Craig Newmark has given much to the world of open-source and free information in the past. Now the founder of craigslist and craigconnects is giving to the future of Wikipedia, which he says “is where facts go to live.”
Newmark is giving one million dollars—the largest gift yet—to the Wikimedia Endowment, the fund announced earlier this year as a permanent source of funding to ensure Wikipedia thrives for generations to come.
“Wikipedia is a record of what happened and what is happening in the world, and we need that historical record to make good decisions,” Newmark said, stressing that he values Wikipedia as a crowdsourced, iterative news source of facts and information. “Wikipedia’s democratic process allows everyone to contribute, but requires verifiable sources. That is vital at a changing time in our media culture. Wikipedia has the potential to become the people’s newspaper of record.”
This gift from Newmark serves as a cornerstone for the Wikimedia Foundation’s efforts to ensure Wikipedia and its sister projects thrive for generations to come. “Craig’s generosity reflects his deep personal commitment to free information for everyone,” said interim Executive Director Katherine Maher. “He is a great friend to the Wikimedia movement, and the people everywhere who share in our values.”
The Wikimedia Foundation’s goal is to raise $100 million over the next 10 years, to aid in further empowering people around the world to create and contribute free knowledge, and to make that knowledge accessible to every person on the planet.
Newmark began craigslist in 1995 as an email distribution list to friends. The online classified ad index and craigslist community spans 70 countries. Craig’s civic engagement platform, craigconnects, created in 2011, seeks to identify, connect, and promote organizations uniting the world for the common good using the Internet.
Marc Brent, Endowment Director
Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister projects. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.
The purpose of the Wikimedia Endowment is to serve as a perpetual source of support for the operation and activities of Wikipedia and its sister projects. It will empower people around the world to create and contribute free knowledge, and share that knowledge with every single human being. The Endowment has been established, with an initial contribution by Wikimedia Foundation, as a Collective Action Fund at Tides Foundation. Tides is a public charity with a 40-year track record of holding and managing charitable funds for nonprofit organizations. An Advisory Board, nominated by the Wikimedia Foundation and appointed by Tides, will make recommendations to Tides related to the Endowment. Tides or the Wikimedia Foundation may choose to transfer the Endowment from Tides to the Wikimedia Foundation, or other charities identified by the Wikimedia Foundation. At that point, the Endowment would continue to be a permanent, income-generating fund to support the Wikimedia projects.
Please visit our website for more information on the Wikimedia Endowment.
