The new Wikimedia Endowment will try to keep Wikipedia free for another 15 years

By Lulu Chang January 18, 2016

person using wikipedia — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The smartest person you know just turned 15. Well, not a person, but an entity that always seems to have all the answers when you need them most: Wikipedia. And while the digital encyclopedia does have a very annoying gift of spending what seems like a significant portion of the year asking for birthday gifts in the form of cash donations, Wikipedia must’ve done something right this year as it blew out its birthday candles. The Wikimedia Foundation has just launched the Wikimedia Endowment, which will serve as a “permanent safekeeping fund” that hopes to diminish Wikipedia’s reliance upon ad hoc donations. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next decade, “ensur[ing] that Wikipedia lives forever.”

Wikipedia has crossed a number of impressive milestones in the last few weeks, many of which its founders never thought possible. Today, over 36 million articles have been logged, and some 80,000 volunteers make around 15,000 edits and create 7,000 new articles each and every hour. “Wikipedia seemed like an impossible idea at the time — an online encyclopedia that everyone can edit. However, it has surpassed everyone’s expectations over the past 15 years,” co-founder Jimmy Wales told The Guardian.

Recommended Videos

But of course, much of that success has been contingent upon the generosity of its readers. Enter the Endowment. The first $1 million has been donated by the estate of software engineer Jim Pacha, and Wikimedia hopes to attain the rest of the $100 million goal over the course of the next several years, hitting its target by 2026. Thus far, over the course of the site’s history, Wikipedia has managed to raise $250 million through its regular campaigns, but a permanent endowment should provide more stability.

“We have a great fundraising model right now, but things on the Internet change so it’s not something we can count on forever,” said The Wikimedia Foundation’s chief advancement officer Lisa Gruwell. While you won’t be completely rid of those “donations please” banners, you may be able to see a little less of them … if you contribute to the Wikimedia Endowment.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.