TechMiso

Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, reached out to the world last year and asked for volunteer donations in support of his massive online encyclopedia operations. He did this with hopes of funding 6 million USD for their 2009 fiscal operations. They made it. And it was no small feat [for a non-profit] considering costly requirements like these-

• Nearly three million USD in projected technology costs
• Almost two million USD in projected accounting and administration costs
• Salary for 23 folks on staff
• 300+ servers on the farm
• And more

One of the most respectable moves a company can make in gaining outside interest and support is to display their operations as transparent as possible. Wikipedia [does] and did a great job conveying their transparency through info pages like their annual fiscal plan document or their frank Q&A page.

Interestingly, Wikipedia admits not having a budget plan per se until fiscal 07-08. And they also show that their books from 2006 to 2009(projected) reveal significant increases in spending — definitely a noteworthy trend as it was uncovered quickly after the first budget plan.

Wikipedia’s apparent spending increase uncovers another meaningful point — that spending increases after first implementing a budget plan may indicate an organization is making up lost ground. That in fact spending was ‘needed,’ but the ‘need’ went unrecognized or was not clearly identified. Certainly a positive side-effect of installing a budget.

In any regard, the benefits of transparency outweigh any of its drawbacks. Wikipedia saw a windfall of support with making company financials [and strategies] available to the masses. Jimmy Wales’ skillful appeal was ultimately met with a huge capital injection [donated] by Wikipedia followers.