In what apparently is one of the most successful fundraisers in Wikipedia parent's - the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation's - history thus far, Wikipedia has collected donations totaling nearly $16 million during the 2010 holiday season.

Talking about the notable fund-raising effort, which helped Wikipedia ring in the New Year on a highly optimistic note, founder Jimmy Wales said in a blog post: "It's so important that we kick the year off just like this: by fully funding the Wikimedia Foundation's budget to support Wikipedia and all the sister projects as we head into the next decade of our work together."

Wales also said: "This year is a little more incredible than most because this year we celebrate Wikipedia's tenth anniversary."

Noting that it is still not too late for people to pitch their contributions, Wales said in the post that the latest fundraiser comprised all the essential components that Wikimedia projects stand for: people coming together, contributing what they can; and the entire effort turning out to be a cooperative stride towards "something amazing."

Disclosing some other important figures, Wales said that the Wikimedia Foundation its ad-free sites had received over 500,000 donations. Almost 130,000 donations were made to local Wikimedia chapters round the world, with the average donation size being nearly $22.