Nonprofit Tech for Good and Public Interest Registry Release Inaugural “NGO Online Technology Report”

[news release] Nonprofit Tech for Good and Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .org, .ngo and .ong domains, have announced findings of the inaugural â2016 Global NGO Online Technology Reportâ which uncovers how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are using digital tools to communicate with their supporters

In addition to revealing how NGOsâ online communications, online fundraising, and social media usage vary by continent, the report includes insights collected from donors on their giving preferences to help NGOs to optimize their own fundraising strategies.

The report details the findings from a survey of 2,780 NGO representatives from 133 countries conducted in late 2015. While digital platforms and social media are popular with NGOs in Australia & Oceana, Europe and North America, the survey found that NGOs in markets with a growing Internet infrastructure â including Africa, Asia and South America â are not using these tools as frequently. Other findings include:

90 percent of NGO respondents maintain a website and 70 percent of respondents use a .org domain
Three-fourths of NGO respondents stated that they regularly send email updates to donors and supporters
46 percent of respondents stated that they maintain their own blogs
78 percent of respondents agreed that social media is effective for online fundraising
While nearly all NGO respondents maintain a presence on social media, only 11 percent of respondents assign a full-time or part-time social media manager and 15 percent of respondents rely solely on volunteers

âThere are myriad of digital tools available to NGOs around the world that can be used to engage the public. What we found in our research, however, is that economic and political factors and the quality of Internet infrastructure in each region affects how NGOs use these tools and how donors in each region respond to them,â said Nonprofit Tech for Good founder Heather Mansfield. âThis worldwide research report was a huge undertaking, but a necessary one as the NGO sector becomes more diverse and global in scope.â

The report also includes insights from 355 donors from 27 countries who were surveyed about their giving preferences. Despite generational differences, many donors are evolving their giving behavior as they become more adept and have more trust in online technology:

62 percent of respondents prefer giving through online channels while 23 percent prefer direct mail and six percent prefer mobile apps or text message
While Millennials are most inspired to give by social media content (43 percent), email content was cited as being most inspirational to Gen Xers (26 percent) and Baby Boomers (30 percent)

âUntil now, there has been very little research on how effectively NGOs are using technology on a global scale,â said Public Interest Registry CEO Brian Cute. âAlongside Nonprofit Tech for Good, we at Public Interest Registry sought to address this gap and provide NGOs with the resources and insights they need to strengthen their online presence. Ultimately, while NGOs of all sizes are always looking for new ways to engage their followers and the public online, the 2016 Global NGO Online Technology Report found that having a solid website is still one of the most crucial aspects in gaining trust from your donors.â

For more information on the surveyâs findings and to download the full report, visitÂ techreport.ngo.

About Nonprofit Tech for Good

With 100,000 monthly visitors and more than one million followers on social networks, Nonprofit Tech for Good is a leading social and mobile media resource for nonprofit professionals. Created and managed by Heather Mansfield, Nonprofit Tech for Good focuses on providing valuable, easy-to-understand information, news, and resources related to nonprofit technology, online communications, and mobile and social fundraising.

This news release was sourced from:
http://pir.org/nonprofit-tech-for-good-and-public-interest-registry-release-inaugural-ngo-online-technology-report/

Daily Wrap: $33m .ORG Registry Contract Up For Grabs, Rightside, .EU, .MUSIC Community Application Fails

Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .org, .ngo and .ong domains, announced they are putting out to tender the back-end registry services for its top level domains

Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .org, .ngo and .ong domains, announced they are putting out to tender the back-end registry services for its top level domains.

According to research by Domain Incite, the contract has been worth over $30 million a year to the current registry operator Afilias. Afilias received $33.2 million in 2014 and $31 million in 2013.

Rightside, the registry operator for 40 new gTLDs, the largest being .rocks, .news and .ninja, with 448,000 domains under management, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of and full year 2015.

“In Q4, and for the full year of 2015, Rightside achieved strong financial results as we continued to execute on our mission of advancing the way businesses and consumers define and present themselves online.Â We achieved record revenue in the fourth quarter closing the full year 2015 with 11% total revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA of $4.8 million,” said Chief Executive Officer Taryn Naidu.

