Our History

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) staff started informal discussions on how to accelerate access to the Web for the then 80% of the world not using it, and how accelerate the use of the Web for making positive social and economic change

January-April: Developed concept and plan for creating an international, not-for-profit organization, independent of W3C
April: Presented concept for a World Wide Web Foundation to the W3C Advisory Committee in Beijing, China
May: Tim Berners-Lee and Gary Kebbel, Knight Foundation Journalism Program Director discussed concept for the Web Foundation. Days later, Steve Bratt and Rosemary Leith explored interest with Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation President and CEO and Gary Kebbel
June: World Wide Web Foundation incorporated in the United States
September (14th): Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation President and CEO, announced decision to award a $5 million / 5 year grant to seed creation of the World Wide Web Foundation
September: First meeting of the Friends of the Web Foundation/US Board of Directors
October: Web Foundation received grant from the Knight Foundation to develop a plan creating the new organization

January: First installment of the seed grant received from the Knight Foundation
April: Tax-exempt status granted in Switzerland
April: Tax-exempt status granted in the United States
June: First meeting of the Web Foundation/Switzerland Board of Directors
July: Steve Bratt moves from W3C to become full-time CEO of the Web Foundation and to ramp up creation of the Foundation
November (15th): Tim Berners-Lee announced launch of Web Foundation operations and its first two programs at Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt