Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not here to tell the world about your noble cause

Main article: Master-slave morality

For the failed guideline on notability of royalty, see Wikipedia:Notability (royalty).

Charitable or public-minded intentions, such as this gentleman appears to have, do not obviate the need to show notability in a Wikipedia article.

Wikipedia attracts many people who want to advertise companies or individuals, with a view to increasing their customer base and hence their profits. Inappropriate articles that are blatant advertising are eligible for speedy deletion on that basis; inappropriate external links should be removed, since Wikipedia isn't to be used for spam.

However, inappropriate promotion need not be about profit. It may take the form of promoting a charitable, non-profit, or quasi-charitable organisation, such as a community group. Even when the cause that the group advocates is noble, the usual Wikipedia principles about the acceptability of an article apply. The group must be "notable", with reliable and independent secondary sources to show it. As User:Blanchardb once said,

... nobility is not the same as notability, and [...] non-profit organisations are subjected to our spam and notability guidelines just the same as for-profit companies, no matter how noble their goals are.

A caution for Wikipedia editors not involved with the cause

Experienced editors not involved with the cause in question may suspect the new user of having a close connection with it. Such editors should respond carefully, to ensure that by alleging or deciding that the group is not "notable" by Wikipedia's standards, they do not suggest to the new user that the cause for which the group works is unimportant.

Writing about a non-profit organisation

Before starting an article on a non-profit organisation, please keep in mind the following:

1. An article about a non-profit organisation should be about the organisation itself, not about the cause it supports. See coatrack articles. The details of the cause should be covered in the cause's article.
2. It is not enough that the cause be notable: the organisation itself must meet our notability guidelines. The greenhouse effect is notable, but this does not mean Wikipedia should have articles about each local chapter of the Sierra Club, or about other organisations competing with it for attention.
3. Organisations that have a limited scope and work towards a specific local cause (such as the preservation of a local street park) usually fail Wikipedia's notability guidelines if the cause they advocate is not notable in its own right.
4. If an organisation exists solely to support a cause for which there is no article in Wikipedia, it is usually better to start an article on the cause than on the organisation.
5. Contact information and other information on how to donate time, money, etc., to a non-profit organisation is better left on the organisation's website, not in its Wikipedia article (if any). There are scores of free webspace providers out there; Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia, not one of them.
6. Raw mission statements are often regarded as inherently promotional. In most cases, it is better to state them not in terms of intent, but rather in terms of past achievements.

See also

• Wikipedia:Alternative outlets - places to (possibly) tell the world about your noble cause
• Wikipedia:Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions#It contains valuable information
• Wikipedia:Existence ≠ Notability