Wikipedia was once an impossible dream
Today, it is 25 years of humanity at its best.
Founded on 15 January 2001, this coming year marks Wikipedia’s 25th birthday. With over 65 million articles across 300+ languages, Wikipedia informs everything from day-to-day life and AI chatbots to journalism and trivia wins.
Join us in celebrating what has become the backbone of knowledge on the internet.
Meet some of the humans making it possible
Wikipedia is written, edited, and fact checked by nearly 250,000 people, all volunteers from around the world. This meaningful work continues to ensure that Wikipedia is reliable, well sourced, and from a neutral point of view.
The more humans take part, the better the internet’s knowledge becomes. Get to know the people who are keeping the dream alive.
Help support human knowledge
Wikipedia has no ads and no subscriptions. It is made possible by thousands of volunteers who share their knowledge freely, which means that your support is essential for making every article as accessible as humanly possible.
The majority of our funding is from individual contributions that usually range from $2.75 USD to $25 USD.
Thank you for preserving human knowledge and collaboration online. Here is to the next 25 years and beyond.
25 years of collaboration consensus knowledge at its best
Our birthday is officially on 15 January. Sign up for Wikimedia Foundation updates and join the festivities.
For more details, see our Privacy statement.
We are starting the party early!
Wear your support on your sleeve, cap, or socks with our limited-edition merch. Get ready for 15 January, when we drop a special birthday collection.
The world’s knowledge needs you
Learn about the impact you can make by donating to Wikipedia and what your contribution supports.
7 reasons you should donate to Wikipedia
Did you know that Wikipedia, one of the top ten most-visited websites in the world, is actually run by a nonprofit?
In the AI era, Wikipedia has never been more valuable
Without access to the information on Wikipedia, AI models become significantly less accurate, diverse, and verifiable.
Love Wikipedia? Get to know the nonprofit behind it
The Foundation’s role includes investing in technology, keeping data secure, fighting threats to information, and supporting an active community of volunteers worldwide.
How is Wikipedia funded?
Wikipedia is funded mainly by donations from everyday people who believe knowledge should be free. It’s the only major website run by a nonprofit: the Wikimedia Foundation.
How does the Wikimedia Foundation use donations to Wikipedia?
Among the world’s top ten websites, Wikipedia is the only one run by a nonprofit. The Wikimedia Foundation hosts and protects the Wikimedia projects, while volunteers write, edit, and curate all the content using reliable sources and community-created policies.
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