Apparently, fundraising banners will be back on Monday, asking for money for the Endowment.

The Endowment, started in 2016, was originally envisaged to raise $100 million by 2026. It reached its target this June, five years early:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/2020-21_Report#W...

Here are some more facts and figures – with sources for your reference, in proper Wikipedia style.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the Wikipedia platform (but does not write or curate the content, a bit like YouTube provides the platform, but users provide the content), is constantly looking for revenue growth and has been very successful in that endeavor.

They just released their 2020/2021 audited financial statements:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/1e/Wikim...

These show:

– Total assets (p. 2): $240 million (not counting the $100+ million in the Wikimedia Endowment)

– Increase in net assets over the previous year (p. 3): $51 million

– Total support and revenue in 2020/21 (p. 3): $163 million

Their own original revenue year goal for 2020/2021 was $108 million:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikimed... (first quarter)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wikimed... (fourth quarter)

For 2021/22, the revenue goal is $150 million; that is almost a 40% increase over the previous year's (far exceeded) goal of $108 million:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Medium-...

The Wikimedia Foundation's VP of Engineering and Development said in 2013 that Wikimedia's mission would be sustainable on $10+ million p.a.:

https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2013-March...

Today a Wikimedia fundraising manager thinks a billion a year would not be too much:

https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@list...

The Wikimedia Foundation's top fundraising manager's salary increased by 50% in four years, to $252k plus $33k "other" compensation in 2019 (the latest figure available):

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_salarie...

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200...

The wording on the fundraising banners has always been controversial with the unpaid volunteers who write the articles, with the Wikimedia Foundation accused of manipulative tactics or outright lying to the public:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/12...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2...

The Wikimedia Foundation has never struggled financially, but has always wanted to grow its organisation. It has beaten its own revenue record every year of its existence and added over 500 paid staff since Wikipedia first became a top-ten website. Further details are available in the following article:

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wikipedia-endownemnt-fundrais...

To support this financial growth, the banners have over time become ever larger and more guilt-inducing and nagging. Wikipedians by now are fed up, especially given the perceived mismatch between the Foundation's wealth and the language, size and design of the banners:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fundraising#(more_pile-...