Wikipedia is owned by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that was founded to manage collaborative development projects. Since the organization that has the rights of the owner is not a commercial one, all investments are spent on maintaining the site's functionality. The money for its maintenance comes from donations.
Unlike many other custom sites, Wikipedia does not display any advertisements. The fact is that the site is intended for global collective cooperation, and placing advertisements on it would deprive the resource and some of its articles of a neutral color. The site is developed by ordinary users, and such a reputation is not compatible with commerce.
The idea of a mass public organization is contained in the name of the resource. The root "wiki" means a site or web resource that can be modified by any of its visitors. This is a free open source encyclopedic resource developed by collective work.
Where does the money go
It takes a lot of money to keep the site running. This includes salaries for employees, office costs, server space, data processing performance or, more simply, site power, software.
How are funds for the maintenance of the resource received?
Wikipedia receives most of its donations via the Internet. The organization organizes several fundraising campaigns every year. They usually happen 3-4 times a year. They grab media and user donations. Financial assistance can be provided using PayPal, bank card, but Wikipedia also accepts checks, government securities, and wire transfers.
The organization prioritizes user donations. However, Wikipedia has sponsors and has received a small number of grants.
Wikipedia has 10 main contributors, including the Stanton Foundation, the Google Matching Gifts program, and Microsoft Matching Gifts.
The owner of the online resource maintains a transparent policy regarding costs, since the main values of the organization are neutrality and cooperation.
Although the lion's share of donations comes online, Wikipedia hosts charity events as part of its fundraising campaigns. Sometimes Wikipedia is supported by providing free technical assistance, namely: server, hosting and power consumption.
For more information on donation opportunities, visit Wikipedia.org.
What Wikipedia does not take money for
Wikipedia pays nothing itself for articles on the site, since users write them for free. Many of Wikipedia's core features are supported through volunteer work by our experts who provide technical support for free. This work is managed by dedicated volunteer committees.
