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Wikipedia is not good at all.
{{Infobox Non-profit
| Non-profit_name = Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
| Non-profit_logo = [[File:Wikimedia Foundation RGB logo with text.svg|143px]]<br /><small>Logo of the Wikimedia Foundation</small>
| Non-profit_type = [[501(c)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]] [[charitable organization]]
| founded_date = [[St. Petersburg, Florida]], U.S.<br />{{foundation date|2003|6|20}}
| location = <!-- Please do not add the street address of the WMF Foundation -->[[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]] <br /> [[United States]]
| key_people = [[Michael Snow (Wikimedia Foundation)|Michael Snow]], Chair of the Board<br />[[Jimmy Wales]], Chairman Emeritus<ref name="bot">{{cite web | accessdate = 2008-01-19 | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees | title = Board of Trustees | author = Cbrown1023 | authorlink = foundation:User:Cbrown1023 | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Board_of_Trustees&oldid=24547 | archivedate = 2008-01-15 | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref><br />[[Sue Gardner]], Executive Director<br />
| area_served = Worldwide
| focus = Free, [[open content]], [[wiki]]-based internet projects
| method = [[Wikipedia]], [[Wiktionary]], [[Wikiquote]], [[Wikibooks]] (including [[Wikijunior]]), [[Wikisource]], [[Wikimedia Commons]], [[Wikispecies]], [[Wikinews]], [[Wikiversity]], [[meta:Wikimedia Incubator|Wikimedia Incubator]] and [[Wikipedia:Meta|MetaWiki]]
| revenue = $5,032,981 (2007–2008)<ref name="current-revenue">{{cite web | accessdate = 2009-07-05 | url =http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/4/4c/Wikimedia_20072008_fs.pdf | title = Finance report | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref>
| endowment =
| num_volunteers =350,000 (2005)<ref>{{fr}} Open for business (2007), Jaap Bloem & Menno van Doorn (trad. Audrey Vuillermier), éd. VINT, 2007 (ISBN 978-90-75414-20-2), p. 93. [http://stats.wikimedia.org/WikimediaProjectsGrowth.png No official number available since 2006]</ref>
| num_employees = 27 (as of June 2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/f/f7/WP_Key_Facts_september_09.pdf|title=Key Facts|accessdate=2009-11-07|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref>
| num_members =
| owner =
| Non-profit_slogan =
| homepage = [http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home wikimediafoundation.org]
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
}}
[[File:Edit 01-12-09 small.ogg|thumb|Inside Wikimedia video]]
The '''Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.''' is a [[non-profit]] [[Foundation (nonprofit organization)|charitable organization]] headquartered in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]], United States, and organized under the laws of the state of [[Florida]], where it was initially based. It operates several online collaborative [[wiki]] projects including [[Wikipedia]], [[Wiktionary]], [[Wikiquote]], [[Wikibooks]] (including [[Wikijunior]]), [[Wikisource]], [[Wikimedia Commons]], [[Wikispecies]], [[Wikinews]], [[Wikiversity]], [[meta:Wikimedia Incubator|Wikimedia Incubator]] and {{srlink|m:Main Page|Meta-Wiki}}. Its flagship project, the [[English Wikipedia|English-language Wikipedia]], ranks among the top ten most-visited websites worldwide.<ref name=AlexaTop500>{{cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none |title=Top 500 |accessdate=2007-12-04 |publisher=[[Alexa Internet|Alexa]]}}</ref>


F*** Wikipedia
The creation of the foundation was officially announced on June 20, 2003 by [[Wikipedia]] co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]],<ref name="Rupert Neate">{{cite news | first = Rupert | last = Neate | title = Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales goes bananas | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3399843/Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-goes-bananas.html | work = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | publisher= | date= 2008-10-07 | accessdate = 2009-10-25 | quote = <small>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 – charity.</small>}}</ref> who had been operating Wikipedia under the aegis of his company [[Bomis]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-June/010743.html | title = Wikipedia English mailing list message | date = 2003-06-20 | first = Jimmy | last = Wales | authorlink = Jimmy Wales}}</ref>


To hell with it
==Goals==
The Wikimedia Foundation falls under section [[501(c)(3)]] of the US [[Internal Revenue Code]] as a [[public charity]]. Its [[National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities]] (NTEE) code is B60 ([[Adult education|Adult]], [[Continuing Education]]).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.guidestar.org/npo/ntee.jsp | title = NTEE Classification System | accessdate = 2008-01-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://nccs2.urban.org/ntee-cc/b.htm#b60 | title = NCCS definition for Adult Education | accessdate = 2008-01-28 }}</ref>
The foundation's by-laws declare a statement of purpose of collecting and developing educational content and to disseminate it effectively and globally.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws#ARTICLE_II_-_STATEMENT_OF_PURPOSE | title = Wikimedia Foundation bylaws | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | accessdate = 2008-01-28 | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws&oldid=20641#ARTICLE_II_-_STATEMENT_OF_PURPOSE | author = Jd | authorlink = foundation:User:Jd | archivedate = 2007-04-20 }}</ref>

The Wikimedia [[Foundation (charity)|Foundation's]] stated goal is to develop and maintain [[open content]], [[wiki]]-based projects and to provide the full contents of those projects to the public [[gratis|free of charge]].<ref name="wikimedia-mission">{{cite web | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement | title = Mission statement | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | accessdate = 2008-01-28 | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Mission_statement&oldid=21859 | archivedate = 2007-09-01 | first = Florence | last = Devouard | authorlink = Florence Devouard }}</ref>
This is possible thanks to its [[wmf:Terms of Use|Terms of Use]] (updated and approved on June 2009, to adopt [[CC-BY-SA]] license).

