The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. The foundation was established in 2003 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The foundation's mission is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally. The foundation operates on a model of open collaboration and decentralized decision-making, with hundreds of thousands of volunteers contributing to its projects. The foundation is funded by donations and grants from individuals, foundations, and corporations.