Ensuring free knowledge for future generations

Access to knowledge is a fundamental human right. The Wikimedia Endowment is our enduring commitment to a world of freely shared knowledge, now and in perpetuity.

We believe that knowledge is a foundation. It is a foundation for human potential, a foundation for freedom, a foundation for opportunity. Wikipedia is the world’s largest free knowledge ecosystem — a public trust for the common good — built by people, for people.

Giving

Giving Today

The Wikimedia Endowment is a safety net that helps protect Wikipedia now and into the future. Making a gift today is the simplest way to ensure that Wikipedia remains strong and stable, always there when you need it.

Give online today

Other ways to give >

Giving Tomorrow

Wikipedia has always been driven by the generosity and selflessness of people who understand the power of free knowledge to change the world. A gift in your will is an opportunity to continue making an impact for generations to come.

Learn more about legacy giving

To request more information about your estate planning options, and receive a copy of our Planned Giving Guide, provide your contact information and we will reach out to you.

Share your plans

Have you already made a gift through your will, retirement plan or insurance policy to support free knowledge for generations to come? Please let us know so we can offer thanks and welcome you to the Wikipedia Legacy Society.

Let us know

Get assistance in developing a will

Would you like assistance in developing a will? Our partner, FreeWill, can help you write one free of charge. The process takes about 20 minutes.

Create a will

Why an Endowment?

When it was founded in 2001, Wikipedia seemed like an impossible dream. Today, Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects are a core part of the 21st century cultural infrastructure. They are a testament to human ingenuity, one that the Wikimedia Endowment is committed to protecting so that this knowledge can be passed down to future generations.

The purpose of the Wikimedia Endowment is to support Wikimedia projects in perpetuity. It represents a collective belief in what the Wikimedia projects have accomplished and what they have yet to achieve. As a fund that is invested for growth, it creates a solid financial foundation for the future and ensures long-term security.

A robust Endowment also provides Wikimedia’s community of volunteers and donors with the confidence that the mission and vision in which they’ve invested will be supported for future generations. New gifts are added to those of past donors, allowing the Endowment to keep pace with the growing needs of Wikimedia projects.

“Wikipedia stands alone in the online world, providing information and knowledge to anyone, anywhere, without cost.”

— Annette Campbell-White, Wikimedia Endowment Advisory Board Member

Reports

Children in a school visit sorrounding the Lely's Venus. British Museum, London, UK. Photo by Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Audit Report

Sept 30, 2023 to June 30, 2024

Frequently asked questions

Open the audit report

Annual Report 2022-2023

Knowledge is human

July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023

Open the latest report

Our projects

Wikipedia was launched in 2001 with an ambitious vision: “Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.” Today, Wikipedia is the largest collection of open knowledge in history. With over 57 million articles in 310 active languages, it is accessed by 1.5 billion unique devices every month, making it the only non-profit site in the top ten most visited on the web.

Wikimedia also supports a range of additional projects that further enrich the landscape of free knowledge. Every month, more than 300,000 volunteer editors contribute to these projects, helping millions of people around the world discover information and share it with others. 

When you make a gift to the Wikimedia Endowment, you become part of this global movement. Your contribution helps ensure that Wikimedia’s free knowledge resources remain accessible and valuable for generations to come. 

Select projects supported by the endowment:

Free and open storage for the structured data of Wikimedia projects including Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikisource, and others
The world’s largest multilingual free-to-use library of illustrations, photos, drawings, videos, music, and other media
The open source package that powers Wikipedia and many other wikis on the web
The world’s largest freely available and openly editable online encyclopedia
A free multilingual dictionary currently available in over 170 languages

“The Wikimedia Endowment is a springboard for growth and innovation in how we curate and deliver knowledge to the world for generations to come.”

— Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder and Wikimedia Endowment Advisory Board Member

Board of Directors

The Wikimedia Endowment Board of Directors – comprised of leaders from finance, education, technology, business, nonprofit management, and the Wikimedia volunteer community – is guiding the endowment as it grows and supports the Wikimedia projects in perpetuity.

The Board is recruiting for new members on an ongoing basis and welcomes expressions of interest from interested and qualified candidates. 

Jimmy Wales
Founder, Wikipedia Project and Board Chair

Phoebe Ayers
Librarian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Peter Baldwin
Co-Founder,
Arcadia Fund

Annette
Campbell-White
Founder, Kia Ora Foundation

Mayree Clark

Laura Duchâtelet
Founder, LD&U

Alexander M. Farman-Farmaian
Vice Chairman, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Edgewood Management

Michael Kim
Founder, Cendana Capital

Lisa Lewin
CEO in Residence,
Primary Venture Partners

Patricio Lorente
General Secretary of Administration, National University of La Plata

Doron Weber
Vice President of Programs,
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Staff Leadership

Lisa Seitz-Gruwell
President, Wikimedia Endowment

Our Benefactors

Thank you to our benefactors for their generous donations to the Wikimedia Endowment and for providing free access to knowledge to the world. Gifts that support the Wikimedia Foundation’s annual operations are recognized here. 