==History and growth==
[[File:Jimmy Wales Fundraiser Appeal edit.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jimmy Wales]], the Founder of the Wikimedia Foundation, in December 2008]]
The Wikimedia Foundation was created from Wikipedia and Nupedia on June 20, 2003.<ref>[[Jimmy Wales]]: "[http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-June/010743.html Announcing Wikimedia Foundation]", June 20, 2003, <Wikipedia-l@wikipedia.org></ref> It applied to the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] to [[trademark]] ''Wikipedia'' on September 17, 2004. The mark was granted registration status on January 10, 2006. Trademark protection was accorded by [[Japan]] on December 16, 2004, and in the [[European Union]] on January 20, 2005. Technically a [[service mark]], the scope of the mark is for: "Provision of [[information]] in the field of general encyclopedic knowledge via the [[Internet]]."{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} There are plans to license the use of the Wikipedia trademark for some products, such as books or DVDs.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vipin |last=Nair|title=Growing on volunteer power |date=December 5, 2005 |publisher=Business Line |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2005/12/05/stories/2005120500070100.htm |accessdate=2008-12-26}}</ref>

The name "Wikimedia" was [[neologism|coined]] by [[Sheldon Rampton]] in a post to the English Wikipedia's mailing list in March 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html | title = Wikipedia English mailing list message | date = 2003-03-16 | first = Sheldon | last = Rampton | authorlink = Sheldon Rampton }}</ref>

With the foundation's announcement, Wales also transferred ownership of all Wikipedia, Wiktionary and [[Nupedia]] [[domain name]]s to Wikimedia along with the copyrights for all materials related to these projects that were created by [[Bomis]] employees or Wales himself. The computer equipment used to run all the Wikimedia projects was also donated by Wales to the foundation, which also acquired the [[domain name]]s "wikimedia.org" and "wikimediafoundation.org".

In April 2005, the US [[Internal Revenue Service]] approved (by letter) the foundation as an educational foundation in the category "[[Adult education|Adult]], [[Continuing education|Continuing Education]]", meaning all contributions to the Wikimedia Foundation are [[Tax deduction|tax deductible]] for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

On December 11, 2006, the Wikimedia Foundation board noted that the corporation could not become the membership organization initially planned but never implemented due to an inability to meet the registration requirements of Florida Statute. Accordingly, the bylaws were amended to remove all reference to membership rights and activities. The decision to change the bylaws was passed by the board unanimously.

On September 25, 2007, the Wikimedia Foundation board gave notice that the operations would be moving to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. Major considerations cited for choosing San Francisco were proximity to like-minded organizations and potential partners as well as cheaper and more convenient international travel than is available from St. Petersburg.<ref name="MoncadaWikimoveTribune">{{cite web | url = http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/25/wikimedia-foundation-moving-another-bay-area/?news-breaking | title= Wikimedia Foundation Moving To Another Bay Area | author = Carlos Moncada | work = [[The Tampa Tribune]] |date = 2007-09-25 | quote = }}</ref><ref name="MullinsWikimoveTribune">{{cite web | url= http://www.tbo.com/news/money/MGBNF5F517F.html | title = Online Encyclopedia To Leave St. Petersburg For San Francisco | author = Richard Mullins | work = [[The Tampa Tribune]] |date = 2007-09-26 | quote = }}</ref><ref name="KimWikimoveSFChronicle">{{cite web | url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/10/BU69SNMQ2.DTL&tsp=1 | title = Wikipedia team plans move to San Francisco | first = Ryan | last = Kim | work = [[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date = 2007-10-10 | quote = }}</ref>

===Board of Trustees===
*In January 2004, [[Jimmy Wales]] appointed his business partners [[Tim Shell]] and Michael Davis to the board of the Wikimedia Foundation. In June 2004, an election was held for two user representative board members. Following one month of campaigning and two weeks of online voting, [[Angela Beesley]] and [[Florence Devouard|Florence Nibart-Devouard]] were elected to join the board. In late 2004, Wales and Beesley launched a startup company, [[Wikia]], affiliated with neither Wikimedia nor Bomis, except for their presence as principals/trustees. In July 2005, Beesley and Nibart-Devouard were re-elected to the board.

