Fundraising

This page is for discussion of carrying out fundraising drives, and gathering related information on meta. See also Category:Fundraising.

Coordinating fundraising

Please subscribe to the mailing list for fundraising discussions, fundraiser (archive): open-subscription and public successor of the now closed fundraising list (which was private, see Mailing lists/Fundraising).

Rationale

Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Chapters operate thanks to donations, by small and large donors. Once a year, a major fundraiser is conducted on all wikimedia projects websites. A site notice is displayed at the top of all pages, inviting readers and writers to donate money to support the projects. As of 2009, the site notice brings the potential donor to a fundraising landing page on Wikimedia Foundation. The fundraising landing page is translated in many languages, the translation being dealt with by volunteers.
Chapters may agree to participate to the fundraiser together with the Wikimedia Foundation. If so, an agreement (private) links the chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation. Landing pages display a different content depending on the IP address of the potential donor (e.g. if a donor is living in Germany, he will be invited to give either to the Wikimedia Foundation or to Wikimedia Germany). Each chapter will conclude an agreement with the Wikimedia Foundation, to establish the redistribution of funds collected during the fundraiser. An updated copy of the agreement can be found here: 2012-13 Fundraising Agreement (Master).

General issues

Some issues to consider:

• How to translate donation messages, How to announce the fund drive in many languages at once
• Where to put translation messages on the main page, on other pages, on talk/user pages?
• How to promote the fund drive outside the wikiverse
• Generate Fundraising ideas
• Funding & fundraising: current practices & ideas: some notes about Rand presentation at Wikimania 2009
• Fundraising facts
• Fundraising Messaging Platform
• /FAQ – a generic (not year-specific) questions and answers document

Fundraising 2012

• Fundraising 2012

Past drives

Fundraising 2011

• Fundraising 2011
• Fundraising 2011/Community FAQ
• Fundraising 2011/Foundation Grants
• Fundraising 2011/Report

Fundraising 2010

• Fundraising 2010
• Fundraising 2010/Report
• Fundraising 2010/Survey

Fundraising 2009

• Fundraising 2009
• Fundraising Survey 2009

Fundraiser 2008

• Fundraising 2008
• Follow up on conclusions reached at Sept. 18 meeting

September/October 2007

• Fundraising 2007

December 2006

• Fundraising/2006

February/March, 2005

We organized a three-week fundraising drive starting Friday, February 18 2005.

• See the Q1 budget for details.
• discussion in September 2005 after the late-August fund

September, 2004

• The September fundraiser, hot on the heels of the 1 million article press release, raised 60,000 USD in 2 weeks.
• Fundraising meeting, September 2004 - the discussion in September of what to do for future drives.

  Log of the discussion on IRC

July 2004

A mid-summer fundraiser for new machines.

December/January 2003/2004

Following a server catastrophe, the first fundraiser brought in ~30,000 USD in about one week.

Earlier drives

• In ages past, The Brion Vibber Laptop Fund brought in more than enough to get Brion a new machine.
• Other developers have their own personal funds set up, if you want to say 'thank you' personally.

Archives

• Fundraising committee : A fundraising committee has been proposed to coordinate fundraisers. Discussion of specific committee proposal started as of late May 2006. As of March 2010, the committee is no longer active.
• Membership (the Wikimedia Foundation is an organization with no membership. Wikimedia Chapters do propose membership)
• Budget : You can also find Wikimedia budget information here, up to forecasts and budget items for Q1 2005.