.ORG Impact Awards honor stellar achievements of the global .ORG Community; Winners will be announced as part of the “10 Days of .ORG” later this year
RESTON, VA – Public Interest Registry (PIR), the People behind .ORG, today named the finalists for the 2nd annual .ORG Impact Awards, which honor the remarkable organizations and individuals making the world a better place.
Today’s announcement includes the top five entries across 9 award categories. Winners in these categories and the .ORG of the Year will be announced as part of “The Ten Days of .ORG,” an online experience beginning on November 30th that celebrates the range of achievements that have healed, inspired, transformed and connected communities over the past year.
Each day of the celebration will place a spotlight on an award-winning organization and individuals making an impact in areas such as combatting the coronavirus, battling poverty and hunger, championing equality, and advancing environmental sustainability.
“In this year marked by so much challenge and change, mission-driven .ORGs are making even more of an impact on the communities and causes they serve and support,” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of the Public Interest Registry. “We celebrate their contributions and recognize that .ORGs are making their communities a better place. This year, we saw an extremely impressive group of submissions showcasing the diverse and inspiring work taking place in the .ORG community around the world, and we want to thank everyone who participated in the .ORG Impact Awards. After a thorough review by our 2020 judges, the top 5 entries across 9 categories have been identified and named finalists, each representing the best of what .ORGs have to offer in making a meaningful difference in their communities and the world. We are awed and inspired by their achievements and look forward to announcing the winning .ORGs later this fall.”
More than 500 organizations and individuals submitted entries this year. Submissions were reviewed and scored by a panel of judges who are leaders in the Internet, non-profit, health, education and marketing sectors. All nominations must be tied to an active website with a .ORG domain.
Award winners will receive a donation amounts of up to $30,000 USD to an eligible charitable entity of their choice. Please visit www.orgimpactawards.org for complete rules and information.
2020 .ORG Impact Award Finalists
Combatting Coronavirus
A locally informed response to COVID-19 in Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya
Masks for Millions & Periods Don’t Pause for Pandemics
Improving health access, providing humanitarian development and administering crisis relief worldwide
The Molecular Sciences Software Institute
COVID-19 molecular structure and therapeutics hub
The Salvation Army California South Division
COVID-19 relief in Southern California
Fighting Hunger and Poverty
Emergency services to northern New Jersey’s poorest and most vulnerable residents
Delivering GetCalFresh.org for Californians seeking food assistance
Improving access to healthy food within the greater Boston area
Reducing food waste and cultivating food security
Improving health, creating wealth, and building assets through local food enterprises in low-income communities
Championing Equality, Equity, Inclusion
Empowering girls & young women in Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya
Fostering Native American entrepreneurship for the Navajo and Hopi Nations
Promoting global financial inclusion
Josette Hutton Evans, CEO and Founder of Metamorphasis Powerhouse Company, Inc.
Turning everyday places into public learning classrooms
Advancing equitable recovery through entrepreneurship for all
Promoting Education
Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO)
Inspiring and preparing students from underrepresented communities to succeed in law school and beyond
Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center
Providing speech-language pathology and audiology services to individuals of all ages
Overcoming homelessness through education
Building a strong, diverse, and socially conscious tech workforce
Providing all Indonesian children the opportunity to learn to read and to love reading
Advancing Environmental Sustainability
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef
Driving real change for the future of the Great Barrier Reef
Protecting the world’s mangrove forests
Growing global alliance working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact
Building strong forests and healthy communities
Practical solutions for waste management to make waste resourceful
Promoting A Safer Internet
International coalition unifying the global response to cybercrime
Center for Cyber Safety and Education
Making the cyber world a safer place for everyone
Protecting innocence through technology
Working together for a more secure internet
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Empowering children to practice safer behaviors on- and off-line
Innovation Award
Ideas cube and the internet offline
Mapping violence in Central Africa
Aarti Sahgal, CEO and Founder of Synergies Work
Inspiring people with disabilities to discover their talents and turn ideas into businesses
Innovating to tackle the teen e-cigarette epidemic
An inexpensive, rapid water testing microscope capable of
identifying bacterial presence in water in less than six hours
Outstanding Volunteer
Christopher Esther, Creative Director and Creator of Type 1 Diabetes Explained
Making a healthy and happy life with Type 1 diabetes easy and accessible for all
Kayla Abramowitz, Chief Kid Officer of Kayla Cares 4 Kids
Collecting and donating items for kids in hospitals
Paul Foti, Co-founder of Type One, Inc.
Dedicated to making the world free of Type 1 diabetes
Sherrie Winstanley, Executive Director at S.H.A.D.E.
Providing second stage housing for immigrant and refugee women and their children who have been impacted by domestic abuse/family violence
William Schenold, Volunteer at Metamorphasis Powerhouse Company, Inc.
Making a lasting impact by closing the intergenerational divide
between adults and youth
.ORG Newcomer of The Year
Caring for caregivers, primarily mothers
Arwa Damon, President & Co-founder of INARA
Life-altering medical care for children from conflict areas who have catastrophic injuries or illnesses
Providing children facing hospital treatments with a colorful fleece blanket and a video message of support from its maker
Sustainable Health Empowerment
Fostering equitable healthcare in underserved communities
Legal help for people in debt
.ORG of The Year
The 2020 .ORG Impact Award, .ORG of the Year, recognizes a not-for-profit or nongovernmental organization nominated in one of the other nine categories using the .ORG domain, and honors outstanding achievement as evidenced by results and/or contributions to its sector, constituents, community or society at large. The .ORG of the Year will be named on the final day of the Ten Days of .ORG, on December 11, 2020.
About .ORG
.ORG is the original purpose-driven “generic” top-level domain (gTLD) with more than 10 million domain names registered worldwide. .ORG is open to everyone, providing a global platform for organizations, associations, clubs, businesses and individuals to bring their ideas to life. For more than 30 years, .ORG has built an enduring legacy of trust, preserving an open and secure Internet where diverse communities can establish a trusted online identity and freely share ideas. .ORG is powered by the non-profit Public Interest Registry (PIR). PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet for more than 15 years with a clear mission to be an exemplary domain name registry, provide a trusted digital identity and help educate those who dedicate themselves to improving our world. PIR was founded by the Internet Society (internetsociety.org) in 2002 and is based in Reston, Virginia, USA. Visit www.TheNew.org for more information.
###
Media contact: Scott Gerber, [email protected], 408-202-4255