* denotes deceased donor

$5 million+

  • Amazon
  • Arcadia
  • Wikipedia readers and supporters

$2 million+

  • Google.org
  • Musk Foundation
  • George Soros

$1 million+

  • Craig Newmark Philanthropies
  • Facebook
  • Jim Pacha*
  • Dr. David S. Starr Estate*

$100,000+

  • Alan Bauer
  • Vivek Basrur
  • Annette Campbell-White
  • Dalio Philanthropies
  • Alex & Patricia Farman-Farmaian
  • Gupta Family Foundation
  • Pitch and Cathie Johnson
  • Richard Jay Seidel and Caren Kaplan*
  • Estate of Karl Pfenninger*
  • Estate of John Robert Phillips*
  • Sigrid Rausing Trust

$50,000+

  • Estate of Evan C. Bacon*
  • Antoine Bello
  • I.W. Foundation
  • Ike and Ellen Kier
  • Moneta Asset Management
  • The Rothschild Foundation
  • Christopher Seiwald

$5,000+

  • The Aber D. Unger Foundation
  • Estate of Orville Michael Baggett
  • Paula Begoun
  • The Behemoth
  • William Benter
  • Will Bloch
  • Barry Boehm
  • The Bommadevara family (Vedant, Maaya, Vamseeja & Nagendra)
  • Kevin Bonebrake and Winnie Scheuer
  • Samuel Bowen
  • Chris and Jennifer Brahm
  • Michael Brown
  • Karel Bujok
  • In honor of Annette Campbell-White
  • Elmira Choopani and Khanh Vu
  • In honor of David Colander
  • In honor of Alex Farman-Farmaian
  • Laurie and Thomas Fusco
  • Geisel Family Foundation
  • The Melbern G. and Susanne M. Glasscock Foundation
  • Spencer Glendon and Lisa Tung
  •  Emily and Sam Glick 
  • Edwin A. Goodman
  • Robert Griesemer
  • Marie Griffin and Robert Coffey
  • Kiwan Gu
  • Frans P. Guepin*
  • Steven Hamburger
  • In memory of Nan Harris from her family*
  • Janet and Richard Hart
  • Sue Hollingsworth
  • In honor of Hank and Demaris Hudspeth
  • Helen Ingham Foundation
  • Mark Jacobson and Ilona Frieden
  • Brian Jaffe
  • Celia Johnson
  • Christine and Jordan Kaplan
  • Kevin Kelly and Germaine Fuh-Kelly
  • Khandros-Bloch Family
  • The Kipping Family
  • In memory of H. Kwan
  • Jeremy Levine & Yael Taqqu
  • Victor Linck
  • Meraj Manal
  • Michael Merwin
  • The Stephen Craig Moore Living Trust*
  • Carol Fryer and Bernard Moret
  • John Nagle
  • Gregory and Kathy Nelson
  • In memory of Don & Joyce Neufeld
  • The O’Brien Family, New Jersey
  • Manish Pandya
  • Lynda & Stewart Resnick
  • Tim and Mary Riordan
  • Barbara Ryan
  • In memory of Salomon (Monis) Samuelides
  • The Sigler Family
  • Mark Smithe
  • Doug Standing
  • Raymie Stata
  • Diana Strassmann and Jeff Smisek
  • Bonnie J. Tisch and Daniel R. Tisch
  • Konstantin Vinogradov
  • Paul von Kuster
  • Mickey Weinstein
  • K.L. Won
  • Steven Dee Yeutter*

