Mr. Wales

Thanks in part to a personal appeal from co-founder Jimmy Wales, the Wikimedia Foundation surpassed its goal of raising $6 million to keep Wikipedia in business.

Wikipedia is a dynamic online encyclopedia, populated and edited by its readers. Because the information it contains is robust and oft-updated, many of its pages rank within the top three organic results in search queries for a panoply of topics. Some believe it is only a matter of time before the site — which relies heavily on donations — succumbs to the thrall of online advertising.

In an appeal to would-be donors, Wales argued, "Wikipedia is more than a website. We share a common cause: Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's our commitment."

The institution raised $6.2 million in toto from 125,000 donors worldwide. (About $2 million was raised in the eight days following Wales' message.) According to Wales, the money will help "improve the software that runs Wikipedia" and "cover the increasing cost of managing global traffic."

Wales' position as Community Founder Trustee on the Wikimedia Foundation's board was set to expire on December 31, 2008. On the 28th, board chair Michael Snow announced Wales had been unanimously reappointed.

Other reappointments to the board included Vice Chair Jan-Bart de Vreede and Treasurer Stu West.