Wikipedia hits 2009 funding target

$6 million raised for 2009

2 January 2009 17:22 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Good news for fans and users of online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, as it's been revealed that the site has raised enough cash to keep going next year.

There were doubts that Wikipedia was going to to reach the $6 million required to run the online resource, and pay its 23 staff, but a pre-Christmas push has brought more money in.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, wrote an open letter asking for donations in order to keep the site advertising-free, stating: "Like a national park or a school, we don't believe advertising should have a place in Wikipedia".

When Wales' appeal was issued, the site still needed around $3 million but his lofty letter seems to have worked, maybe with lines like the following tugging consciences around the world:

"But 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".

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