“Looking ahead to 2016, we are excited about our portfolio of 39 new gTLDs and the future growth opportunities as we continue to invest in market development initiatives that drive heightened awareness and growing usage for new gTLDs by consumers and businesses. We are focused on improving profitability by driving margin expansion and growth in our Registry and retail business lines and implementing cost efficiencies throughout the business,” Naidu continued.

EURid has published its latest progress report for the .eu registry. During Q4 2015, the number of .eu registrations increased by 7,937 domain names, a net increase of 0.2%, to 3.87 million.

During the last quarter of 2015, the total number of .eu registrations increased in 25 of the 31 EU member states and eligible EEA countries. The last quarter was also characterised by the announcement of the completion of the IDN ccTLD Fast Track for the .eu in Cyrillic, the second successful edition of the .eu Web Awards and the launch of the IDN World Report in partnership with UNESCO.

The full report is available for download on EURidâs Quarterly progress reports page.

Following on the failure for the community applicant for .gay to attain community status, the community application for .music has also failed to attain community status [pdf]. According to the evaluation, the application received 10 out of 16 points in its evaluation but requires 14 to pass. The application failed on the âcommunity establishmentâ criteria, receiving zero out of four points. This criteria requires âa clear, straightforward membership definition and there must be awareness and recognition of a community among its members.â And there must have been âpre-existenceâ of the community prior to September 2007.

It does appear that the application requirements have not taken into account how community groups operate and one would think this is a massive failure on behalf of ICANN when devising the new gTLD programme.

.ORG Registration Growth Plateaus, While .NGO/.ONG Starts Strongly

Growth in .org domain name registrations continue to grow, but in the last three years growth has slowed. But it does continue to grow according to the latest âThe Dashboard,â a biannual report from the not-for-profit registry operator Public Interest Registry

The Dashboard reveals steady growth in the .org domain, which now boasts 10,547,247 domains under management, and also highlights the immediate popularity of .ngo and .ong. Within the first two months, and as of 30 June, alone, 2,344 .ngo/.ong bundles were registered around the globe.

The .ngo and .ong domains became available during the May launch of OnGood, a suite of online services exclusively for NGOs and nonprofits to help strengthen their online presence, improve visibility, and better connect with supporters. Designed to be the first global directory of NGOs, OnGood uniquely requires that all members undergo a validation process, giving donors the added assurance that their donations are going to a genuine cause. As detailed in The Dashboard, donors can now support diverse causesâfrom education to human rights to religionâacross six continents.

Meanwhile, the .org domain continued its trajectory of continuous growth with 130,865 additional registrations over the last 12 months, bringing the total domains under management (DUM) to 10,547,247.

Other findings outlined in The Dashboard include:

while .ngo and .ong experienced popularity across numerous and diverse fields, children and youth, education, and health and nutrition are the three causes that are most commonly supported by the domains
.org registrations in international markets demonstrate steady growth, particularly in Asia where China has 3.2 percent and Japan has 3 percent of the total .org registrations worldwide
after a year hiatus, India jumped back into the top 10 list of .org registrations by country, ahead of Spain, with 1.8 percent of worldwide .org registrations
registrants are renewing their .org registrations at an average rate of 73.7 per year.

âThe successful launch of OnGood has brought together thousands of nonprofit and NGO leaders around the world, helping to empower their voices and share their stories,â said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. âThe continuous growth of the .org domain, and the early adoption of the .ngo and .ong domains is a clear indication that organizations and individuals around the world understand the need for global collaboration and collective empowerment to successfully serve the public interest. We look forward to helping NGOs worldwide further achieve their goals as we continue to expand our portfolio of online resources.â

In The OnGood Dashboard, Public Interest Registry provides an overview of its NGO community outreach efforts, which include webinars and online learning activities that have already been enjoyed by more than 18,000 participants. It also includes commentary from leaders at prominent, international NGOs â Kokoda Track Foundation, Gestos and Peuple Solidaire â detailing the positive impact of OnGood on their missions.

The .org Dashboard contains information about happy30th.org, which launched in celebration of the first .org domain registration on July 10, 1985. The anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the 30th year, and organizations using the .org domain are encouraged to share their stories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by tagging their photos and videos with #ORGinAction, or to submit their .org websites directly on happy30th.org.