$1,000+

  • Ebrahim Ahmadi, M.D.
  • Feras Alhou
  • Lawanda Allee
  • Glenn Anders
  • Paul B. Anderson
  • Anonymous M
  • Anyone Can Whistle Foundation of Los Angeles
  • Kathleen and Jack Applewhite
  • Edward and Sallie Arens
  • Alden, Alison and Ansel Ashby
  • Michael Ashby and Nancy Till
  • Ken and Valerie Baker
  • Ellen Balaguer and Mark Chase
  • R & A Bandela
  • Steven Barnes
  • Dan Batson
  • Daniel Baulig
  • Charles and Jennifer Beeler
  • Heather Bendler
  • In memory of Peter Bial*
  • Audrey and Gary Billerbeck
  • Paul Black
  • Brent Blumenstein and Anne Ryan
  • Adam Bly
  • Edward Boehme
  • Roger and Helen Bohl
  • Artem Bolgar
  • Eleanor, Lauren and Tyler Brandt
  • Joseph Brandt
  • In memory of Roger Edward Broughton*
  • Kathy and Charley Brown
  • Patrick Brown
  • Craig Campbell
  • Gary Campbell
  • Raul Carmenate
  • Ken and Kyra Carson
  • The Carter Family
  •  Carol Causey
  • Romelle Castle
  • Vint Cerf
  • Christian Channell
  • Sarah Charlton
  • Anjan Chatterjee
  • Saul and Nan Chase
  • Marg Chauvin
  • Crystal Chen
  • Joseph Chen
  • Liang Chen
  • Paulina and Eric Cheung Hall, Esq.
  • Irene Clardy
  • Frank O. Clark, Ph.D.
  • In memory of Principal Joe Clark, who appreciated the value of knowledge and education*
  • Juan Cockburn 
  • Mary Cody
  • Louis Cohen
  • Jeremy Coller
  • Luke Comer
  • Guy and Helen Connolly
  • Linda D Cooley
  • Lenore C Cooney
  • Stone Coxhead
  • In memory of Edward Coyle*
  • Meg Coyle
  • Michael Danahy, Ph. D.
  • Austin Daily
  • Helen Darling
  • H. Andrew Decker
  • Paul Demmitt
  • Michaela Depatie
  • Douglas Derrer
  • L Peter Deutsch
  • Andrew Dick
  • A Sibbald Doan
  • James Docauer
  • In memory of Dr. Paul Leighton Donoho*
  • John Dove
  • Ronald Doyle
  • Greg Durrett
  • Douglas Durst
  • Peter Emch
  • Otho Eskin
  • The Eubanks Memorial Trust
  • James Fallon
  • Mark Farley
  • Peter Farrell
  • Anita and John Fiorillo
  • In memory of Günter Fleig*
  • Margaret Flickinger
  • Will Forrest
  • Susan Leigh Foster
  • Andrew Fraser
  • In memory of Johnnie Ruth Friedman*
  • Paul Funk
  • Jennifer V. Furman
  • Charles J. Gallant
  • Charles Garrett
  • Douglas Gatchell
  • Marilyn Gatin
  • John and Melanie Geleynse
  • Elizabeth and Robert Geltz
  • Safar Ghazal
  • Giancarlo Pallavicini Onlus Humanitarian and Cultural Foundation
  • Mary E. Glidden and Paul Francoeur in memory of Yves Francoeur
  • Jeff and Kelly Glisch
  • Thomas Goddard
  • Jack Goodman
  • P. Goetze
  • Loretta Montanari Gottshall
  • James and the late Connie Gossett
  • Alan Gould
  • Terence E. Gray
  • In loving memory of Norman G. Greenberg*
  • Lisa Seitz Gruwell
  • Mary Beth Guard
  • Adrienne Kent Gunst
  • David and Carolyn Hahn, Wisconsin
  • Kathryn Hall
  • Mark Halperin
  • Chalmers Hardenbergh
  • Ronald & Peian Harness
  • In memory of Rosebud Smith Haywood*
  • Thomas Hazlehurst, M.D.
  • Wenshan (Susan) He
  • Jack Hetherington
  • Mary and Paul Henry
  • In memory of Professor Dr. Walter Higbee
  • Ernest Hildner
  • Matthew Hill
  • Christopher Hinton
  • Tran Ho
  • Charles Hogan
  • Hanna W. Hopp*
  • Celia and Daniel Huber
  • Philippe Ifrah
  • In honor of Zach Intrater and Marc Agnifilo
  • Rex Jaeschke
  • Kent Janér
  • Martin Jansche
  • Peter and Linda Jeschofnig
  • Robert Johnson
  • Eric Jones and Daniel Monasterio
  • In memory of Dr. James L. Julian
  • In memory of James Ralph Justus, Jr.*
  • Gary Kahn
  • In honor of APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India*
  • Alice Kaplan
  • Catherine Kayser
  • Emily and Zak Keir
  • Peter Kelsey
  • Jack Kessler
  • Prakhar, Prerak, Akta, and Pravin Khandelwal
  • John Kiely
  • Kim and Jesse Kinder
  • Don King
  • Robert King
  • Sam King
  • Brendan Kirby, P.E.
  • Evgeny Kissin
