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017| publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | author = Various | work = Meta | access-date = May 19, 2022 }}</ref>
 
== History ==
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[[Jimmy Wales]] and [[Larry Sanger]] founded Wikipedia in 2001 as a feeder project to supplement [[Nupedia]]. The project was originally funded by [[Bomis]], Wales's for-profit business, and edited by a rapidly growing community of volunteer editors. The early community discussed a variety of ways to support the ongoing costs of upkeep, and was broadly opposed to running ads on the site,<ref>{{cite news |last=Tkacz |first=Nathaniel |author-link=Nathaniel Tkacz |title=The Spanish Fork: Wikipedia's ad-fuelled mutiny |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-01/20/wikipedia-spanish-fork|newspaper=Wired UK|date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> so the idea of setting up a charitable foundation gained prominence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2003 |title=Wikimedia Foundation - Meta |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Foundation&oldid=6476 |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=meta.wikimedia.org |language=en}}</ref> That addressed an open question of what entity should hold onto trademarks for the project.
 
The name "Wikimedia", a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] of [[wiki]] and [[media (communication)|media]], was coined by American author [[Sheldon Rampton]] in a post to the English Wikipedia mailing list in March 2003,<ref>{{cite web |last=Rampton |first=Sheldon |author-link=Sheldon Rampton |date=March 16, 2003 |title=Wikipedia English mailing list message |url=https://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051101074301/https://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html |archive-date=November 1, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2005}}</ref> three months after [[Wiktionary]] became the second wiki-based project hosted on the original server. The Wikimedia Foundation itself was incorporated in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] on June 20, 2003.<ref name="Announcing Wikimedia Foundation">{{cite web|first=Jimmy|last=Wales|author-link=Jimmy Wales|url=https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-June/010743.html |title=Announcing Wikimedia Foundation|date=June 20, 2003|publisher=[[mail:wikipedia-l]]|access-date=November 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330033331/https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-June/010743.html|archive-date=March 30, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. [https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=WIKIMEDIAFOUNDATION%20N030000053230&aggregateId=domnp-n03000005323-6dc7ff3a-b7ba-4c97-9b9e-4545cef1ca0a&searchTerm=Wikimedia&listNameOrder=WIKIMEDIAFOUNDATION%20N030000053230 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc Record] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618194844/https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=WIKIMEDIAFOUNDATION%20N030000053230&aggregateId=domnp-n03000005323-6dc7ff3a-b7ba-4c97-9b9e-4545cef1ca0a&searchTerm=Wikimedia&listNameOrder=WIKIMEDIAFOUNDATION%20N030000053230|date=June 18, 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR1%5C2003%5C0620%5C90039369.tif&documentNumber=N03000005323 Letters of Incorporation, Wikimedia Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618163144/https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR1%5C2003%5C0620%5C90039369.tif&documentNumber=N03000005323|date=June 18, 2016}}, filed June 20, 2003</ref> A small fundraising campaign to keep the servers running was run in October 2003.<ref>{{Citation |title=If you enjoy Wikipedia, please consider making a donation to keep the servers running. Thank you! |date=2003-10-06 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Village_pump/Archive_M&oldid=603930625#If_you_enjoy_Wikipedia,_please_consider_making_a_donation_to_keep_the_servers_running._Thank_you! |work=Wikipedia Village Pump |volume=M |language=en |access-date=2022-12-03}}</ref> In 2005, the Foundation was granted section [[501(c)(3)]] status by the U.S. [[Internal Revenue Code]] as a public charity, making donations to the Foundation [[Tax deduction|tax-deductible]] for U.S. federal income tax purposes.<ref>Charity Navigator
[https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.irs&ein=200049703#.Vq6z_FMrKV4 Charity Navigator IRS (Forms 990) Tab] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218054913/https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.irs&ein=200049703#.Vq6z_FMrKV4|date=December 18, 2015}}. Page accessed January 31, 2016</ref> Its [[National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities]] (NTEE) code is B60 ([[Adult education|Adult]], [[Continuing education]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=NTEE Classification System |url=https://www.guidestar.org/npo/ntee.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202052634/https://www.guidestar.org/npo/ntee.jsp |archive-date=February 2, 2008 |access-date=January 28, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NCCS definition for Adult Education |url=https://nccs2.urban.org/ntee-cc/b.htm#b60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226053606/https://nccs2.urban.org/ntee-cc/b.htm |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |access-date=January 28, 2008}}</ref>
 
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{{for|the list|wmf:Special:SiteMatrix|m:Complete list of Wikimedia projects|selfref=yes}}
[[File:Wikimedia logo family complete-current.svg|thumb|Logos of Wikimedia sister projects]]
The Foundation owns and operates eleven wikis that are written and governed by volunteer editors. They include, by launch date:
Content on most Wikimedia project [[website]]s is licensed for redistribution under [[Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License|v4.0]] of the [[Attribution (copyright)|Attribution]] and [[Share-alike]] [[Creative Commons license]]s. The Foundation owns and operates eleven wikis that are written, curated, designed, and governed by their communities of volunteer editors. Any member of the public is welcome to contribute; registering a named user account is optional. These wikis follow a [[free content]] model, with the stated goal of disseminating knowledge to the world. They include, by launch date:
 
* [[Wikipedia]] – [[online encyclopedia]]
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[[File:Wikimedia Foundation Servers-8055 13.jpg|thumb|Wikimedia Foundation servers]]
 
Wikipedia employed a single server until 2004, when the server setup was expanded into a distributed [[multitier architecture]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.aulinx.de/oss/code/wikipedia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040710213535/https://www.aulinx.de/oss/code/wikipedia/|title=Aulinx|archive-date=July 10, 2004}}</ref> Server downtime in 2003 led to the first fundraising drive. By December 2009, Wikimedia ran on [[colocation centre|co-located]] servers, with 300 servers in Florida and 44 in [[Amsterdam]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/06/24/a-look-inside-wikipedias-infrastructure|title=A Look Inside Wikipedia's Infrastructure|date=June 24, 2008|work=Data Center Knowledge|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011832/https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/06/24/a-look-inside-wikipedias-infrastructure|archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, it also switched from multiple different [[Linux]] operating system vendors to [[Ubuntu|Ubuntu Linux]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Wikipedia simplifies IT infrastructure by moving to one Linux vendor |first=Todd R. |last=Weiss |url=https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9116787/Wikipedia_simplifies_IT_infrastructure_by_moving_to_one_Linux_vendor?taxonomyId=154&pageNumber=1&taxonomyName=Servers%20and%20Data%20Center |newspaper=[[Computerworld]] |date=October 9, 2008 |access-date=November 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005181633/https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9116787/Wikipedia_simplifies_IT_infrastructure_by_moving_to_one_Linux_vendor?taxonomyId=154&pageNumber=1&taxonomyName=Servers%20and%20Data%20Center |archive-date=October 5, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Wikipedia adopts Ubuntu for its server infrastructure |first=Ryan |last=Paul |url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/10/wikipedia-adopts-ubuntu-for-its-server-infrastructure.ars |newspaper=[[Ars Technica]] |date=October 9, 2008 |access-date=November 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130021503/https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/10/wikipedia-adopts-ubuntu-for-its-server-infrastructure.ars |archive-date=January 30, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, it switched to [[Debian]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Debian – Wikitech|url=https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Debian|access-date=April 18, 2021|website=wikitech.wikimedia.org|language=en|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418084905/https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Debian|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
By January 2013, Wikimedia transitioned to newer infrastructure in an [[Equinix]] facility in [[Ashburn, Virginia]], citing reasons of "more reliable connectivity" and "fewer [[hurricane]]s".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/01/14/its-official-equinix-ashburn-is-wikimedias-home/|title=It's Official: Ashburn is Wikipedia's New Home|date=January 14, 2013|work=Data Center Knowledge|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011703/https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/01/14/its-official-equinix-ashburn-is-wikimedias-home/|archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2013/01/19/wikimedia-sites-move-to-primary-data-center-in-ashburn-virginia/|title=Wikimedia sites to move to primary data center in Ashburn|date=January 19, 2013|website=Wikimedia Diff|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011114/https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/01/19/wikimedia-sites-move-to-primary-data-center-in-ashburn-virginia/|archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref> In years prior, the hurricane seasons had been a cause of distress.<ref name=WMBlog20180407>{{cite web|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2009/04/07/wmf-needs-additional-datacenter-space/|title=WMF needs additional datacenter space|date=April 7, 2009|website=Wikimedia Diff|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011051/https://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/04/07/wmf-needs-additional-datacenter-space/|archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