*On July 1, 2006, Beesley resigned from the board effective upon election of her successor, expressing concern about "certain events and tendencies that have arisen within the organization since the start of this year," but stating her intent to continue to participate in the Wikimedia projects, and in the formation of an Australian chapter. A special election was held in September to finish Beesley's term, ending with the mid-2007 election. The election was won by [[Erik Möller]].

*In October 2006, Nibart-Devouard replaced Wales as chair of the Foundation. On December 8, 2006, the board expanded to seven people with the appointments of Kat Walsh and [[Oscar van Dillen]]. Effective December 15, 2006, [[Jan-Bart de Vreede]] was appointed to replace Shell.

*In the June 2007 election, Möller and Walsh were reelected; van Dillen, who ran for re-election, was narrowly edged by Frieda Brioschi.

*Davis left the board in November 2007. Nibart-Devouard's elected term expires in June 2008. The appointed terms for Wales and de Vreede expired in December 2008. Brioschi's and Walsh's elected terms expired in June 2009.

*In December 2007, Möller resigned from the Board of Trustees, and was hired as the foundation's deputy director by the executive director.

*In February 2008, Florence Devouard announced the addition of two new board members: Michael Snow, an American lawyer and chair of the Communication Committee; and Domas Mituzas, a Lithuanian computer software engineer, MySQL employee, and longtime member of the core tech team.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-February/038528.html | title = <nowiki>[</nowiki>Foundation-l<nowiki>]</nowiki> <nowiki>[</nowiki>Announcement<nowiki>]</nowiki> Welcome to our two new board members | date = 2008-02-13 | first = Florence | last = Devouard | authorlink = Florence Devouard | accessdate = 2008-02-13 }}</ref>

*In April 2008, the board announced a restructuring of its membership, increasing the number of board positions to 10 overall, as follows:
** Three community-elected seats
** Two seats to be selected by the chapters
** One board-appointed 'community founder' seat, to be occupied by Jimmy Wales
** Four board-appointed 'specific expertise' seats<ref name="April2008">{{cite web | accessdate = 2008-04-26 | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees/Restructure_Announcement | title = Board of Trustees Restructure Announcement | last = Walsh | first = Jay | authorlink = foundation:User:JayWalsh | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Board_of_Trustees/Restructure_Announcement&oldid=26599 | archivedate = 2008-04-27 | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref>

*In the June 2008 board election, Ting Chen was elected for a one-year term, then in September Frieda Brioschi resigned to be elected at the board of [[Wikimedia Italia]].

*In August 2009 board election, Ting Chen (reelected), Kat Walsh and Samuel Klein are elected. Their positions will be effective until July 2011

===Volunteer committees and positions===
[[File:Wiki feel stupid v2.ogv|thumb|In April 2009, Wikimedia Foundation conducted [[Wikipedia]] usability study questioning users about the editing mechanism<ref>[http://usability.wikimedia.org/wiki/UX_and_Usability_Study Wikimedia Foundation]</ref>]]
In 2004, the foundation appointed Tim Starling as developer liaison to help improve the [[MediaWiki]] software, Daniel Mayer as [[chief financial officer]] ([[management accounting|finance]], [[budgeting]] and coordination of fund drives), and [[Erik Möller]] as content partnership coordinator.

In May 2005, the foundation announced the appointment of seven people to official positions:<ref>{{cite news | last = Snow | first = Michael | title = Wikimedia names seven to official positions | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2005-05-30/Foundation_official_positions | work = The Wikipedia Signpost | date = 2005-05-30 | accessdate = 2008-03-10 }}</ref>
* Brion Vibber as chief technical officer (Vibber was also an employee of the Foundation, with other duties)
* Domas Mituzas as hardware officer
* Jens Frank as developer liaison
* Möller as chief research officer
* Danny Wool as grants coordinator
* Elisabeth Bauer as press officer
* [[Jean-Baptiste Soufron]] as lead legal coordinator

Möller resigned in August 2005, due to differences with the board, and was replaced by James Forrester. In February 2007, Forrester resigned, and the board appointed Gregory Maxwell to the position, renamed "chief research coordinator".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Chief_Research_Coordinator | title = Resolution:Chief Research Coordinator | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | accessdate = 2007-03-01 | first = Erik | last = Möller | authorlink = foundation:User:Eloquence | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Resolution:Chief_Research_Coordinator&oldid=19693 | archivedate = 2007-03-01 }}</ref>

In January 2006, the foundation created several committees, including the Communication Committee, in an attempt to further organize activities essentially handled by volunteers at that time.<ref>{{cite web | accessdate = 2008-02-04 | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolutions | title = Resolutions | first = Florence | last = Devouard | authorlink = Florence Devouard | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Resolutions&oldid=24632 | archivedate = 2008-01-21 | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref> Starling resigned that month to spend more time on his PhD program.

