Say what you want about some articles or about the whole site in general, but Wikipedia is absolutely awesome; and the fact that they are ad free only contributes to their awesomeness. As you might know, in order to remain ad free, they appeal to people for donations. Founder Jimmy Wales said this year’s (actually last year’s) fundraises campaign was the shortest ever. Over 500.000 people donated, a number roughly double than that of the last year. Donors from 140 countries donated an average of $22, and $13.7 million of the donations came via the Internet, while the rest came from direct checks.

“This outpouring of support by hundreds of thousands of ordinary people from all walks of life is a testament to the spirit of the Wikimedia movement. Wikipedia is a public resource created and maintained by hundreds of thousands of volunteers, relied on by over 400 million people and paid for by half a million donors. It’s truly user-created, supported and maintained.”, concluded Wales

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