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Some MediaWiki extensions are [[Special:Version#Installed extensions|installed]] to extend the functionality of MediaWiki software. In April 2005, an [[Apache Lucene]] extension<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2005-04-18/Lucene_search|title=Lucene search: Internal search function returns to service|work=[[The Signpost]]|publisher=[[Wikipedia]]|first=Michael|last=Snow|access-date=February 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731211712/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2005-04-18/Lucene_search|archive-date=July 31, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2005-April/016297.html|title=[Wikitech-l] Lucene search|first=Brion|last=Vibber|access-date=February 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330033506/https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2005-April/016297.html|archive-date=March 30, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> was added to MediaWiki's built-in search and Wikipedia switched from MySQL to [[Lucene]] and later switched to CirrusSearch which is based on [[Elasticsearch]] for searching.<ref>{{cite web|title=Extension:CirrusSearch – MediaWiki|url=https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:CirrusSearch|access-date=April 18, 2021|website=MediaWiki.org|language=en|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413230335/https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:CirrusSearch|url-status=live}}</ref> The Wikimedia Foundation also uses [[CiviCRM]]<ref>[https://diff.wikimedia.org/2009/06/10/wikimedia-fourkitchens-support-civicrm-development/ Wikimedia & FourKitchens support CiviCRM development] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922160241/https://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/06/10/wikimedia-fourkitchens-support-civicrm-development/ |date=September 22, 2012 }} Wikimedia Diff, June 10, 2009</ref> and [[WordPress]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://diff.wikimedia.org |title=Wikimedia Diff |publisher=Wikimedia Diff |access-date=July 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816154737/https://blog.wikimedia.org/ |archive-date=August 16, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Foundation published official Wikipedia [[mobile app]]s for [[Android (operating system)|Android]] and [[iOS]] devices and in March 2015, the apps were updated to include mobile user-friendly features.<ref>[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wikipedia Wikipedia – Android Apps on Google Play] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321063321/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wikipedia |date=March 21, 2015 }}. Retrieved April 15, 2015.</ref>
 
== Corporate identity ==
The Wikimedia Foundation was founded in 2003 by [[Jimmy Wales]] so that there would be an independent charitable entity responsible for company domains and trademarks, and so that Wikipedia and its sister projects could be funded through non-profit means in the future.<ref name="Rupert Neate">{{cite news | first = Rupert | last = Neate | title = Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales goes bananas | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3399843/Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-goes-bananas.html | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = October 7, 2008 | access-date = October 25, 2009 | quote = The encyclopedia's huge fan base became such a drain on Bomis's resources that Mr. Wales, and co-founder Larry Sanger, thought of a radical new funding model&nbsp;– charity. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081110041546/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3399843/Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-goes-bananas.html | archive-date = November 10, 2008 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws#ARTICLE_II_-_STATEMENT_OF_PURPOSE |title=Bylaws |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=2016-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225172741/https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws#ARTICLE_II_-_STATEMENT_OF_PURPOSE |archive-date=2017-02-25 |url-status=live }}</ref> The name "Wikimedia", a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] of [[wiki]] and [[media (communication)|media]], was coined by American author [[Sheldon Rampton]] in a post to the English Wikipedia mailing list in March 2003,<ref>{{cite web |last=Rampton |first=Sheldon |author-link=Sheldon Rampton |date=March 16, 2003 |title=Wikipedia English mailing list message |url=https://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051101074301/https://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html |archive-date=November 1, 2005 |access-date=July 11, 2005}}</ref> three months after [[Wiktionary]] became the second wiki-based project hosted on the original server. The Foundation's mission is collection and distribution of educational knowledge under free licenses or public domain and promised to keep these projects free of charge.<ref name="wikimedia-mission">{{cite web | url = https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement | title = Mission statement | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | access-date = January 28, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080117000000/https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement | archive-date = January 17, 2008 | first = Florence | last = Devouard | author-link = Florence Devouard | url-status = live }}</ref>
 