For more information on The Dashboard or to download a copy, please visit www.pir.org/dashboard.

.NGO And .ONG gTLDs Now Available To Non-Profits Globally

The new .ngo and .ong domains commenced General Availability Thursday for non-profits worldwide and Public Interest Registry â the nonprofit operator of the .org domain â is officially launching OnGood. OnGood is a suite of online services exclusively for NGOs and nonprofits to help strengthen their online presence, improve visibility, and better connect with supporters

While many new gTLDs have been introduced over the past few months, Public Interest Registry is taking a different approach to the .ngo and .ong domains and introducing a validated resource for NGOs to connect and improve their online presence. As the first online global directory of NGOs, the OnGood suite not only gives NGOs the chance to connect and collaborate amongst themselves, donors and supporters online, it also allows donors to feel confident that their contributions are going to a genuine cause â all OnGood members must undergo a validation process to use the .ngo and .ong domains.

More information is in the news release below:

New .ngo and .ong Domains Now Available to NGOs Worldwide
Public Interest Registry Launches OnGood Community Website to Connect NGOs with Donors and Supporters

After three years of research and development by Public Interest Registry, the nonprofit operator of the .org domain, OnGood is now generally available to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) worldwide. Anchored by the new .ngo and .ong domain bundle, OnGood is a suite of online services exclusively for NGOs and nonprofits to help strengthen their online presence, improve visibility, and better connect with supporters.

Designed to be the first online global directory of NGOs, OnGood brings these organisations together through the .ngo and .ong domain names â brand new, exclusive domain names only available to validated NGOs. Now, registrants have the opportunity to create a customisable online profile to showcase their missions, campaigns, multimedia content and other information, and even collect donations. Additionally, Internet users around the globe can easily search OnGood for organisations of interest, while having the reassurance that websites ending in .ngo and .ong represent genuine, lawful and independent NGOs.

“Since its inception, the Internet has been a forum to share information and connect with others, giving NGOs a much needed platform to promote their missions. But the landscape has become increasingly cluttered, making it difficult for Internet users to determine which organisations are truly trustworthy,” said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. “After speaking with more than 16,000 fellow NGOs and nonprofits in more than 40 countries, we learned that credibility was one of their biggest challenges, so we developed OnGood to be part of the solution. By combining the value of a validated domain name identity with a comprehensive community website, OnGood will be the online home for nonprofits and NGOs of all sizes.”

In the United States alone, there are an estimated 1.5 million nonprofit organisations. According to the 2014 Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report, online giving was up 8.9 percent in 2014, compared to the overall giving increase of 2.1 percent. With the increase of mobile Web access, it’s likely this number will continue to rise, making it important for organisations to have a strong online presence. OnGood helps NGOs enhance their online identity so they can be easily found and raise funds.

Upon registration, members receive the .ngo domain name and the .ong domain name as a bundle. Both .ngo and .ong are reflective of the abbreviations for the term “non-governmental organization” â NGO for English and ONG for romance languages. For each domain bundle registration, members receive one profile page in the OnGood directory, allowing them to have different pages for various causes and campaigns, and the ability to link them or keep them separate.

Internet users can use OnGood to search for NGOs by cause, geography, keyword and more. Search results display in multiple viewing options based on user preferences, including a global map. OnGood is optimized for desktop, tablet and mobile viewing and is available in five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

To become OnGood members, all NGOs must meet specific eligibility requirements and undergo a validation process. Public Interest Registry worked closely with the global NGO community to develop a validation process which requires all OnGood members to: (1) act in the public interest; (2) be non-profit-making; (3) have limited government influence; (4) be comprised of independent staff or members; (5) be actively pursuing their missions; (6) operate in a structured manner; and (7) be lawful. Ongoing audits will be conducted to ensure the credibility of the OnGood community and users will be able to report questionable activity.

For more information, please visit OnGood at www.OnGood.ngo. To register for OnGood, please visit an accredited registrar.

About Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry is a nonprofit organisation that operates the .org top-level domain â the world’s third largest “generic” top-level domain with more than 10.5 million domain names registered worldwide â and the newly launched .ngo and .ong domains and OnGood community website. As an advocate for collaboration, safety and security on the Internet, Public Interest Registry’s mission is to empower the global noncommercial community to use the Internet more effectively, and to take a leadership position among Internet stakeholders on policy and other issues relating to the domain naming system. Public Interest Registry was founded by the Internet Society (internetsociety.org) in 2002 and is based in Reston, Virginia, USA.

PIR Announce Official Launch Dates For .NGO and .ONG

The Public Internet Registry has announced the definitive launch dates for the validated .ngo and .ong domains

The Public Internet Registry has announced the definitive launch dates for the validated .ngo and .ong domains!

They are as follows:

Sunrise (available to brands and trademark holders): March 17
Limited Registration Period: April 21
General Availability: May 6

For more information,Â see the PIR blog post for more details on these dates and what they mean for you and your organisation.

Introducing OnGood: Public Interest Registry’s New Brand Identity for .NGO And .ONG

[news release] Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .org domain, today unveiled âOnGoodâ â the new brand identity for the upcoming .ngo & .ong domains and their accompanying suite of services. Set to launch in early 2015, OnGood is an online community designed with and for NGOs and nonprofits worldwide, providing them with a suite of online services to help raise funds, build awareness and support for their missions

After conducting extensive research and in-person workshops with NGOs worldwide, Public Interest Registry, the operator of the .org domain Registry, landed upon the name OnGood ââ to reflect a full suite of services that complements the .ngo & .ong domain names. As an online community helping to garner greater visibility for nonprofits and NGOs worldwide, OnGood embodies the spirit of Public Interest Registry and the organisationâs continued commitment to empowering nonprofits and NGOs worldwide by helping them tell their story online.

âOnGood goes beyond traditional domain name services; weâre launching an online community,â said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. âWhen we began developing the .ngo & .ong domains, we knew there was an opportunity to create a dedicated online space for nonprofits and NGOs around the globe. Our team has poured their heart and soul into OnGood, and after two years of hard work, weâre excited to see it launch in the new year.â

OnGood is exclusively for NGOs and nonprofits of all sizes and reach. By joining the community, OnGood members are able to create a unique profile page that is featured in the searchable directory open to the public through the OnGood community website. Members will be able to showcase causes, share activities and information, and collect donations. OnGoodâs validation process reassures Internet users worldwide that website addresses owned by OnGood members ending in .ngo and .ong represent genuine NGOs.

This PIR news release was sourced from:
pir.org/introducing-ongood-public-interest-registrys-new-brand-identity-for-ngo-ong/

.NGO/.ONG Registry Agreement Amendment – Mandatory Technical Bundling of Second-Level Domains

Purpose (Brief): On 12 March 2014, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the registry operator for .NGO and .ONG TLDs, submitted a Registry Services Evaluation Policy (RSEP) request [PDF, 23 KB] to offer mandatory technical bundling of second level domain names for .NGO and .ONG under Exhibit-A of each respective Registry Agreement. PIR has defined a technical bundle as a set of two domain names in different TLDs, with identical second level labels

In accordance with the RSEP, PIR’s request [PDF, 23 KB] was posted for public information and ICANN‘s preliminary determination identified that the proposed registry service might raise significant stability or security issues. The RSEP request was referred to the Registry Services Technical Evaluation Panel (RSTEP) for further evaluation and resulted in a RSTEP report concluded that from a technical evaluation perspective, the proposal does not create “a reasonable risk of a meaningful adverse effect on stability of security” as defined in the RSEP. The RSTEP report and staff also identified several potential technical and implementation questions associated with introducing the proposed new registry service to the DNS. The RSEP proposal and RSTEP report was published for public comment as required by the RSEP. No comment was received for either public comment periods.

On 9 September 2014, the ICANN Board adopted the findings in the RSTEP report that PIR’s proposal does not create “a reasonable risk of a meaningful adverse effect on stability or security”, and approved PIR’s request related to the introduction of the registry service to support the mandatory technical bundling of second level domain names for .NGO and .ONG. Furthermore, the ICANN Board authorized the President and CEO, or his designee(s), to develop an amendment to implement the new registry service that takes into account and appropriately addresses the related outstanding technical and implementation questions.

