We are the people who keep knowledge free. There is an amazing community of people around the world that makes great projects like Wikipedia. We help them do that work. We take care of the technical infrastructure, the legal challenges, and the growing pains.

Host free knowledge projects

The Wikimedia Foundation was established as a nonprofit in 2003 to give Wikipedia a permanent home. We now host 13 collaborative knowledge projects from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, to Wikidata, a set of structured data, and beyond. We maintain the servers, build the software, and design the technology that keep these projects running.

Deliver grants for good

We partner with Wikimedia communities around the world to provide them with the support they need to do great work. Last year we awarded over 9 million USD in grants to Wikimedia community members, affiliates and non-profit organizations. We fund editathons, outreach efforts, events, and conferences. We help them get the word out for free knowledge.

Grow community around the world

When more people can access and contribute to free knowledge, the better that knowledge reflects the world. We are committed to helping grow and sustain a healthy community of over 220,000 people across 170 nations. From the community health initiative to ORES and our work in gender diversity, the Foundation is actively working to make our projects more inclusive.

 

 

Speak up for free knowledge and access

Just 27% of internet users in Nigeria had heard of Wikipedia in 2016. Today, that number is up to 48%. Our organization is committed to increasing awareness of Wikipedia outside of North America and Europe, in order to expand global knowledge participation.

Partner for change

Working with partners like Google, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and UNESCO, Wikimedia actively seeks new knowledge, closing systemic gaps in global understanding of language, culture, and identity.

Fight legal battles to make free knowledge possible

Access to knowledge around the world is under constant attack. At Wikimedia, we work to give access to knowledge to everyone, for free, forever. We fight against censorship, and fiercely promote open licenses to ensure our materials can be used and revised globally.

Connect — Échanger

Stay up-to-date about the Wikimedia Foundation

Get email updates

Subscribe to news about ongoing projects and initiatives.

Contact a human

Questions about the Wikimedia Foundation or our projects? Get in touch with our team.

Help us unlock the world’s knowledge.

As a nonprofit, Wikipedia and our related free knowledge projects are powered primarily through donations.

Donate

Photo credits

Art+Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon

Art+Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon

Jim Henderson

CC BY-SA 4.0