By Jon Nevett, President & CEO, Public Interest Registry
For more than 40 years, the .ORG domain has been a home for organizations working to make the world better. But what makes .ORG special isn’t just the organizations, it’s the people behind them.
Across countries, causes, and communities, there’s a shared sense of purpose — individuals showing up every day to solve hard problems, often without recognition, and always in service of something bigger than themselves. That’s what makes the .ORG Community so powerful, and why the .ORG Impact Awards exist.
Each year, the awards give us a chance to celebrate that community: to recognize those using the .ORG domain to turn bold ideas into real-world impact and to help amplify their work even further.
Over the past eight years, we’ve honored more than 300 organizations from over 120 countries and awarded $865,000 to support their missions.
But what stays with me isn’t just the scale. It’s the stories.
Each year, I’m reminded how much there is to learn from this community, how inspiring the people behind the work are, and how meaningful it is to support the diversity and impact of the .ORG Community.
Stories of Impact Across the .ORG Community
The 2025 .ORG Impact Awards introduced us to an extraordinary group of changemakers from around the world. Many shared that being part of the program has helped them attract new supporters, build partnerships, and deepen their impact in meaningful ways.
For example, Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (The Fund for Congolese Women) (FFC), our 2025 .ORG of the Year, is the first and only women’s fund in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that strengthens grassroots women’s organizations to advance peace, justice, and gender equality from the ground up.
FFC shared that they used a large portion of the $50,000 award winnings to strengthen the organization’s institutional capacity, enabling them to support even more women-led organizations in the DRC. The award funds also allowed FFC to help 179 women and girls gain access to microcredit to restart or grow small businesses. These women have since built businesses in tailoring, soap-making, pastry-making, basket weaving, hairdressing and more, empowering them to support their families and uplift entire communities.
Other honorees showed how recognition can unlock momentum in different ways.
After being named the winner of the “Hunger and Poverty” category in 2025, Andando said the recognition helped significantly raise the organization’s visibility, and that within just a couple of months, “a new organization reached out with an unsolicited grant. They specifically mentioned our awards and certifications as part of the reason they selected us for funding.” That kind of momentum captures exactly what we hope the .ORG Impact Awards can help create.
Jovia Kisaakye, founder of Ecobed Biotech and our 2025 Rising Star, showed that same momentum in East Africa. Her organization transforms food waste into mosquito-repellent lotion, clean fuel, and organic farm inputs, addressing public health, sustainability, and economic opportunity at the same time.
After receiving the award, Jovia said that “being a winner is like being on a billboard to an organization,” and that the recognition brought “greatness, publicity and credibility” to her work.
It’s a privilege to be able to support these changemakers and watch them grow.
More Than Recognition: A Community in Action
The .ORG Impact Awards are about more than celebrating achievements. They are about building community. The awards create a space where changemakers can learn from one another, reminding us that none of this work happens in isolation.
Humanos 3D, our 2025 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion winner, highlighted one of the most valuable parts of the .ORG Impact Awards experience was joining a room full of organizations that tackle very different challenges but share the same sense of purpose.
“Being part of this community means being part of something bigger than ourselves,” said Humanos 3D CEO Hugo Esteban Rojas Muñoz. “It’s a space where impact, collaboration, and purpose come together. Beyond the recognition, it has given us access to tools like Resilia, valuable connections, and a network that truly supports each other’s growth.”
Finalists echoed that same theme. Ocean Alliance shared that “running a small non-profit can feel like a solitary role.” The organization said the relationships formed through the .ORG Impact Awards have already led to new collaborations with people they “never would have met if not for .ORG.”
As Jovia Kisaakye put it, the 2025 awards ceremony “felt like one big family gathering.” That spirit of connection is exactly what makes this community so special.
Apply for the 2026 .ORG Impact Awards
We’re excited to continue this tradition as we open applications for the 2026 .ORG Impact Awards on April 15.
Organizations with a .ORG domain are invited to apply across seven categories, from Health and Healing to Environmental Stewardship to Community Building and beyond. We also encourage young leaders under 30 affiliated with a .ORG domain to apply for the Rising Star category.
The process is simple: submit a free application through our portal. Judges will select five finalists from each category. All 35 finalists will receive a $2,500 donation. Winners of each category will take home $10,000 in donation award funds, and the .ORG of the Year will receive a total of $50,000 USD.
If you’re part of the .ORG Community, I encourage you to apply. Because when we come together to recognize impact, we strengthen a global community dedicated to building a better future and help ensure that even more changemakers can thrive.