Wikipedia meets $16M fundraising goal ... the hard way

Paul McNamara- Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced over the weekend that his organization has reached its $16 million annual fundraising goal.

The good news, according to Wales, is that the donations will enable Wikipedia to remain free of advertising. ...

More than 500,000 donations averaging $22 apiece were made to the Wikimedia Foundation, while local Wikipedia chapters generated another 130,000 gifts worldwide. Impressive by any measure, but a shaky foundation on which to place what has become a priceless Internet showcase (and, yes, I'm well aware of Wikipedia's shortcomings; they're minor compared to its overall value). ...

In an earlier post pleading for donations Wales wrote:

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. ...

via Buzzblog: Wikipedia meets $16M fundraising goal ... the hard way | Network World.