For the original idea, please go here.

5 Days till Christmas – spreading love by supporting Wikipedia

Wikipedia is an online free encyclopedia.

Now sure, you probably already knew that. But did you know the site is run by a non-profit? And that it has remained ad-free since its inception?

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has purposely kept the site free of advertisements. He manages to sustain this popular knowledge site through donations from its readers. In Wales own words, taken from the site:

Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in the world.
Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn’t belong here. Not in Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.
When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission efficiently.

Every year, Wikipedia runs a fundraiser in December. 

And in an effort to keep the site ad-free and user-driven, I donate every year.

For today, I chose to spread the love by donating to a foundation that runs a website I use weekly, if not daily.

If you too would like to donate to keep Wikipedia the helpful resource it is for all of us, you can do so here!

Spread the love. #spreadthelove