Fundraising 2011/Brandon Letter/simple

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I feel like I’m living the first line of my obituary.

I do not think there will be anything else that I do in my life as important as what I do now for Wikipedia. We’re not just making an encylopedia, we’re working to make people free. When we have access to free knowledge, we are better people. We understand the world is bigger than us, and we become infected with tolerance and understanding.

Wikipedia is the 5th most visited website in the world. I work at the small non-profit that keeps it on the web. We don’t run ads because doing so would loose our independence. The site is not and should never be used for propaganda.

Our work is possible because of donations from our readers. Will you help protect Wikipedia by donating $5, €10, ¥1000 or whatever you can afford?

I work at the Wikimedia Foundation because everything in my soulsoul tells me it’s the right thing to do. I’ve worked at large technology companies, doing some job to build some crappy thing that’s designed to steal money from some kid who doesn’t know it. I would come home from work feeling crushed.

You might not know this, but the Wikimedia Foundation operates with a very small staff. Most other top-ten sites have tens of thousands of people working for them and massive budgets. But they produce a very small amount of what we pull off with limited resources.

When you give to Wikipedia, you’re supporting free knowledge around the world. You’re not only leaving a legacy for your children and for their children, you’re helping people all around the world who have access to this treasure. You’re making sure that one day everyone else will too.

Thank you,

Brandon Harris
Programmer, Wikimedia Foundation