===Employees===
[[File:Wikimedia Foundation organization chart.svg|thumb|Organization chart as of January 2008<ref>[http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-January/037383.html January 2008 Wikimedia Organization employee descriptions]</ref>]]

The functions of the Wikimedia Foundation were, for the first few years, executed almost entirely by volunteers. In 2005, the foundation had only two employees, Danny Wool, a coordinator, and Brion Vibber, a software manager. Though the number of employees has grown, the foundation's staff is still very small, and the bulk of foundation work continues to be done by volunteers.

As of October 4, 2006, the Wikimedia Foundation had five paid employees:<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Jimmy Wales]] | date= 2006-10-04 | title = Charlie Rose (46:22) | url = http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5184822358876183858 | format = internet video | accessdate = 2006-12-08 | medium = TV-Series | location = Google Video | publisher = Charlie Rose }}</ref> two programmers, an administrative assistant, a coordinator handling fundraising and grants, and an interim [[chief executive officer|executive director]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_Announces_Interim_Executive_Director | title = Wikimedia Foundation Announces Interim Executive Director | archivedate = 2006-06-12 | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | accessdate = 2006-06-12 | author = Korg | authorlink = foundation:User:Korg | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_Announces_Interim_Executive_Director&oldid=13996 }}</ref> Brad Patrick, previously the foundation's [[general counsel]]. Patrick ceased his activity as interim director in January 2007, and then resigned from his position as legal counsel, effective April 1, 2007. He was replaced by [[Mike Godwin]] as general counsel and legal coordinator in July 2007.<ref>[http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2007-July/031128.html Mailing list post] by the Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees announcing the appointment.</ref> Three further technical contractors were also appointed in December 2006: part-time hardware manager Kyle Anderson in Tampa, full-time MediaWiki software developer Tim Starling, and part-time networking coordinator Mark Bergsma.

In January 2007, Carolyn Doran was named [[chief operating officer]] and Sandy Ordonez came on board as [[wmf:Head of Communications|head of communications]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Current staff | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Current_staff | accessdate = 2007-02-01 | author = Danny | authorlink = foundation:User:Danny | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Current_staff&oldid=19370 | archivedate = 2007-02-01 }}</ref> Doran had begun working as a part-time bookkeeper in 2006 after being sent by a [[Temporary work|temporary agency]]. Doran later left the foundation in July 2007, and [[Sue Gardner]] was hired as consultant and special advisor (later CEO). Some months after Doran's departure, it was determined<ref>{{cite news | first = Cade | last = Metz | title = Wikipedia COO was convicted felon | url = http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/13/wikimedia_coo_convicted_felon/ | date = 2007-12-13 | accessdate = 2007-12-27 }}</ref> that she was a convicted [[felon]], with a [[DUI]] arrest during her tenure at the foundation and a substantial criminal history, including shooting her boyfriend and complicity in credit card forgery.<ref>{{cite news | first = Brian | last = Bergstein | title = Felon Became COO of Wikipedia Foundation | url = http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcWLu3fg-aDeJNfWTY6hlbz93oCwD8TM0HVG0 | date = 2007-12-21 | accessdate = 2007-12-27 }}</ref> Her departure from the organization was cited as one of the reasons the foundation took about seven months to release its fiscal 2007 financial audit.<ref>{{cite news | author = Ral315 | title = ''Signpost'' interview: Florence Devouard | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2007-11-19/Anthere_interview | work = The Wikipedia Signpost | date = 2007-11-19 | accessdate = 2008-02-19 }}</ref>

Danny Wool, officially the grant coordinator but also largely involved in fundraising and business development, resigned in March 2007. In February 2007, the foundation added a new position, chapters coordinator, and hired Delphine Ménard,<ref>{{cite web | title = Resolution:Chapters coordinator | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Chapters_coordinator_-_Delphine_M%C3%A9nard}}</ref> who had been occupying the position as a volunteer since August 2005. Cary Bass was hired in March 2007 in the position of [[wmf:Volunteer Coordinator|volunteer coordinator]]. In May 2007, Vishal Patel was hired to assist in business development.<ref>{{cite web | title = Current staff | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Current_staff | accessdate = 2007-05-18 | first = Cary | last = Bass | authorlink = foundation:User:Cary Bass | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Current_staff&oldid=21206 | archivedate = 2007-05-18 }}</ref> Oleta McHenry was brought in as accountant in May, 2007, through a temporary placement agency and made the official fulltime accountant in August, 2007. In [[wmf:Press releases/Jan2008 Staff Release|January 2008]], the foundation appointed three new staff: Veronique Kessler as the new chief financial and operating officer, [[wmf:User:Kwadhwa|Kul Wadhwa]] to replace Vishal Patel as head of business development, and [[wmf:User:JayWalsh|Jay Walsh]] as [[wmf:Head of Communications|head of communications]].

