If you came to this article, it’s likely the season again. The season of giving (or begging depending on your perspective).
We have all seen “for the price of a cup of coffee” banners on Wikipedia, asking to donate to the cause. But, do your donations actually go to Wikipedia?
I have been one of the most vocal critics of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind numerous projects that include Wikipedia. Recently I wrote an article about the fundraising activities of the Wikimedia Foundation and how it threatened to run advertising if people do not donate to their cause. My contention has always been that Wikipedia will never run advertising, despite the message that it will use the donations it receives to help fund the online encyclopedia “ad free” for another year.
As stated before, do not be fooled.
Despite being a critic of Wikipedia (at times), I am not here to tell you NOT to donate to the cause. In fact, I support you doing so if that is your wish.
What I will do however, is break down the fundraising campaigns so you can see where your money actually goes. You can then make the decision to donate if you like.
Side note – Believe it or not, I actually donate to the Wikimedia Foundation. No joke. I decide to give them love each year despite my cynicism.
How Your Money is Spent by the Wikimedia Foundation:
Wikipedia is constantly flying a banner near the top of its pages that asks people to donate to its cause. This includes money to maintain servers, pay staff and implement programs.
The message makes it seem like the money is being spent for the operation of Wikipedia, but many people do not realize that Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation are not the same.
Wikipedia is website. The Wikimedia Foundation is a nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia. The Foundation also operates other websites (or projects) such as Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and WikiVoyage.
So, does the money you donate go to Wikipedia?
Well, sort of. Some of the money does, but what is used for Wikipedia is chump change compared to where the rest goes.
In fact, from the graph below, you can see that approximately 50% of its 2011-2012 budget was spent on staffing for the Wikimedia Foundation. Keep in mind that it does not pay Wikipedia editors so none of the salary money goes to updating and maintaining the site.
This number is only for salaries and does not include travel expenses (6%) or volunteer & staff development (3%). This does not seem like outrageous spending as it is one of the top 10 websites in the world. Remember though that the majority of the work for the Foundation is done by volunteers.
How Much Money Does the Wikimedia Foundation Have?
The Register ran a story in 2014 about the finances of the Wikimedia Foundation, pointing out that the Foundation is sitting on $60 million (that’s $60,000,000 for those who like to see the zeros). Author Andrew Orlowski points out that the Foundation is spending $19 million on salaries. This is approximately $5 million more than it spent on salaries for staff in 2011-2012. The great part about the entire article is that it coincides with the Foundations most recent campaign of raising funds on the site.
Since I originally wrote this article in 2014, the Foundation has been blessed with even more donations.
According to its consolidate balance sheet for 2021-2022, it had $250 million in total assets. That’s right, $250,965,442 to be exact. They even had enough to invest $141 million.
So how much did it receive in donations? Hope you are sitting down.
$160 million!!
Salaries in 2014 accounted for about 1/3 of donations, but in 2022 it accounted for about 1/2 ($160 million in donations with $88 million being paid in salaries).
While there is no line item for Wikipedia, it does show that close to $3 million was spent on “internet hosting” which is likely to host all projects combined (including Wikipedia and all other projects).
Where Does the Money Go?
Wikipedia is managed by volunteer editors, administrators, and various other editors who rank somewhere in the hierarchy of the site. They work hard to keep the website up to date, but spend quite a bit of their time policing the site for vandalism or edits that do not coincide with their point of view. So again, the salaries that the Foundation pays are NOT for Wikipedia editors. The only people who are paid to edit Wikipedia are people such as myself who are not affiliated in any way with the Foundation.
In 2013, outgoing Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner was critical of the way the Foundation was spending its money, stating that less of the Foundation’s money should be spent on programs for local chapters.
Wait. Local programs?
Exactly.
A portion of donations are used to fund projects that are proposed by Wikipedia editors, including Foundation employees, individuals, non-profit organizations, and any company that is good enough to submit a proposal through the Foundation’s simple application process.
