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Not a single one of them had to do it.

So far 356,600 people have donated in our 2010 fundraiser. They didn’t have to. Wikipedia is free -- and it always will be.

Free to access. Free to use any way you want. Free of ads.

But they volunteered to make a small donation (the average so far is around $30) to help the most-visited non-profit website in the world keep operating and keep spreading knowledge.

Most people don’t know this, but I’m a volunteer. I don’t get paid a cent for my work on Wikipedia and neither do our thousands of other volunteer authors and editors.

Wikipedia keeps growing because people keep giving their time and their knowledge, all for the simple joy of sharing.

You’re under no obligation whatsoever to participate in our annual fundraising campaign. Wikipedia is a community resource, there for anyone to use with no strings attached.

But, if you can do it, your tax-deductible donation of $20, $35, $50 or more would really mean a lot. We’re putting on a big push in these final days of December and it would be great if you chose to participate.

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia Founder

P.S. We’ve built Wikipedia one word at a time and we can sustain and support it one donation at a time. Thanks for helping.