In June 2008, the foundation announced two staff additions in fundraising: Rebecca Handler as major gifts officer and Rand Montoya as head of community giving.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.wikimedia.org/2008/06/26/wikimedia-foundation-announces-new-staff-appointments/ |title=Wikimedia Foundation announces new staff appointments |accessdate=2008-06-28 |first=Veronique | last=Kessler | authorlink= foundation:User:VeroniqueKessler |work=Wikimedia Blog |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |date=2008-06-26}}</ref> Soon afterward, Sara Crouse was hired as head of partnerships and foundation relations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.wikimedia.org/2008/07/12/welcome-sara-crouse-to-the-wmf-staff/ |title=Welcome Sara Crouse to the WMF staff |accessdate=2008-07-17 |first=Veronique | last=Kessler | authorlink= foundation:User:VeroniqueKessler |work=Wikimedia Blog |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |date=2008-07-12}}</ref> In fall 2008, the foundation hired three software developers: Tomasz Finc, Ariel Glenn, and Trevor Parscal.<ref>{{cite web | title = Staff | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Staff | accessdate = 2008-11-29}}</ref>

==Board members==
===Board of Trustees===
[[File:Wikimedia Foundation Board Members Wikimania 2009.jpg|thumb|Board members at Wikimania 2009 in Buenos Aires]]
These are the members of the Board of [[Trustee]]s and the expiry of their terms, {{asof|October 2009|lc=yes}}:<ref>{{cite web | title = Board of Trustees | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees | accessdate = 2009-10-07 | last = Walsh | first = Jay | authorlink = foundation:User:JayWalsh}}</ref>
* [[Michael Snow (attorney)|Michael Snow]], chair (July 2010)
* Jan-Bart de Vreede, vice-chair (December 2009)
* Kat Walsh, executive secretary (July 2011)
* Stuart West, treasurer (December 2009)
* [[Jimmy Wales]], chairman emeritus (December 2009)
* Arne Klempert (July 2010)
* Ting Chen (July 2011)
* Samuel Klein (July 2011)
* Matt Halprin (December 2009)

===Advisory Board===
The [[wmf:Advisory Board|Advisory Board]] is an international network of experts who have agreed to give the foundation meaningful help on a regular basis in many different areas, including law, organizational development, technology, policy, and outreach.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Advisory_Board | title = Advisory Board | accessdate =2009-10-07 | archiveurl = http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=Advisory_Board&oldid=40197 | archivedate =2009-09-07 | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref> {{asof|November 2009}}, the members are:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
* [[Angela Beesley]], chair
* [[Ward Cunningham]]
* [[:foundation:Advisory Board#Melissa Hagemann|Melissa Hagemann]]
* [[Mitch Kapor]]
* [[Neeru Khosla]]
* [[:foundation:Advisory Board#Teemu Leinonen|Teemu Leinonen]]
{{col-3}}
* [[Rebecca MacKinnon]]
* [[:foundation:Advisory Board#Wayne Mackintosh|Wayne Mackintosh]]
* [[Benjamin Mako Hill]]
* [[Roger McNamee]]
* [[:foundation:Advisory Board#Trevor Neilson|Trevor Neilson]]
{{col-3}}
* [[Craig Newmark]]
* [[Florence Nibart-Devouard]]
* [[:foundation:Advisory Board#Achal Prabhala|Achal Prabhala]]
* [[Clay Shirky]]
* [[Ethan Zuckerman]]
{{col-end}}

