Wikipedia Foundation

Wikipedia Foundation. The organization was founded by Jimmy Wales and is supported by Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. The foundation is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has partnerships with Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia France, and Wikimedia UK. The foundation's work is also supported by Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation, and Open Society Foundations.

● History

The Wikipedia Foundation was established on June 20, 2003, by Jimmy Wales and is a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation's early development was influenced by Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, and Eric Raymond. The organization's first employee was Brion Vibber, who worked on the development of MediaWiki, a software used to power Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, and other Wikimedia projects. The foundation has also worked with Yahoo!, eBay, and Craigslist to promote the use of Creative Commons licenses. The foundation's history is also closely tied to the development of the Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, and Google Books.

● Mission

The mission of the Wikipedia Foundation is to support the development of Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and other Wikimedia projects, which provide free access to knowledge and information to people around the world, including those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The foundation's mission is also supported by UNESCO, World Bank, and European Union. The organization works to promote the use of free and open-source software, such as Linux, Apache, and MySQL, and to support the development of open educational resources, such as OpenStax and Khan Academy. The foundation's mission is also aligned with the goals of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation.

● Governance

The Wikipedia Foundation is governed by a board of trustees, which includes Jimmy Wales, Dariusz Jemielniak, and Esra'a Al Shafei. The board is responsible for setting the foundation's strategic direction and overseeing its operations, in consultation with Advisory Board members, such as Mitch Kapor and Rebecca MacKinnon. The foundation also has a number of committees, including the Audit Committee and the Finance Committee, which are responsible for overseeing the organization's financial management and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, such as the US Internal Revenue Code and the General Data Protection Regulation. The foundation's governance structure is also influenced by the principles of transparency and accountability, as promoted by Transparency International and Open Government Partnership.

● Finances

The Wikipedia Foundation is a non-profit organization that relies on donations to support its operations, including from individual donors, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Pierre Omidyar, and institutional donors, such as Ford Foundation and Knight Foundation. The foundation's finances are audited annually by KPMG and are available for review on the foundation's website, which is hosted by Wikimedia Labs and Amazon Web Services. The foundation's budget is also influenced by the currency exchange rates and the global economy, as reported by International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The foundation's financial management is also guided by the principles of financial sustainability and social responsibility, as promoted by Social Accountability International and Global Reporting Initiative.

● Activities

The Wikipedia Foundation supports a wide range of activities, including the development of new features and tools for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, such as Wikidata and Wikivoyage. The foundation also provides grants and funding to support the development of new projects and initiatives, such as Wikimedia Education and Wikimedia GLAM. The foundation works with a number of partners, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, to promote the use of free and open-source software and to support the development of open educational resources. The foundation's activities are also influenced by the principles of collaboration and community engagement, as promoted by Ashoka and Skoll Foundation.

● Criticisms

The Wikipedia Foundation has faced a number of criticisms and controversies over the years, including concerns about the accuracy and reliability of Wikipedia content, as reported by The New York Times and The Guardian. The foundation has also faced criticism for its handling of conflicts of interest and its treatment of editors, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. The foundation has responded to these criticisms by implementing new policies and procedures, such as the Conflict of Interest policy and the Editor Conduct policy, and by increasing transparency and accountability in its operations, as promoted by Transparency International and Open Government Partnership. The foundation's criticisms are also influenced by the principles of media literacy and critical thinking, as promoted by Pew Research Center and Knight Foundation. Category:Non-profit organizations