Wikimedia Deutschland/Plan 2026/Business Plan 2026
| Strategic Goals | Programs & Success Criteria | Functional Teams | Business Plan 2026 |
The budget plan sets out what income and expenses we expect for the organization and the non-profit Wikimedia Fördergesellschaft mbH in 2026 and how these are composed.
The supervisory Board approved the budget plan for 2026 on December 2, 2025. Questions or comments about the plan can be posted on the discussion page.
More information on what we will use the planned funds for in 2026 and what goals we want to achieve can be found on the Strategic direction and Programs page & success criteria pages (see above).
The costs for public relations and advertising have fallen by 1.0%, while administrative costs have risen by 16.5% compared to the previous year.
The “public relations, advertising, and administration” ratio is 20.9%, which represents a slight decrease compared to the 2025 business plan. Project funding accounts for 23% of total revenue.
| 2026 - PLAN | WMDE | WMFG | Adjustments | Consolidated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 28.353.188 € € | 11.395.058 € | -7.615.058 € | 32.133.188 € |
| Donations | 14.675.000 € | 3.780.000 € | 0 € | 18.455.000 € |
| Donations (recognised as expense) | 13.687.866 € | 11.395.058 € | -7.615.058 € | 17.467.866 € |
| Membership dues | 7.000.000 € | 7.000.000 € | ||
| Project support WMF | 7.033.479 € | 7.033.479 € | ||
| Project support third parties | 351.843 € | 351.843 € | ||
| other | 30.000 € | 30.000 € | ||
| Inheritances | 250.000 € | 250.000 € | ||
| Expenses | -28.353.188 € | -11.395.058 € | 7.615.058 € | -32.133.188 € |
| Strong Infrastructure | -3.352.042 € | -395.409 € | -3.747.451 € | |
| Thriving and stable communities | -5.039.834 € | -5.039.834 € | ||
| Diversity | -1.537.280 € | -1.537.280 € | ||
| Usage and access | -2.946.723 € | -2.946.723 € | ||
| Advocacy | -1.285.347 € | -1.285.347 € | ||
| Public relations and advertising | -3.575.804 € | -3.575.804 € | ||
| Administrative expenses | -3.001.100 € | -151.649 € | -3.152.749 € | |
| Forwarding of funds WMF | -10.848.000 € | -10.848.000 € | ||
| Forwarding of funds WMFG | -7.615.058 € | 7.615.058 € | 0 € |
Additional information
- Donations: The accounting standard HFA 21, which Wikimedia has applied for years, stipulates that donations are only recognised as income once they have been spent. For better understanding, a presentation of the flow of donations has been added. This shows how many donations have not yet been utilised, how many donations have been received from which source and how many donations have been used.
- Membership fees: Around 114,000 members and supporting members contribute to the financing with their membership fees.
- Projectfunding: Under this position we plan the funds we receive from third parties, like foundations.
- General public relations and advertising & administrative costs: The expenses that are allocated to the respective expense category according to the usual standards in the non-profit sector are planned here.
- Adjustments: Payments between Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. and Gemeinnützige Wikimedia Fördergesellschaft mbH are shown in the ‘Adjustments’ column.
| Donation flow 2026 | WMDE |
|---|---|
| Unused donations 1.1. | 11.570.579 € |
| direct donations received | 14.675.000 € |
| donations received from WMFG | - € |
| use of donations in 2026 | - 13.937.866 € |
| unused donations 31.12. | 12.307.712 € |
| Creation of reserves | 737.134 € |
| Distribution by personnel and material costs 2026 | Total | Personnel costs | Material costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Infrastructure | 3.747.451 € | 2.196.963 € | 1.550.488 € |
| Thriving and stable communities | 5.039.834 € | 3.456.902 € | 1.582.932 € |
| Diversity | 1.537.280 € | 1.227.246 € | 310.034 € |
| Usage and access | 2.946.723 € | 2.134.059 € | 812.663 € |
| Advocacy | 1.285.347 € | 941.624 € | 343.724 € |
| Public relations and advertising | 3.575.804 € | 1.756.852 € | 1.818.952 € |
| Administrative expenses | 3.152.749 € | 1.907.039 € | 1.245.710 € |
| Total | 21.285.188 € | 13.620.684 € | 7.664.503 € |
| Expenses by department | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Communities & Engagement | 2.799.629 € |
| Communications & Advocacy | 3.609.019 € |
| Software Development - Product Development | 3.312.049 € |
| Software Development – Engineering | 3.637.623 € |
| Department of the Executive Board | 2.512.615 € |
| Finance & Operations | 5.414.252 € |
| Total for Departments | 21.285.188€ |
| Forwarding of funds WMF | 10.848.000 € |
| Expenses (Total) | 32.133.188€ |
| Personnel (Full-Time Equivalents) | 31.12.2026 |
|---|---|
| Communities & Engagement | 25,9 |
| Communication & Advocacy | 29,3 |
| Software Development - Product Development | 37,2 |
| Software Development - Engineering | 42,8 |
| Department of the Executive Board | 17,4 |
| Supervisory Board | 0,8 |
| Finance & Operations | 30,4 |
| Total | 183,8 |
(incl. working students, without interns)