==Projects, initiatives and chapters==
===Projects===
[[File:Wikimedia logo family complete.svg|thumb|The Wikimedia projects logo family]]
In addition to the multilingual general [[encyclopedia]] ''[[Wikipedia]]'', the foundation manages a multi-language [[dictionary]] and [[thesaurus]] named ''[[Wiktionary]]'', an encyclopedia of [[quotation]]s named ''[[Wikiquote]]'', a repository of source texts in any language named ''[[Wikisource]]'', and a collection of [[e-book]] texts for students (such as [[textbook]]s and annotated [[public domain]] books) named ''[[Wikibooks]]''. ''[[Wikijunior]]'' is a subproject of Wikibooks that specializes in books for children.
The launch dates shown below are when official domains were established for the projects and/or beta versions were launched; preliminary test versions at other domains are not considered.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!URL
!Launching date
!Description
|-
|[[Wikipedia]]
|[http://www.wikipedia.org/ www.wikipedia.org]
|2001-01-15
|Encyclopedia containing more than 13 million articles in 266 languages.
|-
|[[Wikipedia:Meta|Meta-Wiki]]
|[http://meta.wikimedia.org/ meta.wikimedia.org]
|2001-11-09
|Wiki devoted to the coordination of the Wikimedia projects.
|-
|[[Wiktionary]]
|[http://www.wiktionary.org/ www.wiktionary.org]
|2002-12-12
|Dictionary cataloging meanings, synonyms, etymologies and translations.
|-
|[[Wikibooks]]
|[http://www.wikibooks.org/ www.wikibooks.org]
|2003-07-10
|Collection of free educational textbooks and learning materials.
|-
|[[Wikiquote]]
|[http://www.wikiquote.org/ www.wikiquote.org]
|2003-07-10
|Collection of quotations structured in numerous ways.
|-
|[[Wikisource]]
|[http://wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page www.wikisource.org]
|2003-11-24
|Project to provide and translate free source documents, such as public domain texts.
|-
|[[Wikimedia Commons]]
|[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page commons.wikimedia.org]
|2004-09-07
|[[Repository (publishing)|Repository]] of images, sounds, videos and general [[wikt:media|media]], containing over 5,000,000 files.
|-
|[[meta:Wikimedia Incubator|Wikimedia Incubator]]
|[http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page incubator.wikimedia.org]
|2006-06-02
|Used to test possible new languages for existing projects.
|-
|[[Wikispecies]]
|[http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page species.wikimedia.org]
|2004-09-13
|Directory of [[species]] data on [[animalia]], [[plantae]], [[fungi]], [[bacteria]], [[archaea]], [[protista]] and all other forms of life.
|-
|[[Wikinews]]
|[http://www.wikinews.org/ www.wikinews.org]
|2004-12-03
|[[News]] source containing original reporting by citizen journalists from many countries.
|-
|[[Wikiversity]]
|[http://www.wikiversity.org/ www.wikiversity.org]
|2006-08-15
|Educational and research materials and activities.
|-
|Wikimedia Outreach
|[http://outreach.wikimedia.org outreach.wikimedia.org]
|2009-10
|Promotion of Wikimedia projects
|-
|Wikimedia Strategic planning
|[http://strategy.wikimedia.org strategy.wikimedia.org]
|summer 2009
|Strategy planning work for all Wikimedia projects
|-
|Wikipedia Usability Initiative
|[http://usability.wikimedia.org usability.wikimedia.org]
|2008
|Usability team wiki
|-
|[[Wikimania]]
|[http://wikimania.wikimedia.org wikimania.wikimedia.org]
|
|Wikimania conference websites
|-
|Wikipedia Test Wiki
|[http://test.wikipedia.org test.wikipedia.org]
|
|Test wiki that runs a recent version of [[MediaWiki]]
|-
|Wikimedia Surveys
|[http://survey.wikimedia.org survey.wikimedia.org]
|
|Survey aggregation website
|}

===Wikimania===
{{main|Wikimania|m:Wikimania|l2=Wikimania page at Meta-Wiki}}
Wikimedia organizes each year Wikimania, a conference for users of the Wikimedia Foundation projects. It was first organized in [[Frankfurt]] (Germany), 2005.

===Local chapters===
[[File:Wikimedia chapters existing.svg|thumb|350px|World map showing countries that have local chapters in blue.]]
Wikimedia projects have an international scope. To continue this success on an organizational level, Wikimedia is building an international network of associated organizations.

[[M:Wikimedia chapters|Local chapters]] are self-dependent organizations that share the goals of the Wikimedia Foundation and support them within a specified geographical region. They support the foundation, the Wikimedia community and Wikimedia projects in different ways&nbsp;— by collecting donations, organizing local events and projects and spreading the word of Wikimedia, free content and Wiki culture. They also provide the community and potential partners with a point of contact capable of fulfilling specific local needs.

