October 16, 2012 at 07:06Patrons of Wikipedia. Who are they?
- Transfer
Note by the translator . When asked what prompted you to make a philanthropic contribution in support of Wikipedia, people most often call: 1. a desire to help a common cause (37%) and 2. a personal appeal from Jimmy Wells (34%). Moreover, in Russia, the most popular motive is precisely the appeal of the Wikipedia founder: 75% of respondents from Russia made a contribution due to the fact that they saw his personal appeal. It’s also interesting that from all countries, namely in Russia, most people don’t know that Wikipedia exists on patronage contributions of users - 64% of those polled.
We recently completed our annual fundraising campaign, which turned out to be very successful . More than one million of our patrons from various countries are a rather diverse and interesting group in itself. Since we are not collecting any personal data in the background, we resorted to a survey of Wikipedia readers to understand who our patrons are and what motivates them to make contributions in support of Wikipedia.
Please note that these results were obtained on the basis of a small sample from our entire readership, and not from actual data:
1. About half of our readers understand that Wikipedia is a non-profit project, and editors are much more inclined to make a donation.
2. The appeal of Jimmy WalesIs a popular reason people donated, but its role varies from region to region.
3. About a quarter of our respondents said they would make a contribution, while readers from the United States, Egypt, and India are more likely than readers from other countries.
4. Readers call personal financial difficulties the main reason why they do not make a contribution.
Many of our readers simply do not know that Wikipedia is a non-profit project supported solely by public donations. On average, 47% of our readers do not know this. This lack of awareness is especially high in Russia (64%), Brazil (56%) and the USA (56%). Readers in India (61% are aware of the nonprofit status of Wikipedia) and Egypt (70%) were more informed. Academic educated readers were more aware of this. Given that Wikipedia has more than 400 million unique visitors per month, this means that a significant number of people use Wikipedia, completely unaware of its non-commercial nature.
Interestingly, 28% of readers who edited Wikipedia articles also do not know that this is a non-profit project.
At the same time, editors are more willing to make a donation - 26% of them made a contribution, while among readers who never made edits, only 3% turned out to be such. And while almost all non-editors donated three times or less, 21% of editors donated more than five times.
Further, although men made single donations more often than women (44% versus 36%), more often women made repeated donations. And 14% of them made contributions more than five times, and among men there were only 6% of such patrons.
Donations to regional offices were also rare - only about 3% of our readers made them. Again, editors (22%) made contributions with a much greater probability.
As two main reasons why they made donations, Wikipedia readers said: “I felt that a small amount would be claimed” (37%) and “I saw the appeal of Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia)” (34%). However, 61% of philanthropists from Canada said that making a donation for them is an opportunity to take part in a common cause, since they never edited the encyclopedia, and 75% of readers from Russia made a contribution because they saw Jimmy’s appeal. Interestingly, up to 15% of patrons decided to make a contribution at the request of friends in social networks.
What motivated you to make a Wikipedia donation?
As mentioned earlier, many readers are unaware of the nonprofit status of Wikipedia. After reminding that Wikipedia 1. is supported by charitable contributions, 2. does not use advertising, and 3. sets as its mission the dissemination of free knowledge around the world, 24% of them said they would make a contribution. Readers in India (42%), Egypt (33%) and the United States (33%) expressed a stronger desire to make a donation. Portuguese respondents (33%) were also more inclined to make a donation. Respondents from Germany (13%), France (11%), and Japan (15%) were relatively less likely to contribute. As expected, editors were much more inclined to support the project - 49% of them said they would make a contribution.
About 46% of readers who donate do not say they can afford it. One possible explanation may be the fact that people simply don’t know that the contribution can be for any amount - the most frequent contributions during the 2010 campaign were $ 20, $ 5 and $ 10. (Data for 2011 are still not available, but preliminary indicators suggest that this time, too, these contributions were prevailing). The high value of the dollar can also have an effect - 68% of readers from Japan and 57% of readers from India indicated financial constraints. But 60% of readers from the UK also indicate this reason.
Why did you decide not to make a donation in support of the Wikimedia Foundation? Please check all that apply.
Mani Pande, Head of Global Development
Research Ajush Hannah , Analyst, Global Development
We recently conducted an online Wikipedia reader survey, limited to 250 participants in each of 16 countries. This is the eighth blog post in a series of publications about our findings . If you are interested, you can learn more about the survey methodology here .
Who are the Wikipedia philanthropists? Replies from a readership survey.
We recently completed our annual fundraising campaign, which turned out to be very successful . More than one million of our patrons from various countries are a rather diverse and interesting group in itself. Since we are not collecting any personal data in the background, we resorted to a survey of Wikipedia readers to understand who our patrons are and what motivates them to make contributions in support of Wikipedia.
Please note that these results were obtained on the basis of a small sample from our entire readership, and not from actual data:
1. About half of our readers understand that Wikipedia is a non-profit project, and editors are much more inclined to make a donation.
2. The appeal of Jimmy WalesIs a popular reason people donated, but its role varies from region to region.
3. About a quarter of our respondents said they would make a contribution, while readers from the United States, Egypt, and India are more likely than readers from other countries.
4. Readers call personal financial difficulties the main reason why they do not make a contribution.
1. About half of our readers understand that Wikipedia is a non-profit project, and editors are much more likely to make a donation.
Many of our readers simply do not know that Wikipedia is a non-profit project supported solely by public donations. On average, 47% of our readers do not know this. This lack of awareness is especially high in Russia (64%), Brazil (56%) and the USA (56%). Readers in India (61% are aware of the nonprofit status of Wikipedia) and Egypt (70%) were more informed. Academic educated readers were more aware of this. Given that Wikipedia has more than 400 million unique visitors per month, this means that a significant number of people use Wikipedia, completely unaware of its non-commercial nature.
Interestingly, 28% of readers who edited Wikipedia articles also do not know that this is a non-profit project.
At the same time, editors are more willing to make a donation - 26% of them made a contribution, while among readers who never made edits, only 3% turned out to be such. And while almost all non-editors donated three times or less, 21% of editors donated more than five times.
Further, although men made single donations more often than women (44% versus 36%), more often women made repeated donations. And 14% of them made contributions more than five times, and among men there were only 6% of such patrons.
Donations to regional offices were also rare - only about 3% of our readers made them. Again, editors (22%) made contributions with a much greater probability.
2. The appeal of Jimmy Wales is a popular reason why people donated, but its role varies from region to region.
As two main reasons why they made donations, Wikipedia readers said: “I felt that a small amount would be claimed” (37%) and “I saw the appeal of Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia)” (34%). However, 61% of philanthropists from Canada said that making a donation for them is an opportunity to take part in a common cause, since they never edited the encyclopedia, and 75% of readers from Russia made a contribution because they saw Jimmy’s appeal. Interestingly, up to 15% of patrons decided to make a contribution at the request of friends in social networks.
What motivated you to make a Wikipedia donation?
3. About a quarter of our respondents said they would make a contribution, while readers from the United States, Egypt, and India are more likely than readers from other countries.
As mentioned earlier, many readers are unaware of the nonprofit status of Wikipedia. After reminding that Wikipedia 1. is supported by charitable contributions, 2. does not use advertising, and 3. sets as its mission the dissemination of free knowledge around the world, 24% of them said they would make a contribution. Readers in India (42%), Egypt (33%) and the United States (33%) expressed a stronger desire to make a donation. Portuguese respondents (33%) were also more inclined to make a donation. Respondents from Germany (13%), France (11%), and Japan (15%) were relatively less likely to contribute. As expected, editors were much more inclined to support the project - 49% of them said they would make a contribution.
4. Readers call personal financial difficulties the main reason why they do not make a contribution.
About 46% of readers who donate do not say they can afford it. One possible explanation may be the fact that people simply don’t know that the contribution can be for any amount - the most frequent contributions during the 2010 campaign were $ 20, $ 5 and $ 10. (Data for 2011 are still not available, but preliminary indicators suggest that this time, too, these contributions were prevailing). The high value of the dollar can also have an effect - 68% of readers from Japan and 57% of readers from India indicated financial constraints. But 60% of readers from the UK also indicate this reason.
Why did you decide not to make a donation in support of the Wikimedia Foundation? Please check all that apply.
Mani Pande, Head of Global Development
Research Ajush Hannah , Analyst, Global Development
We recently conducted an online Wikipedia reader survey, limited to 250 participants in each of 16 countries. This is the eighth blog post in a series of publications about our findings . If you are interested, you can learn more about the survey methodology here .