Google Co-Founder Gives $500,000 to Wikimedia Foundation
Since the Wikimedia Foundation (home of
Wikipedia) is a not-for-profit, it survives by annual fundraisers. Google
co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki (23andMe co-founder) used
their Brin Wojcicki Foundation to grant $500,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation.
The Wikimedia Foundation kicked off its 8th annual fundraiser on November 16,
2011 and raised $1.2 million the first day.
Most people don't realize that
unlike most other Social Media sites, the Wikimedia Foundation is not
generating profits rather it relies on contributions. The Wikimedia
Foundation is a 501(c)(3) for tax purposes. That means the Wikimedia Foundation
does not operate to make a profit and does not pay taxes, and contributions to the
Wikimedia Foundation are tax deductible.
According to a Wikimedia
Foundation press release from Sue Gardner (the Executive Director) announcing
the Brin Wojcicki Foundation grant:
The
Wikimedia projects currently reach more than 477 million unique visitors around
the world every month (comScore, October 2011), making Wikipedia the fifth
most-popular web site in the world.
This
is how Wikipedia works: people use it, they like it, and so they help pay for
it, to keep it freely available for themselves and for everyone around the
world. I am very grateful to Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki for supporting what
we do.
Interesting blog
on the New York Times included this comment:
Google
and Wikipedia haven't always been friends. In 2007 Google introduced a service
called Knol, which was seen by many as a Wikipedia competitor. There were
concerns at the time that Google would highlight Knol rankings in its search
results, pushing Wikipedia aside. But Knol didn't fare well online and has
grown slowly.
The Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia expanded credibility
by its alignment
with the Smithsonian Institution, and other contributions from mainstream
business.
Visit Peter Vogel's Internet,
Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog
For more information about LexisNexis products and solutions connect with
us through our corporate
site.
Posted
Mon, Nov 21 2011 9:30 AM
by
Peter S. Vogel
Filed under: google, wikipedia, eCommerce, Peter Vogel, Wikimedia Foundation, Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe, Brin Wojcicki Foundation