Local chapters are self-dependent associations with no legal control of nor responsibility for the websites of the Wikimedia Foundation and vice versa.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Area
! Title
! URL
! Since
|-
| {{flag|Argentina}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Argentina|Wikimedia Argentina]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.org.ar/ www.wikimedia.org.ar]
| {{dts|link=off|2007|September|1}}
|-
| {{flag|Australia}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Australia|Wikimedia Australia]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.org.au www.wikimedia.org.au]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|March|1}}
|-
| {{flag|Austria}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Österreich|Wikimedia Österreich]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.at www.wikimedia.at]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|February|26}}
|-
| {{flag|Czech Republic}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Czech Republic|Wikimedia Česká republika]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.cz www.wikimedia.cz]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|March|6}}
|-
| {{flag|Denmark}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Danmark|Wikimedia Danmark]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.dk www.wikimedia.dk]
| {{dts|link=off|2009|July|3}}
|-
| {{flag|France}}
| [[m:Wikimédia France|Wikimédia France]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.fr/ www.wikimedia.fr]
| {{dts|link=off|2004|October|23}}
|-
| {{flag|Germany}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Deutschland|Wikimedia Deutschland]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.de/ www.wikimedia.de]
| {{dts|link=off|2004|June|13}}
|-
| {{flag|Hong Kong}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Hong Kong|香港維基媒體協會]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.hk/ www.wikimedia.hk]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|March|1}}
|-
| {{flag|Hungary}}
| [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimédia Magyarország]]
| [http://wiki.media.hu/ wiki.media.hu]
| {{nowrap|{{dts|link=off|2008|September|27}}}}
|-
| {{flag|Indonesia}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Indonesia|Wikimedia Indonesia]]
| [http://wikimedia.or.id wikimedia.or.id]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|October|7}}
|-
| {{flag|Israel}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Israel|Wikimedia Israel]]
| [http://il.wikimedia.org/ il.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2007|June|26}}
|-
| {{flag|Italy}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Italia|Wikimedia Italia]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.it/ www.wikimedia.it]
| {{dts|link=off|2005|June|17}}
|-
| {{flag|Macedonia}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Macedonia|Wikimedia Macedonia]]
|
| {{dts|link=off|2009|September|21}}
|-
| {{flag|Netherlands}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Nederland|Wikimedia Nederland]]
| [http://nl.wikimedia.org/ nl.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2006|March|27}}
|-
| {{flag|Norway}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Norge|Wikimedia Norge]]
|
| {{dts|link=off|2007|June|23}}
|-
| {{flag|Poland}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Polska|Wikimedia Polska]]
| [http://pl.wikimedia.org/ pl.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2005|November|18}}
|-
| {{flag|Portugal}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Portugal|Wikimedia Portugal]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.pt/ www.wikimedia.pt]
| {{dts|link=off|2009|July|3}}
|-
| {{flag|Russia}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Russia|Викимедиа РУ]]
| [http://wikimedia.ru/ wikimedia.ru]
| {{dts|link=off|2008|May|24}}
|-
| {{flag|Serbia}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Serbia|Wikimedia Србије]]
| [http://rs.wikimedia.org/ rs.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2005|December|3}}
|-
| {{flag|Sweden}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Sverige|Wikimedia Sverige]]
| [http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Huvudsida se.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2007|December|11}}
|-
| {{flag|Switzerland}}
| [[m:Wikimedia CH|Wikimedia CH]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.ch/ www.wikimedia.ch]
| {{dts|link=off|2006|May|14}}
|-
| {{flag|Republic of China}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Taiwan|中華民國維基媒體協會]]
| [http://www.wikimedia.tw/ www.wikimedia.tw]
| {{dts|link=off|2007|July|4}}
|-
| {{flag|Ukraine}}
| [[m:Wikimedia Ukraine|Вікімедіа Україна]]
| [http://www.wikimeda.org.ua www.wikimedia.org.ua]
| {{dts|link=off|2009|July|3}}
|-
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| [[m:Wikimedia UK|Wikimedia UK]]
| [http://uk.wikimedia.org/ uk.wikimedia.org]
| {{dts|link=off|2009|January|12}}
|-
| {{flag|New York City}}
| [[m:Wikimedia New York City|Wikimedia New York City]]
|
| {{dts|link=off|2009|January|12}}
|}

==Finances==<!-- Economy of Wikimedia Foundation redirects here -->
{{main|wmf:Finance report|l1=Finance report}}
The Wikimedia Foundation relies on public contributions and grants to fund its mission.<ref name="financialstatements">{{cite web | url = http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/2/28/Wikimedia_2006_fs.pdf | title = Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. - Financial Statements&nbsp;— June 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004 | accessdate = 2006-12-06 | date = 2006-12-06 | format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] | publisher = Wikimedia Foundation }}</ref> It is exempt from federal income tax<ref name="financialstatements" /><ref>See also Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the Florida Statutes</ref> and from state income tax.<ref name="financialstatements" /><ref>See also Chapter 220.13 of the Florida Statutes</ref> It is not a private foundation, and contributions to it qualify as tax-deductible charitable contributions.<ref name="financialstatements" />
The continued technical and economic growth of each of the Wikimedia projects is dependent mostly on donations but the Wikimedia Foundation also increases its revenue by alternative means of funding such as [[federal grant|grants]], sponsorship, services (''datafeed'') and brand merchandising.

At the beginning of 2006, the foundation's [[net asset]]s were $270,000. During the year, the organization received support and revenue totaling $1,510,000, with concurrent expenses of $790,000. [[Net asset]]s increased by $720,000 to a total of over one million dollars.<ref name="financialstatements" /> In 2007, the foundation continued to expand, ending the year with net assets of $1,700,000.<ref name=report07> [[:wmf:Image:Wikimedia 2007 fs.pdf|Finance report 2007]]</ref> Both income and expenses nearly doubled in 2007.<ref name=report07/>

