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For some people, Wikipedia just doesn’t compute.

They can’t understand how it came to exist in the first place, how it stays so active and vibrant – and how it has ended up playing a daily role in so many people’s lives.

It’s the 5th most popular website in the world. But, the other four have been built and maintained with billions of dollars in investment, huge corporate staffs and relentless marketing.

Wikipedia isn't a commercial website. It's a community creation, written by volunteers making one entry at a time. No ads. No profits. No agenda.

More than 380 million people use Wikipedia every month - almost a third of the Internet-connected world. You are part of our community.

Every time you use Wikipedia, you’re taking advantage of a remarkable pool of human knowledge that has been compiled, maintained, and refined for the simple purpose of sharing. But, you’re also reinforcing the idea that people all over the world can come together and create something remarkable.

Each year at this time, we reach out to ask you and others all across the Wikipedia community to sustain our joint enterprise with a modest donation of $20, $35, $50 or more.

We need to protect the space where this important work happens. We need to protect Wikipedia. We want to keep it free of charge and free of advertising. We want to keep it open – you can use the information in Wikipedia any way you want. We want to keep it growing – spreading knowledge everywhere, and inviting participation from everyone.

Thank you for playing a critical part in the success of Wikipedia – and for what I am sure will be a thoughtful response to this special request.

All the best,

Jimmy Wales

Founder, Wikipedia

P.S. Wikipedia is about the power of people like us to do extraordinary things. People like us write Wikipedia, one word at a time. People like us fund it, one donation at a time. It's proof of our collective potential to change the world.