Entering the .ORG Impact Awards

The .ORG Impact Awards is open only to individuals who are at least 18 years old and have permission to nominate the individual or entity that uses or has a connection to the .ORG domain. Employees of Public Interest Registry and any of its parent and affiliate companies, as well as the immediate family and household members of each such employee, are not eligible to nominate individuals or entities or be considered as a nominee for any award. For more on eligibility please see the official rules for more details. Download the 2025 Entry Kit for more information.

Yes, you can nominate an individual who is less than 18 years old with their permission. However, if a nominee less than 18 years of age qualifies as a finalist they will be required to complete a consent form signed by their parent or legal guardian.

The .ORG Impact Awards is a global program subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and is void where prohibited. For this reason, eligibility varies and participation is not available in some countries. For more on eligibility per country, please see Section 1 of the official rules for more details.

Download the 2025 Entry Kit and visit the Entry Portal and follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the online form. For official eligibility criteria and rules of the .ORG Impact Awards program, as well as submission requirements, deadlines, and judging information, please download the .ORG Impact Awards Entry Kit.

There is not an official limit to the number of entries a single person can submit. A nominator may submit nominations for all categories; however, each submission must be unique. The sponsor reserves the right to modify the award category selected as necessary if it believes that the content of the nomination fits better in a different award category.

Activities highlighted in your submission must have occurred between April 23, 2024 and April 23, 2025. If an activity began before April 23, 2024 or extends beyond April 23, 2025, it will be eligible so long as some meaningful actions occurred between the two dates.

Yes; written responses are required for each award category. There is a 500-word limit for each question.

Yes; nominations may be featured in various .ORG digital platforms throughout the year, including articles, videos, social posts, and more. Please see the official rules for more details on the use of submissions and publicity.

After the end of the nomination period, all entries will be vetted by a Review Panel and 10 entries will be selected to move to a judging phase where a panel of qualified judges determined by Public Interest Registry will score each submission against the judging criteria outlined in the program’s official rules. Based on the award categories there is a slightly different set of criteria for various awards. Please see Section 7 of the official rules for more details on the judging criteria.

For the 2025 OIAs, winners will receive a custom award and the ability to select a non-profit or NGO organization of their choice to receive up to a $50,000 USD contribution (depending on the award category). Nonprofit entrants are welcome to select their own nonprofit as the beneficiary of that donation. Individuals, for-profits and community groups are welcome to select any nonprofit they believe in to receive the donation. Public Interest Registry reserves the right to approve any charitable donations.

• .ORG of the Year – $40,000 USD
• Category Winners – $10,000 USD
• Category Finalists (non-winners) – $2,500 USD

More importantly, we hope recognition through the .ORG Impact Awards will help raise the profile of your .ORG and provide additional validation to your programs.

Winners will have the opportunity to:

• Finalists will receive complimentary travel to attend the in-person Awards event (up to $2,000 USD) in October, including round trip transportation for two (2)
• Use a dedicated .ORG Impact Awards logo mark in promotional materials
• Be featured in various .ORG digital platforms throughout the year, including articles, videos, social posts, and more.