All intellectual property rights and domain names about Wikipedia were moved to the Foundation after its inception,<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3399843/Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-goes-bananas.html |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3399843/Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-goes-bananas.html |archive-date = January 11, 2022 |url-access = subscription |url-status = live |title = Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales goes bananas |newspaper = The Daily Telegraph |access-date = December 26, 2017 |date = November 7, 2008 |last = Neate |first = Rupert}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and it currently owns the [[domain name]]s and maintains most of the [[Wikimedia movement]]'s websites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/20-0049703|title=GuideStar – WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION, INC.|access-date=2020-02-11|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121083722/https://www.guidestar.org/profile/20-0049703|url-status=live}}</ref> WMF is now the registrant of the domain [https://www.wikipedia.org/ wikipedia.org], owner of the trademark and operator of the wiki platform. It runs projects like [[Wikibooks]], [[Wikidata]], [[Wiktionary]] and [[Wikimedia Commons]]; it raises money, distributes grants, controls the servers, develops and deploys software, and does outreach to support Wikimedia projects, including the [[English Wikipedia]]. It also engages in [[advocacy group|political advocacy]] regarding copyright, press freedom and legal protection of websites from liability related to user content.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Jasper |date=February 12, 2017 |title='We always look for reliability': why Wikipedia's editors cut out the Daily Mail |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/12/wikipedia-daily-mail-reliability-ban-katherine-maher |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=February 13, 2017 |quote="Another core job for the foundation – and Maher – is political advocacy. While copyright and press freedom are important issues for Wikipedia, there is one area even more fundamental to its operation – the rules that protect web firms from full liability for what their users post." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213213309/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/12/wikipedia-daily-mail-reliability-ban-katherine-maher |archive-date=February 13, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
== Finances ==
Line 455 ⟶ 452:
{{as of|2023|10|23|df=US|post=,}} there were over 700 people working at the Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|title=7 reasons you should donate to Wikipedia|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2022/11/03/7-reasons-you-should-donate-to-wikipedia/|author=Seitz-Gruwell, Lisa|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|language=en-US|date=October 23, 2023|access-date=December 27, 2023|archive-date=December 27, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231227155753/https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2023/10/23/7-reasons-you-should-donate-to-wikipedia/}}</ref> [[Maryana Iskander]] was named the incoming CEO in September 2021, and took over that role in January 2022.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lima|first=Cristiano|date=September 14, 2021|title=Wikimedia taps leader of South African nonprofit as its next CEO|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/14/wikipedia-maryana-iskander-ceo/|access-date=September 14, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=September 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914162044/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/14/wikipedia-maryana-iskander-ceo/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
As of JulyAugust 20222024, the WMF has the following department structure:<ref>[https://wikimediafoundation.org/role/staff-contractors/ Staff and Contractors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511194404/https://wikimediafoundation.org/role/staff-contractors/ |date=May 11, 2022 }}. Wikimedia Foundation</ref>
* '''Office of the Chief Executive Officer''': supports the work of the Wikimedia Foundation Chief Executive Officer.
* '''Advancement''': responsible for fundraising, strategic partnerships, and grantmaking programs.
* '''Communications''': responsible for Wikimedia brand development, marketing, social media, public relations, and global awareness efforts.
* '''Finance and Administration''': responsible for ensuring responsible management of Wikimedia Foundation funds and resources.
* '''Legal''': responsible for mounting opposition to government surveillance and censorship, defending volunteer communities, facilitating policy discussions, and advocating for privacy.
* '''Product and Technology''': builds, improves, and maintains the infrastructure of Wikimedia sites.
* '''Product''': responsible for building collaborative tools for knowledge sharing, user research, experience design and cross-device support including mobile apps and voice technology.
* '''Talent and Culture''': responsible for recruitment and training.
* '''Technology''': responsible for maintaining and developing the technology platform underpinning the Wikimedia projects, in collaboration with thousands of volunteer developers.
 
