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I started Wikipedia in 2001, and since then I've been amazed and humbled to see hundreds of thousands of volunteers join with me to build the largest encyclopedia in human history.

I've learned plenty of new things from Wikipedia over the past few years. Maybe you have, too – whether to study for school, settle a bet, or just satisfy your curiosity. And one of the biggest lessons for me has been this: everyone can contribute.

I don't just mean the generous people who freely share their knowledge by creating new articles, or the editors who devote their time to updating and cleaning up the information on Wikipedia. I mean everyone. I mean you.

Today I'm asking you to contribute to Wikipedia by making a donation to the Wikimedia Foundation.

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. It's proof of our collective potential to change the world.

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.

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's where we're headed. You can help us get there.

Everyone can contribute. Will you make your contribution today?

Jimmy Wales

Founder, Wikipedia