Dispelling recent reports that Wikipedia parent Wikimedia Foundation may resort to selling ads to ensure the survival of the the wiki-based nonprofit online encyclopedia, founder Jimmy Wales says current money flow is fine and no ads need be added to the site, reports ArsTechnica.

The renewed discussion over ads being added to Wikipedia comes after Wikimedia Chairwoman Florence Nibart-Devouard said at a trade conference that the site was just a few months away from running out of cash and shutting down. That dramatic statement has since been toned down, but it has reinforced the notion that Wikipedia's ad-free model is unsustainable. Wikimedia has fewer than 10 employees and pays $100,000 a month for bandwidth, depending on donors and volunteer sources for survival.

Weblogs Inc. founder and former CEO Jason Calacanis has speculated that adding only minimal and non-intrusive ads to Wikipedia could bring the site $100 million a year. To date, though, Wales has resisted the idea, saying ads would have to be a measure the Wikipedia community itself decides is necessary and acceptable.

Wikimedia maintains a 3-4 month reserve of cash and, as the article says, the Wikipedia brand is now too powerful to be in real danger of disappearing completely.