by Jon Nevett, President and CEO of PIR
Whether it’s a global charity, a local community group, an individual trying to make a difference, or an entrepreneur trying to do well by doing good, the passion to help shape (and in some ways reshape) our world has never been stronger.
Which means at Public Interest Registry, we must continually adapt to ensure that the remarkable people who are making our communities a better place have the platforms they need to establish an online presence and grow their organizations.
For PIR that starts with the .ORG domain, the gold standard for mission-driven organizations. But it doesn’t have to end there. As we have talked with leaders around the world, we’ve learned that they want additional opportunities to enable them to brand, market, and differentiate their organizations.
So during this season of giving, PIR is excited to announce that in the coming months we will add several top level domains (TLDs) to the PIR portfolio, providing a range of complementary platform options for mission-driven organizations to tell their stories, engage with their communities, and strengthen their brands online.
PIR’s planned expansion begins with the acquisition of the brand new TLD – .GIVING – from Giving Limited, which will help mission-driven organizations expand their online presence and achieve their goals.
In addition, PIR will add the .CHARITY, .GIVES, and .FOUNDATION TLDs to its portfolio as part of an agreement with Donuts. The addition of these TLDs will enable mission-driven organizations and leaders to customize their approach, whether they are a non-profit, community organization, or socially conscious entrepreneur.
Taken together, these TLDs can bring together like-minded communities that offer mission-driven organizations and leaders the opportunity to flourish. Given the role these TLDs can play in addressing the world’s most pressing needs, it’s a privilege to be entrusted with their stewardship. This vital trust is at the core of PIR’s mission and daily purpose.
As part of our objective to provide mission-driven organizations options and flexibility, PIR is also making two of the existing TLDs in its portfolio — .NGO and .ONG — easier to use. At the end of 2020, PIR streamlined our validation process so that organizations can acquire and use these domains faster. Building on this change, PIR is now proposing to separate .NGO and .ONG registrations so that an entity will be able to register one without the other. This will make it easier for organizations to support their brands and easier for our registrar partners to offer them.
Once complete, these transactions will be submitted to ICANN for approval, and PIR will provide details to registrars in a number of ways including through an upcoming webinar.
Meanwhile, PIR also made public today that we will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for our Registry Service Provider (RSP) contract in the second half of 2023. Afilias was awarded the RSP contract in 2016 following a competitive process including 20 providers representing 15 countries. PIR anticipates an equally robust selection process in 2023 and we will provide more details in the near future.
Collectively, these actions speak to the mission PIR embraced when it became the steward of .ORG in 2002: to provide an online home and a stable platform for non-profits, NGOs, community-based organizations, social entrepreneurs, and millions more dedicated to helping others and serving communities.
Ultimately, they will help us further our work of supporting mission-driven organizations as they strive to make the world a better place.