The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization committed to building a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. All members of the board, management team and staff focus on fulfilling that mission. Wikimedia's flagship project, Wikipedia, has become the largest general reference work ever compiled in human history. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers have contributed more than 14 million encyclopedia articles in 250 languages, all of which can be freely shared and used for any purpose. It is consulted by more than 300 million people every month, making it the fifth most popular web property world-wide. Established in 2003 by Jimmy Wales two years after creating Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation was established to ensure Wikipedia's continued operation under the stewardship of a non-profit organization, funded primarily through direct support from the general public. All of Wikimedia's projects are free of charge and free of advertising.

A young organization, the Wikimedia Foundation is currently building out its management team. It is on the cusp of completing its first-ever strategic plan which will provide high-level direction for the coming five years and will call for significant investment in Wikimedia Foundation program activities. The job of the Chief Development Officer is to grow donations consistent with that need. An expert in online fundraising, the CDO will lead a team of professionals tasked with growing revenues in ways that are consistent with Wikimedia values and culture.

Currently, to support its activities, the Foundation is engaged in a range of fundraising activities. The cornerstone of these activities is an annual giving campaign that invites the vast audience of its projects to enable their continued operation. "Community giving" in Wikimedia's context is defined as individual gifts below $10,000, and these gifts currently average US$33. To a lesser degree, the Foundation cultivates relationships with individual donors, foundations, and strategically aligned business partners. The Wikimedia Foundation has had its main fundraising success inside the United States; however, this is an international organization serving an internationally distributed audience. A strong international perspective with personal experience in cross-cultural communication is extremely important in this position.

The CDO will have a key role in the small, successful team which manages this unique organization. As the executive focused on developing sustainable support for the Foundation, the CDO will report to the Executive Director and work intimately with the core management team, the development team and key Wikimedia volunteers.

In 2008-2009 the organization raised approximately $8.7 million with 64% of the funding stream supplied by the community through small donations. Nonprofit foundation gifts comprise an additional 23%, major gifts 9%, and licensing/royalty agreements of various types comprise 4% of funding.

The Foundation's development department hired its first staff fundraiser only two years ago and the department is expected to mature and evolve. As it develops, the Foundation aspires to fully and authentically integrate fundraising with the rest of the organization. It aims to speak to all stakeholders in a clear and consistent tone, and to offer all supporters a voice in its future. The CDO will expand Wikimedia's online fundraising activities, while ensuring their authenticity.

This is a roll up your sleeves, participatory organization, and teams tend to form flexibly around projects. The Foundation has approximately 25 permanent paid staff, and is expected to grow over the next years as its scope and impact expand. The Board of Trustees is a governance entity, not a fundraising board.

For a full position description or more information, please contact Lisa Grossman or Mark Oppenheim . Additional information on the organization can be found at http://wikimediafoundation.org.