Accordingly, ICANN worked with PIR to clarify the outstanding technical and implementation questions. As a result, ICANN is now publishing the .NGO and .ONG Registry Agreement amendments for public comment to obtain community input on the proposed amendment. In consideration of previous public comment periods relating to this request, which included a 50-day public comment period for the RSEP proposal and a 15-day public comment period for the RSTEP Report, the public comment period for the .NGO/.ONG Registry Agreement Amendments will be 30-days to provide the community an additional opportunity to provide input.

Public Comment Box Link: www.icann.org/public-comments/ngo-ong-amendment-2014-11-06-en

Comment Period Opens on 6 November 2014.

The above ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-11-06-en

.NGO/.ONG Registry Agreement Amendment – Mandatory Technical Bundling of Second-Level Domains

Follow Updates

1. Comment Phase

Ends 26 Nov 2014

2. Reply Phase

Ends 6 Dec 2014

3. Report

Evaluation and Decision

During this phase your comments are reviewed by the body that asked for input/feedback and evaluations are made about how to proceed based on the comments.

Brief Overview

On 9 September 2014, ICANN Board authorized the President and CEO to develop amendments to the .NGO and .ONG Registry Agreements between ICANN and Public Interest Registry (PIR) to implement the mandatory technical bundling registry service. The proposed amendments being published for comment take into account and address the outstanding technical and implementation questions that were identified as part of the Registry Services Evaluation Process.

Comment Period: 6 Nov 2014- 26 Nov 2014

Reply Period: 27 Nov 2014- 6 Dec 2014

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose

On 12 March 2014, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the registry operator for .NGO and .ONG TLDs, submitted a Registry Services Evaluation Policy (RSEP) request [PDF, 23 KB] to offer mandatory technical bundling of second level domain names for .NGO and .ONG under Exhibit-A of each respective Registry Agreement. PIR has defined a technical bundling as “the process of managing a Technical Bundle,” which a Technical Bundle is defined as “a set of two domain names in different TLDs, with identical second level labels for which the following parameters are shared:

Registrar Ownership
Registration and Expiry Dates
Registrant, Admin Billing, and Technical Contacts
Name Server Association
Domain Status
Applicable grace periods (Add Grace Period, Renewal Grace Period, Auto-Renewal Grace Period, Transfer Grace Period, and Redemption Grace Period)

And for which at least the following parameters are unique:

DS records as required based on RFC 5910″.

In accordance with the RSEP, PIR’s request [PDF, 23 KB] was posted for public information and ICANN‘s preliminary determination identified that the proposed registry service might raise significant stability or security issues. The RSEP request was referred to the Registry Services Technical Evaluation Panel (RSTEP) for further evaluation. The RSTEP report concluded that the proposal does not create “a reasonable risk of a meaningful adverse effect on stability of security” as defined in the RSEP. The RSTEP report and staff identified several potential technical and implementation questions associated with introducing the proposed new registry service to the DNS. This included the implications of unbundling of .NGO and .ONG, potential registrant and/or end user confusion, equivalency issues being discussed within the context of IDN variants, and other operational concerns. The RSEP proposal and RSTEP report was published for public comment as required by the RSEP. No comment was received for either public comment periods.

Accordingly, ICANN and PIR agreed to the proposed amendment language to identify that the operations of the top-level domain in the TLD Bundle must be identical, and that all services, actions, changes, decisions, requirements, and etc. that are implemented that impact any one top-level domain in the TLD Bundle must also be applied to all other top-level domains in the TLD Bundle. To further satisfy the outstanding technical and implementation questions, the amendment language covers specific services, actions, changes, decisions, and requirements in more detail.