What type of programs you ask? Well, let’s take a look at a few that were funded with donations to the Foundation:
- Travel & Participation Grants – Money provided to Wikipedia editors for travel and accommodations to represent the Wikimedia Foundation (“ambassadors”) at various functions throughout the world. Here is a list of previously funded projects.
- Individual Engagement Grants – Given to individuals and teams who propose projects that support the Foundation’s mission. An example is Wikipedia’s “Visual Editor,” a funded proposal that was a huge failure. Follow this link for a list of known problems with the project. For a list of current Individual Engagement Grants being considered, follow this link.
- Project and Event Grants – This is Wikimedia’s way of giving your donation to other non-profit organizations, individuals, and companies who proposed projects are “mission-aligned” with the Foundation. One such project was sending two Wikipedia editors to the funeral of Nelson Mandela. Success of the project? Well, according to the report, they were able to “[capture] photographs, two videos and wrote an article for Wikinews.” Not taking away from the situation, but I am sure that the AP and hundreds of other qualified media outlets were able to take quite a few more photos, many more videos, and wrote hundreds of more articles than these two Wikipedians (and it didn’t cost the Foundation a dime for the AP to do the job). I’m thinking about submitting my proposal to document this year’s Super Bowl. After all, there are pictures and videos that could be contributed to Wikipedia and I will even bring my own camera.
- Annual Plan Grants – The final way your donation is spent. I’m getting tired of typing and no one cares anyway. If you are interested, you can find out more at this link.
Here is a list of funded and non-funded projects if you are still interested in how the Wikimedia Foundation wastes your donation.
So needless to say, more of your donations go to funding other nonprofit organizations and projects than actually go to Wikipedia.
Will Donating to the Wikimedia Foundation Help You Get a Wikipedia Page?
Short answer is, “No!”
This question always drives me crazy.
Some clients actually tell me they donated to the Foundation thinking that it would help their chances of getting a Wikipedia page. Now, that’s not the Foundation’s fault as it is up to people donating to do their homework. But, as you will see later when I discuss complaints from volunteer editors, the donation banners can be misleading to people.
So again, the Foundation is not Wikipedia. Yes, it runs it, but that is mainly maintaining its servers. The volunteers do the heavy lifting. So, money going to the Foundation does not influence the volunteer editors to help you out.
In fact, even some of the volunteers are fed up with the fundraising efforts.
Even Volunteer Wikipedia Editors are Sick of the Fundraising:
The banners on Wikipedia are somewhat of a distraction for readers. But, they have become a thorn in the side for volunteer editors of the site.
Yes, Wikipedia editors actually took a vote.
“Nearly all participants agreed that the banner texts are at least partly untruthful, and that soliciting money by misleading readers is an unethical and inappropriate use of this project.” – Wikipedia request for comment on banners for fundraising campaign.
There are two main reasons why the complaints come from volunteer editors.
The first is that they see the Wikimedia Foundation isn’t as focused on Wikipedia and is more of a fundraising arm for other organizations. The other is that it really is a pain when the popups happen while they are editing. After all, they are there to volunteer their time, not play whack-a-mole with ads.
No One is Paying Attention Anyway:
Either no one is paying attention or no one really cares.
I compare the donation drives to a beggar on a street corner who drives away in a Mercedes after a day of collecting money from people who feel sorry for them. Still, people give the money even though they may feel in their heart that the person begging doesn’t really need it. And no, I’m not cold-hearted – there are needy people – focus on the point here, people.
Few publications picked up the story from the Register which was published in 2014. It was not until the last couple of years that the media has become somewhat critical of the Foundation’s donation drives as well. Even so, people are reading the stories and donating anyway.
Hell, even me writing this article still donates. Go figure.
So, next time you are thinking about donating to the Foundation, or any non-profit for that matter, do a little research to find out how much money they really need, have, and what it will be spent on. You may find out that your donation is going to something completely different than what you intended. Or, it is simply helping a foundation become a large bureaucracy that is not needed to accomplish its goals.