Wikimedia South Africa/Reason for being a public benefit organisation

Wikimedia South Africa is a not-for-profit membership organisation that exists to promote free access for all to free knowledge. Both as in free of cost and as in free speech. The organisation also exists to promote the contribution of free knowledge by anyone to the body of free knowledge held on the internet. This includes, but is not limited to, access to the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia as well as to sister projects such as Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and many others. The chapter's activities include supporting volunteer chapter members in activities to grow and contribute to these free knowledge projects as well as encouraging members of the public to make likewise contributions and so the volunteer contributing community. This involves running events that support the growth of the community of volunteers that participates in the free knowledge movement and that grow the body of free knowledge that is freely accessible to the public.

Activities are either done by the volunteer community that forms the base of our membership or are done by appointed administrative representative(s) on behalf of the organisation. The chapter members elect a board of trustees on an annual basis to direct the day-to-day activities of the organisation. These trustees are elected from the community of volunteer chapter members and perform their tasks on behalf of the organisation as unpaid volunteers in service of the free knowledge mission. The scope of Wikimedia South Africa's activities is primarily focused on activities in South Africa, secondarily focused on supporting free knowledge movement in the rest of Africa, and thirdly focused on supporting the free knowledge movement in the rest of the world.

Around 60% of the chapter's time is spent on outreach activities to raise awareness of Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects and encouraging volunteer participation in them. The other 40% of the chapter's time is typically spent on supporting volunteers in those free knowledge projects in their activities as volunteer free knowledge contributors.