Over the past two weeks, our team traveled across Australia to meet with the local NGO and fptech community – yes, that’s a thing! – to talk about innovation and the changes coming to the Internet, implementing key digital marketing strategies, and capacity building to create a positive impact and become a powerful force within the sector.
First, we attended Connecting Up in Gold Coast.
This is an annual conference that focuses on change, new opportunities, and helping fp organizations to find solutions and improve any and all aspects of their organisations’ operations. Insightful? Indeed.
The event kicked off with none other than our friend over at NTEN, Amy Sample Ward, who gave an amazing keynote that simplified the idea of innovation and totally left us all with several Aha! moments.
For future reference, innovation doesn’t always have to be BIG; it can start out as something very small that grows organically through trial and error. Also, ask for feedback, all the time, from everyone! Thanks, Amy ☺
While it was only our first year attending and sponsoring at this event, we were feeling the fptech love. We introduced the concept of .ngo and the NGO Portal and explained what these things potentially mean for the future of their organisations:
- Immediate recognition online
- Establish trust and credibility with donors
- Access to a global NGO directory that is searchable by keyword, name, region or mission/cause
- Customizable profile pages for NGOs that utilize the .ngo domain, enabling them to collect donations, showcase missions and activities, link to all social media entities associated with their organisation, and communite with parterns, funders, other NGOs and the general public
We also had two presentations with the NetSquared community – one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. A BIG thank you to everyone who came out to each event to participate in open discussions and ask probing questions that will ultimately help us create the best product possible for the NGO community. Your feedback has been most helpful and we can’t wait to deliver .ngo and the NGO Portal to you later this year!
Also, thank you to our media partner, ThirdSector Magazine, for supporting us at Connecting Up and the NetSquared events!
One thing that’s interesting about Australia is that its .org.au domain is already closed, meaning that it’s only available for not-for-profits to utilize. This is different from the global .org domain that is open and available for anyone to register whether they are part of a nfp/fp, a business or social enterprise. So, why should Australia care about .ngo then?
The value of .ngo is more than just a domain name; it’s entry into the global NGO portal and worldwide community, greater access to donors, potential business partners and volunteers, and a gateway for grassroots organisations to build momentum with the intention of ultimately achieving sustainability.
Want to learn more about .ngo and the NGO Portal? Visit globalngo.org and submit your Expression of Interest to receive our monthly newsletter!