Section II: Background

On 12 March 2014, Public Interest Registry (PIR) submitted a Registry Services Evaluation Policy (RSEP) request to offer mandatory technical bundling of second level domain names for .NGO and .ONG under Exhibit-A of each respective Registry Agreement. On 21 May 2014, ICANN staff posted the RSEP request for public information and conducted its review of the request under the RSEP. On 4 June 2014, ICANN staff’s preliminary determination did not identify any significant competition issues. Separately, ICANN staff determined that the proposed registry service might raise significant stability or security issues, and informed PIR of the need to refer the proposal to the Registry Services Technical Evaluation Panel (RSTEP) for further evaluation. On 6 June 2014, ICANN referred PIR’s RSEP request to the RSTEP for further evaluation. On 10 June 2014, ICANN posted PIR’s RSEP request for public comment. The public comment concluded on 30 July 2014 and no public comments were received. On 29 July 2014, the RSTEP report was posted for public comment. The public comment period concluded on 13 August 2014 and no public comments were received. The RSTEP report concluded that from a technical evaluation perspective, the proposal does not create “a reasonable risk of a meaningful adverse effect on stability or security” as defined in the RSEP Policy related to the introduction of the registry service to support the mandatory technical bundling of second level domain names for .NGO and .ONG. The RSTEP report and staff also identified several potential technical and implementation questions associated with introducing the proposed new registry service to the DNS, including: implications of unbundling of .NGO and .ONG; potential registrant and/or end user confusion; equivalency issues being discussed within the context of IDN variants; and other operational concerns.

Section III: Relevant Resources

ICANN Board Resolution on 9 September 2014: https://www.icann.org/resources/board-material/resolutions-2014-09-09-en#3.a
Proposed Amendment [PDF, 100 KB] to .NGO Registry Agreement
Proposed Amendment [PDF, 100 KB] to .ONG Registry Agreement

Section IV: Additional Information

RSEP Webpage: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/rsep-2014-02-19-en
RSEP Policy: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/policy-bd-2012-02-25-en
Public Interest RegistryRSEP request posted for public information on 21 May 2014: https://www.icann.org/en/resources/registries/rsep/pir-request-21may14-en.pdf [PDF, 23 KB]
Letter to Public Interest Registry re: RSTEP referral Registry 4 June 2014: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/papac-to-coon-04jun14-en.pdf [PDF, 318 KB]
Letter from Public Interest Registry re: RSTEP referral 5 June 2014: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/diaz-to-papac-05jun14-en.pdf [PDF, 85 KB]
Letter to RSTEP 6 June 2014: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/papac-to-chapin-06jun14-en.pdf [PDF, 950 KB]
Public Comment for .NGO and .ONG Registry Services Evaluation Process Request â Introduction of Technical Bundling: https://www.icann.org/public-comments/tech-bundling-2014-06-10-en
RSTEP Review Team Report â Redacted 24 July 2014: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/rstep-technical-bundling-proposal-redacted-24jul14-en.pdf [PDF, 1.02 MB]
Public Comment on RSTEP Review Team Report 29 July 2014: https://www.icann.org/public-comments/rstep-technical-bundling-2014-07-29-en

This second ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/public-comments/ngo-ong-amendment-2014-11-06-en

Public Interest Registry Seeks Leaders To Serve On Its NGO Community Advisory Council

The Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .org domain, announced that it is accepting nominations from individuals to join the Public Interest Registry NGO Community Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council helps Public Interest Registry better serve the users of .ngo|.ong by providing input on issues facing the NGO community.

For more information, see the news release below:

Public Interest Registry Seeks Leaders To Serve On Its NGO Community Advisory Council
Call for Nominations is Now Open for Candidates to Advise Registry on Issues within the NGO Community

Public Interest Registry â the not-for-profit operator of the .org domain â today (1 October) announced it is accepting nominations from individuals to join the Public Interest Registry NGO Community Advisory Council. As part of the Advisory Council, members will provide input on issues facing the NGO (non-governmental organisation) community to help Public Interest Registry better serve users of .ngo|.ong â soon-to-be-launched top-level domains intended exclusively for NGOs across the globe.

Today through October 31, 2014, interested individuals can nominate themselves or other candidates to serve in one of the seven open positions on the Advisory Council. The role of the Advisory Council is to focus on the unique issues of the NGO community, ranging from policy to the introduction of new services. Members are expected to provide input on new policies, strategies and services to advance .ngo|.ong as a thriving non-commercial Internet community.