== Disputes ==
Line 491 ⟶ 488:
{{Main|Knowledge Engine (search engine)}}
 
Knowledge Engine was a [[search engine]] project initiated in 2015 by WMF to locate and display verifiable and trustworthy information on the Internet.<ref name=Koebler2016>{{cite news|url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8q8gvg/wikipedias-secret-google-competitor-search-engine-is-tearing-it-apart|title=The Secret Search Engine Tearing Wikipedia Apart|last=Koebler|first=Jason|date=February 16, 2016|work=[[Vice.com|Vice]]|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709215630/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8q8gvg/wikipedias-secret-google-competitor-search-engine-is-tearing-it-apart|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The KE's goal was to be less reliant on traditional search engines. It was funded with a $250,000 grant from the [[John S. and James L. Knight Foundation|Knight Foundation]].<ref name=McGee2016>{{cite news|url=https://searchengineland.com/wikimedia-foundation-secures-250000-grant-for-search-engine-development-242544|title=Wikimedia Foundation Secures $250,000 Grant For Search Engine Development|last=McGee|first=Matt|date=February 15, 2016|work=[[Search Engine Land]]|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523004937/https://searchengineland.com/wikimedia-foundation-secures-250000-grant-for-search-engine-development-242544|archive-date=May 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Some perceived the project as a scandal, mainly because it was conceived in secrecy, and the project proposal was even a surprise to some staff, in contrast with a general culture of transparency in the organization and on the projects. Some of the information available to the community was received through leaked documents published by ''[[The Signpost]]'' in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|first=Andreas|last=Kolbe|title=An in-depth look at the newly revealed documents|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2016-02-10/In_focus|work=[[The Signpost]]|date=February 10, 2016|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901083007/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2016-02-10/In_focus|archive-date=September 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Koebler2016/> Following this dispute, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director [[Lila Tretikov]] resigned.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ashley|last=Allen|title=Wikimedia Director Resigns Following Internal Row Over Search Engine Plans|url=https://www.eteknix.com/wikimedia-director-resigns-following-internal-row-search-engine-plans/|work=eteknix|access-date=July 9, 2018|date=February 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710010458/https://www.eteknix.com/wikimedia-director-resigns-following-internal-row-search-engine-plans/|archive-date=July 10, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Hern2016>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/26/wikimedia-head-lila-tretikov-resigns-search-engine-plans |title=Head of Wikimedia resigns over search engine plans |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=February 26, 2016 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=December 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328201350/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/26/wikimedia-head-lila-tretikov-resigns-search-engine-plans |archive-date=March 28, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Spiegel2016>{{cite news |url=https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/wikipedia-streit-um-knowledge-engine-lila-tretikov-tritt-zurueck-a-1079448.html |title=Online-Enzyklopädie: Chefin der Wikipedia-Stiftung tritt zurück |date=February 26, 2016 |work=[[Spiegel Online]] |access-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305100002/https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/wikipedia-streit-um-knowledge-engine-lila-tretikov-tritt-zurueck-a-1079448.html |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
=== Social justice campaigns ===
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