WIKIPEDIA -- A Resource Well Worth Supporting

Posted:  2 Jul 13

Purpose

To spread the idea of materially supporting Wikipedia -- the free on-line encyclopedia.  And please see this separate article concerning the reliability of this superb knowledge resource.

Background

Last night I posted this on my Facebook page --

0701 2045 -- There are so many causes in need of voluntary funding. We get so much value from them that it is hard (impossible) to do them full justice in return.

I just saw a banner from Wikipedia reminding me that they are non-profit and need funds to do what they do. They give me so much value that I finally remembered to make a contribution -- not commensurate with the value they add to life, but significant, none-the-less. Feels good. Feels right. Feels a lot like justice.

Thought I'd mention it, in case these words might help advance one worthy cause among many. Their well-being sees to the well-being of the Human Knowledge Base -- and that reaches deeply into the human spirit and accelerates the progress of the entire species.

David Nelson

Kind Response from Wikipedia to My Donation

Dear David,

Thank you for donating to the Wikimedia Foundation. You are wonderful!

It's easy to ignore our fundraising banners, and I'm really glad you didn't. This is how Wikipedia pays its bills --- people like you giving us money, so we can keep the site freely available for everyone around the world.

People tell me they donate to Wikipedia because they find it useful, and they trust it because even though it's not perfect, they know it's written for them. Wikipedia isn’t meant to advance somebody's PR agenda or push a particular ideology, or to persuade you to believe something that's not true. We aim to tell the truth, and we can do that because of you. The fact that you fund the site keeps us independent and able to deliver what you need and want from Wikipedia. Exactly as it should be.

You should know: your donation isn’t just covering your own costs. The average donor is paying for his or her own use of Wikipedia, plus the costs of hundreds of other people. Your donation keeps Wikipedia available for an ambitious kid in Bangalore who’s teaching herself computer programming. A middle-aged homemaker in Vienna who’s just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A novelist researching 1850s Britain. A 10-year-old in San Salvador who’s just discovered Carl Sagan.

On behalf of those people, and the half-billion other readers of Wikipedia and its sister sites and projects, I thank you for joining us in our effort to make the sum of all human knowledge available for everyone. Your donation makes the world a better place. Thank you.

Most people don't know Wikipedia's run by a non-profit. Please consider sharing this e-mail with a few of your friends to encourage them to donate too. And if you're interested, you should try adding some new information to Wikipedia. If you see a typo or other small mistake, please fix it, and if you find something missing, please add it. There are resourceshere that can help you get started. Don't worry about making a mistake: that's normal when people first start editing and if it happens, other Wikipedians will be happy to fix it for you.

I appreciate your trust in us, and I promise you we'll use your money well.

Thanks,
Sue

Sue Gardner
Executive Director,
Wikimedia Foundation

For your records: Your donation on 2013-07-01 10:40:34 was $100.00. [they welcome donations as low as $3.00]

This letter may serve as a record of your donation. No goods or services were provided, in whole or in part, for this contribution. The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in the United States. Our address is 149 New Montgomery, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105. U.S. tax-exempt number: 20-0049703

You can follow us on Twitter, identi.ca or Google+, like us on Facebook and read our blog. Here is the Wikimedia Foundation annual report for 2010-11, the Wikimedia Foundation annual plan for 2012-13 and the Wikimedia Foundation’s five-year strategic plan. You can also now buy Wikipedia merchandise at shop.wikimedia.org.

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