âBefore we pursued the development of .ngo|.ong, we at Public Interest Registry traveled all around the globe to meet with NGOs about their online challenges and how these new domain extensions could be beneficial,â said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. âThe NGO Community Advisory Council will help us continue this effort by ensuring that NGOs have active representation in the decision making process of the .ngo|.ong suite of online services.â

With the .ngo|.ong domain, NGOs of all sizes and reach will have access to an exclusive online identity and membership to a community website with a searchable directory to improve visibility, raise funds and connect with other NGOs. The validation process â managed by Public Interest Registry â reassures Internet users worldwide that websites with .ngo and .ong identities represent genuine NGOs.

Advisory Council members will represent a diverse spectrum of the non-commercial community, chosen from each of the following seven regions: Asia; Oceania; Africa; Europe; North America; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Middle East and North Africa. Members will be drawn from various sectors of the non-commercial community such as educational, artistic, cultural, human rights, political, religious and scientific sectors. Advisory Council members will serve a three-year term beginning in December 2014.

Eligible candidates should have significant leadership experience in the nonprofit and NGO arena, an acute understanding of the issues and policies that affect the community, and an affinity with the values of Public Interest Registry. Candidates should submit their expression of interest detailing their experience, expertise and qualifications online at pir.org/ngo-community-advisory-council-nominations.

The above news release was sourced from:
pir.org/public-interest-registry-seeks-leaders-to-serve-on-its-ngo-community-advisory-council/

ICANN: Public Comment Invited: .NGO and .ONG Registry Services Evaluation Process Request – Introduction of Technical Bundling

Public Interest Registry, the registry operator for .NGO and .ONG TLDs, submitted a request to provide a new registry service to offer support for mandatory technical bundling of second level domains for .NGO and .ONG

Such technical bundling is defined as a set of two different gTLDs, with identical second level labels. The proposal, which was submitted through the Registry Services Evaluation Process, has been referred to the Registry Services Technical Evaluation Panel, and is being published to invite public comment as required by the Registry Services Evaluation Policy.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-3-2014-06-10-en

Public Interest Registry Unveils New Brand Identity

[news release] Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit operator of the .ORG domain, today announced a rebranding of the organization. The fresh change in its visual brand design exemplifies the organizationâs brand identity as the trustworthy, purposeful, spirited and collaborative operator of .ORG â the worldâs third largest generic domain â and the soon-to-be-launched .NGO and .ONG domain

By integrating the term âYourâ into its new logo, Public Interest Registry aims to demonstrate its long-standing commitment to the individuals, organizations and companies that use .ORG, .NGO and .ONG. Coupled with a symbol that is a graphic interpretation of the organizationâs mission of being open to the public interest, the rebranding illustrates Public Interest Registryâs commitment to providing a platform that anyone, anywhere in the world can use to share their story.

âWeâre a small organization operating a huge domain that people around the world continue to choose year after year to engage their communities,â said Brian Cute, CEO of Public Interest Registry. âAs .ORG continues to expand its international footprint and with the introduction of new internationalized domain names (IDNs), .NGO and .ONG launching in the near future, we felt the timing was right to update our brand to better reflect our unwavering commitment to the public interest and to those who choose these domains to give a voice to their causes, passions and ideas.â

In addition to the new company logo, Public Interest Registry redesigned logos for .ORG, .NGO and .ONG. Each logo includes the same graphic symbol found in Public Interest Registryâs logo but with its own unique color, creating a color scheme of greens, blues, and oranges to reflect the diversity of different voices, perspectives and people that Public Interest Registry serves.

Over the past year, Public Interest Registry conducted extensive research to develop a design that would maintain and build upon its brand identity as an organization that is trustworthy, purposeful, spirited and collaborative.

âWe wanted to have a logo that is not only relatable and understandable but also personal,â said Nancy Gofus, chief operating officer of Public Interest Registry. âPublic Interest Registry is where your passions, ideas, beliefs and causes come alive, and our new brand strongly reflects that as well as our mission to serve the people.â

Public Interest Registry worked with The Richards Group to develop its brand voice and messaging and Moving Brands to create its new visual identity and branding assets. The organization plans to unveil a new website and other external-facing materials in the coming weeks inclusive of its new logo, icons, typography, brand colors and photography style.

This PIR news release was sourced from:
pir.org/pr/2013/new_branding