 In June 2003 Wikipedia was transferred to a nascent non @-@ profit organization , the Wikimedia Foundation , which was formed as a charitable institution to supervise Wikipedia and its associated wiki @-@ based sites . When the foundation was established , its staff began to solicit public funding and Bomis turned Wikipedia over to the non @-@ profit . All Bomis @-@ owned hardware used to run Wikipedia @-@ associated websites was donated to the Wikimedia Foundation , and Wales transferred Wikipedia @-@ related copyrights from Bomis to the foundation . It was first headquartered in St. Petersburg , Florida , where Bomis was located . The foundation shifted Wikipedia 's dependence away from Bomis , allowing it to purchase hardware for expansion . 
