Financials and leadership – Wikimedia Foundation

Transparency is a core principle of the Wikimedia Foundation, and we are proud to be recognized as one of the most transparent non-profit organizations in the world. Our annual plan and operating budget are developed through open processes, subject to community feedback and Board approval, and always available to the public for review.

Expenses

We show our financial activity in two key programmatic areas: how donor contributions support the Wikimedia community and the Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia.

These efforts are supported by our organization’s administrative and fundraising activities.

July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018

i. Direct support to websites - 40%

ii. Direct support to communities - 34%

iii. Administration and governance - 14%

iiii. Fundraising - 12%
40% Direct support to websites

Keeping the Wikimedia websites online is about more than just servers. It also includes ongoing engineering improvements, product development, design and research, and legal support. Wikipedia is one of the top 10 websites in the world, and it runs on a fraction of what other top websites spend.
34% Direct support to communities

The Wikimedia projects exist thanks to volunteer communities around the world that create and maintain them. We strengthen these communities through grants, programs, events, trainings, partnerships, tools to augment contributor capacity, and support for the legal defense of editors.
12% Fundraising

Wikimedia is supported entirely by donations. Millions of remarkable individuals and institutions contribute financially to ensure that we have the necessary resources to continue our global mission.
14% Administration and governance

We manage funds and resources responsibly to recruit and support skilled, passionate staff who advance our communities and values. Other top websites have thousands of employees. We have 350+ staff and contractors to support a wide variety of projects, making each donation a great investment in a highly-efficient not-for-profit organization.
Charity Navigator

We're proud to say that Charity Navigator awarded us with an overall score and rating of 96.15 for our financial, accountability, and transparency practices.

Balance sheet – Audited (USD)

June 30, 2018

Assets

Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	73,900,242
Restricted cash	852,369
Current portion of contributions receivable	250,000
Short-term investments	50,555,375
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	3,268,111
Total current assets	128,826,097
Property, plant, and equipment, net	6,326,918
Long-term investments	10,697,763
Total assets	145,850,778

Liabilities and net assets

Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	3,400,188
Accrued expenses	4,912,160
Other liabilities	2,588,860
Total current liabilities	10,901,208
Total liabilities	10,901,208

Net assets:
Unrestricted	132,849,282
Temporarily restricted	2,100,288
Total net assets	134,949,570
Total liabilities and net assets	145,850,778

Statement of Activities – Audited (USD)

July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018

Unrestricted net assets

Support and revenue:
Donations and contributions	97,748,964
In-kind service revenue	2,781,234
Foreign currency gains	251,596
Other income, net	140,870
Investment income, net	835,304
Release of restrictions on temporarily restricted net assets	2,747,815
Total support and revenue	104,505,783

Expenses:
Salaries and wages	38,597,407
Awards and grants	13,555,339
Internet hosting	2,342,130
In-kind service expenses	2,781,234
Donation processing expenses	4,512,139
Professional service expenses	7,059,832
Other operating expenses	7,033,513
Travel and conferences	2,389,279
Depreciation and amortization	2,903,910
Special event expense, net	267,482
Total expenses	81,442,265
Increase in unrestricted net assets	23,063,518

Temporarily restricted net assets

Contributions	1,303,670
Release of restrictions on temporarily restricted net assets	(2,747,815)
Decrease in temporarily restricted net assets	(1,444,145)
Increase in net assets	21,619,373
Net assets at beginning of year	113,330,197
Net assets at end of year	134,949,570

Foundation leadership

"What internet do we want? How do we want these platforms to behave? What culture do we wish to create? We are shaping that future today." –Katherine Maher, Wikimedia Foundation Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

2017–2018 Board of Trustees

María Sefidari Huici

Chair

Christophe Henner

Vice Chair

Esra'a Al Shafei

Kelly Battles (term concluded in July 2018)

Tanya Capuano

Dr. James Heilman

Dr. Dariusz Jemielniak

Lisa Lewin

Raju Narisetti

Nataliia Tymkiv

Jimmy Wales

Alice Wiegand (term concluded in July 2018)

See the current Board of Trustees.
2019 Leadership team

Katherine Maher

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Janeen Uzzell

Chief Operating Officer

Lisa Seitz-Gruwell

Chief Advancement Officer

Toby Negrin

Chief Product Officer

Heather Walls

Chief Creative Officer

Valerie D’Costa

Chief of Community Engagement

Jaime Villagomez

Chief Financial Officer

Tony Sebro

Interim General Counsel

Joady Lohr

Chief Talent and Culture Officer

Erika Bjune

Interim Chief Technology Officer

See our current leadership.