===Grants===
In March 2008 the foundation announced its largest donation to date: a three-year, $3 million grant from the [[Alfred P. Sloan Foundation]].<ref name="3mill">{{citeweb|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8x-wlh7nMm12x_kVQ6MZxrYWK9QD8VKMV1G0|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|title=Sloan Foundation to Give Wikipedia $3M}}</ref> In 2009, the foundation received three grants - the first grant was a $890,000 [[Stanton Foundation]] grant and aimed to help study and simplify user interface for first-time authors of Wikipedia.<ref>http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/StantonGrantQA</ref> The second was a $300,000 [[Ford Foundation]] Grant for [[Wikimedia Commons]] that aimed to improve the interfaces and workflows for multimedia uploading on Wikimedia websites.<ref>http://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/07/02/ford-foundation-awards-300k-grant-for-wikimedia-commons/</ref> In August 2009, the foundation received a $500,000 grant from [[Hewlett Foundation]].<ref>http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Hewlett_Foundation_grant_August_2009</ref> In August 2009, the [[Omidyar Network]] issued a potential $2 million in "grant" funding to Wikimedia.<ref>[http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-25-2009/0005082868&EDATE= Press release], ''Omidyar Network Commits $2 Million Grant to Wikimedia Foundation'', August 25, 2009.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks}}
* [http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/ Wikimedia Foundation website]
* [http://blog.wikimedia.org/ Wikimedia blog]
* [http://techblog.wikimedia.org/ Wikimedia technical blog]
* [http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Annual_Report Wikimedia Foundation annual report]
* {{PDFlink|[http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/bylaws.pdf Wikimedia Foundation bylaws]|259&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 265867 bytes -->}}
* [irc://irc.freenode.net/wikimedia Wikimedia on freenode]
* {{PDFlink|[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/2/28/Wikimedia_2006_fs.pdf Financial statements 2004–2005–2006]|90.2&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 92405 bytes -->}}
* [http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=N03000005323&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=WIKIMEDIAFOUNDATION&names_filing_type= Public Record for Wikimedia Foundation Inc.], Division of Corporations - Florida Department of State
* [http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-March/001887.html Sheldon Rampton's WikiEN-l post]
*[http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11212 Wikimedia Foundation] profile at [[Charity Navigator]]

{{Wikimedia Foundation}}
{{Wikipedia}}

[[Category:Organizations established in 2003]]
[[Category:Educational foundations]]
[[Category:Foundations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Internet companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Nonprofit technology]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Florida]]
[[Category:St. Petersburg, Florida]]
[[Category:Organizations based in San Francisco, California]]
[[Category:Wiki communities]]
[[Category:Wikimedia Foundation]]

{{coord|37.786971|-122.399677|display=title}}

[[af:Wikimedia Stigting]]
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[[ar:مؤسسة ويكيميديا]]
[[an:Fundazión Wikimedia]]
[[ast:Fundación Wikimedia]]
[[az:Vikimediya]]
[[bn:উইকিমিডিয়া ফাউন্ডেশন]]
[[zh-min-nan:Wikimedia]]
[[map-bms:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[be:Фонд Вікімедыя]]
[[be-x-old:Фундацыя Вікімэдыя]]
[[bar:Wikimedia]]
[[bg:Уикимедия]]
[[ca:Fundació Wikimedia]]
[[ceb:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[cs:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ch:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[da:Wikimedia]]
[[de:Wikimedia]]
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[[es:Fundación Wikimedia]]
[[eo:Fondaĵo Vikimedio]]
[[eu:Wikimedia Fundazioa]]
[[fa:بنیاد ویکی‌مدیا]]
[[fo:Wikimedia]]
[[fr:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[gd:Wikimedia]]
[[gl:Fundación Wikimedia]]
[[gu:વિકિમીડિયા ફાઉન્ડેશન]]
[[ko:위키미디어 재단]]
[[hi:विकिमेडिया]]
[[hr:Wikimedija]]
[[id:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ia:Wikimedia]]
[[it:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[he:קרן ויקימדיה]]
[[jv:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[pam:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ka:ფონდი ვიკიმედია]]
[[csb:Wikimedia]]
[[sw:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ku:Weqfa Wikimedia]]
[[la:Vicimedia]]
[[lv:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[lb:Wikimedia]]
[[lt:Vikimedijos fondas]]
[[li:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[hu:Wikimédia Alapítvány]]
[[mk:Фондација Викимедија]]
[[mg:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ml:വിക്കിമീഡിയ ഫൗണ്ടേഷന്‍]]
[[mt:Fondazzjoni Wikimedia]]
[[ms:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[nl:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[nds-nl:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[ja:ウィキメディア財団]]
[[no:Wikimedia]]
[[nn:Wikimedia]]
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[[ro:Wikimedia]]
[[qu:Wikimedia]]
[[ru:Фонд Викимедиа]]
[[sah:Wikimedia]]
[[sco:Wikimedia]]
[[sq:Wikimedia]]
[[scn:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[si:විකිමාධ්‍ය පදනම]]
[[simple:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[sk:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[sl:Fundacija Wikimedia]]
[[so:Wikimedia]]
[[sr:Задужбина Викимедија]]
[[sh:Wikimedia]]
[[fi:Wikimedia]]
[[sv:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[tl:Pundasyong Wikimedia]]
[[ta:விக்கிமீடியா நிறுவனம்]]
[[tt:Wikimedia]]
[[th:วิกิมีเดีย]]
[[tr:Wikimedia]]
[[uk:Вікімедіа]]
[[vec:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[vi:Wikimedia]]
[[yi:וויקימעדיע פונדאציע]]
[[yo:Wikimedia]]
[[zh-yue:維基媒體基金會]]
[[bat-smg:Vikimedėjė]]
[[zh:维基媒体基金会]]

Revision as of 15:58, 8 December 2009

Wikipedia is not good at all.

F*** Wikipedia

To hell with it

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Foundation&oldid=330474666"