I assume most of you at least occasionally read one of the Wikimedia
websites so probably saw this in a sitenotice, but I thought it was a
very well done appeal, concisely highlighting exactly what we do, why
it's different than what most people do, and why we're worth donating
to, so worth pointing out:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate/Letter/en
Worriers about the perennial suggestions to put advertising somewhere on
the site(s) might also like what appears to be the closest to a no-ads
pledge I've seen so far: "Like a national park or a school, we don't
believe advertising should have a place in Wikipedia".
-Mark