  • Nora Klein
  • Eric Klusman
  • Paul Kostenuik
  • Richard Paul Krafsur
  • Krebs on Security
  • Kurt Kufeld
  • Kishor Kulkarni
  • Joshua Kwan and Angeline Protacio
  • Sally Lawrence and David Lai
  • Amanda Lao
  • In memory of Robert E. Lasky*
  • Jerry LeClaire
  • Linda Lee
  • Richard Lenon and Leslie Hsu
  • Lai-Yet Lam and Peter Lew
  • Lisa Lewin
  • Russ Lewis
  • Gregg and Libby Lindahl
  • Girts Linde
  • Ken Lipper
  • Christopher Lingle
  • Kevin Lloyd
  • Robert Lonergan
  • John Longres
  • Riley MacPhee and Julie Pedtke
  • In memory of my sister Madeleine
  • Victor Mair
  • Gary Marcus
  • Alexis Martinsen
  • John Marx
  • Sydney McDole and Naresh Lakhanpal
  • Heather and Peter McHugh
  • Rajalaxmi McKenna
  • Karen Meckstroth
  • Gilbert Miller
  • Minassian Media
  • Minassian Media
  • Maureen and Gary Meller
  • Leta Miller
  • Patricia and Charles Mintz
  • Deb Morrison
  • Jeff Morrow
  •  Judith Morton
  • Mary G. Murray
  • Jasmine Nabi
  • Anil Nair
  • Robert Neale*
  • In memory of John C. Nelson
  • George Nikopoulos
  • Becky Norquist
  • Og & Ogina
  • Leon Older
  • Ray Olszewski
  • Robert Ordal
  • Miriam and Robert Owens
  • Andrew Pace
  • Trey Parker
  • John Parkinson
  • Mary Patterson
  • Barbara Perreault
  • Steve Pittman
  • Jim Polisano
  • Jonathan Pool
  • Daniel and Gail Powell
  • Susan Pritzker
  • Borden Putnam
  • R&S Cohen Foundation
  • Donald Radina
  • Sarah Reade
  • Anne Reece
  • Paul Resch
  • The Rex Flash Ministries
  • Maximilien Reynolds
  • In memory of Charles Rich, Ph.D.*
  • Lorraine and Gary Roberts
  • Diana Rogers
  • Carol Rose
  • Dennis Rossman
  • Sarah Rouse
  • Philip and Reggie Roy
  • In memory of Frank Rust
  • Rana Sadik and Samer Younis
  • David Sassen
  • Scott Satterwhite
  • Nathan and Nancy Sambul
  • Anthony John Savory*
  • Charles Schade
  • Paul Scharf
  • Andrew Schorr
  • Rogil Schroeter
  • Stephen K. Schuck, on behalf of those who prefer facts to wishful thinking
  • Ann Schumacher
  • Donald Schwab
  • Curtis Scribner
  • Scrum.org
  • H Rodney Sharp III
  • Rasha Shehada
  • Bradford Sherburne
  • Michael Shimoide
  • Clay Shirky
  • David Smith
  • Martin Smith
  • Steve Solomon in Josh’s memory — He loved to learn.
  • Mike Speciner
  • Bill Spindler
  • Sports Reference LLC
  • Frederick Stanton
  • John Stares
  • Betty Ann Stedman
  • Timothy Steinert
  • Elizabeth Story
  • StrongAuth Inc.
  • Rich & Bonnie Sutton
  • Melissa & Karl Sweitzer
  • The Tarpenning-Schillinger Family Fund
  • Jon Thaler
  • Adam Theriault-Shay.
  • Rabbi Rob & Lauren Thomas
  • In loving memory of Dolly Marguerite Thompson*
  • Jack Thompson
  • Michael Thonis
  • Fred Thorlin
  • Kelly Townsend
  • Christopher Transue
  • Kit Transue
  • Natalie and Bobby Tulsiani
  • James Uttley
  • Erik Vaaler
  • Jos van Schagen and Marjon Floris
  • Amélie & Kunal Verma
  • Nicolas Veron
  • Caitlin Virtue
  • Charlotte von der Hude
  • Milan Votava
  • In memory of Robert Henry Walpole
  • Rich Warner
  • Richard Warner
  • Beverly and Darrell Weaver
  • Doron Weber
  • Matthew Weiner
  • Mike Weiss
  • The West-Heidel Family Fund
  • Patti White
  • Albert Whittlesey
  • Peter Wiley
  •  David E. Wilkins
  • Matt Williams
  • Robert Williamson
  • Willowridge Partners/Jerrold Newman
  • The Wolff Family
  • Adam Wolff
  • Tim and Cc Yu

Wikipedia Legacy Society

Thank you to Wikipedia Legacy Society members for pledging a legacy gift to the Wikimedia Endowment — ensuring Wikipedia’s future, in perpetuity.

* denotes deceased donor

Contact us

For more information about the Wikimedia Endowment, please contact us at endowment@wikimedia.org. For information on how you can support the Endowment with a planned gift, please contact legacy@wikimedia.org, or call
+1 415-541-3506 ext. 6863