a blue circle with the word pir in it.
 

Hope for a
Brighter World

Hope is at the core of our DNA. PIR is dedicated to
serving the public interest.

PIR Logo blue in color with cutout letters

Who We Are

As our name implies, PIR serves the public interest online. Based in Reston, Virginia, Public Interest Registry is a nonprofit organization created by the Internet Society to manage the .ORG domain. Today, PIR proudly manages .ORG and the .ORG Family of Domains, and will continue to strive to be an exemplary registry operator and support mission-driven entities—from small grassroots movements to large associations— utilizing these domains to promote their causes.

We are also active participants with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and within the global Internet community.

We never forget that the communities we serve rely on us for their trusted online identity to pursue their missions. Our domains will always be a trusted home. PIR will support our domains by balancing our policy efforts and freedom of expression and by striving to find ways to help our .ORGs succeed. These principles drive PIR’s values of bold stewardship, unwavering integrity, relentless commitment, and honoring people, and are the core of everything we do in the pursuit of our mission.

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Our Mission

PIR’s mission is to be an exemplary domain name registry and industry thought leader providing a trusted digital identity and serving as a valued resource to those working to improve our world.





SERVING THE PUBLIC INTEREST®

Origin and History

For more than two decades, PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet with a clear mission to provide mission-driven organizations with a trusted digital identity and and serve as a valued resource to those working to improve our world.

1983

The Domain Name System is created.

1984

.ORG domain launches as one of the Internet’s original Top Level Domains (TLDs), along with .COM, .NET, .GOV, .EDU and .MIL.

1993

.ORG is privatized and transferred to Network Solutions.

1998

Formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

2001

After an open call for applications to manage the .ORG domain, Verisign (formally Network Solutions) voluntarily surrenders control of .ORG.

2002

The Internet Society creates the Public Interest Registry as a 501(c)3 non-profit to manage .ORG.

2003

Public Interest Registry’s technology provider Afilias transfers 2.6 million domains, the biggest transfer in Internet history.

2010

.ORG becomes the first open gTLD to implement Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).

2012

PIR submits application for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and .NGO and .ONG domain extensions.

2014

PIR launches three IDNs, Devenagari .संगठन; Russian Cyrillic .OPГ; and simplified Chinese .机构.

2015

PIR launches .NGO and .ONG domains

2019

PIR launches the annual .ORG Impact Awards to celebrate and recognize achievements of the .ORG community.

2019

PIR Introduces Quality Performance Index (QPI) Program to measure the quality of individual .ORG namespaces and maintain trust in the .ORG domain.

2020

PIR launches the .ORG Learning Center to provide valuable resources and knowledge to mission-driven organizations at no cost.

2021

PIR launches The NetBeacon Institute(formerly the DNS Abuse Institute) to help reduce the amount of DNS Abuse.

2022

PIR expands the .ORG Family of Domains with .GIVES, .CHARITY, and .FOUNDATION.

2023

PIR launches .GIVING.

Our Team

At PIR, our passion is empowering mission-driven organizations to shine online. Our team is a vibrant mix of dedicated, experienced, and diverse professionals, all united by a shared commitment to being an exemplary registry operator in the DNS community and empowering the mission-driven organizations of our .ORG Community online. We invite you to meet the inspiring individuals on our executive team, Board of Directors, and Advisory Council who are at the heart of our mission.

Learn More

A Career That Truly Makes A Difference

Find out why PIR is the perfect place for those looking to create a career they love while supporting mission-driven organizations working to improve our world.

View Careers

About the PIR and the
Internet Society (ISOC)

The Internet Society is a nonprofit organization working to ensure the Internet remains a force of good for everyone. Together with its global community, the Internet Society promotes Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy.

In 2002, the Internet Society created Public Interest Registry (PIR), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation to manage, enhance, and expand the .ORG domain. The Internet Society is also responsible for appointing the PIR Board of Directors.

Sharing common goals, PIR provides considerable financial and advocacy support to the Internet Society in its efforts to defend and promote Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally connected, and secure. For more information, please visit: www.internetsociety.org.

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PIR Resources

View our annual reports, Form 990s, or find out more about our Policies and Anti-Abuse Processes.

Annual reports/990s
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Policies
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FAQ
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Glossary
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PIR News & Blog

  • Article
  • News

Public Interest Registry Unveils Winners of 6th Annual .ORG Impact Awards at DC Ceremony Hosted by Emmy Winner Alan Cumming

Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation named 2024 .ORG of the Year, selected from over 1,700 applicants from more than 87 countries Washington D.C. — Public Interest Registry (PIR), the people behind the .ORG domain, announced the winners of the .ORG Impact Awards, an annual celebration recognizing and rewarding outstanding mission-driven individuals and organizations from around […]

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  • Blog
  • News

PIR Supports TCCM and Multistakeholderism

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the registry operator of the .ORG Family of Domains, is pleased to be a part a Technical Community Coalition for Multistakeholderism (TCCM), a group of dedicated technical operators and experts that has been engaging in the Global Digital Compact (GDC), Summit of the Future,  and WSIS +20 review to provide the […]

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    Public Interest Registry Announces 2024 .ORG Impact Awards Finalists, Emmy & Tony Award Winner Alan Cumming to Host

    35 innovative, mission-driven organizations and changemakers selected from over 1,700 applicants from more than 87 countries Reston, VA — Public Interest Registry (PIR), the people behind the .ORG domain, named the finalists for the 6th annual .ORG Impact Awards Tuesday and announced that philanthropist and activist Alan Cumming – Emmy and Tony-award winning actor and […]

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    • News

    Public Interest Registry Welcomes Applications for its Advisory Council

    JUNE 10, 2024 | PIR NEWSROOM, PRESS RELEASE Reston, VA – Public Interest Registry (PIR) today announced that it is accepting applications for its Advisory Council. The Advisory Council helps PIR in its mission to create more and stronger mission-driven organizations and provides input and recommendations on issues affecting the broader .ORG Community, including noncommercial Internet users, nonprofits, […]

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    • Blog

    Celebrating Excellence: Public Interest Registry Receives Three 2024 Telly Awards

    JUNE 4, 2024 | .ORG NEWSROOM, BLOG POSTS by Judy Song-Marshall, Chief Strategy Officer, PIR Public Interest Registry (PIR) has a longstanding commitment to support nonprofits, NGOs, and social enterprises through free resources, various programs and ongoing initiatives. Many of these initiatives, particularly the ORG In Action program and .ORG Impact Awards, bring the stories of individuals and organizations, regardless of size […]

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    • News

    Call for Nominations: Sixth Annual .ORG Impact Awards to Recognize Global Changemakers

    MAY 1, 2024 | .ORG IMPACT AWARDS, .ORG NEWSROOM, PIR NEWSROOM, PRESS RELEASES Winners eligible for prize donations up to $50,000 USD out of $180,000 USD total prize awards All finalists will be invited to in-person Washington, D.C. awards ceremony RESTON, Va. – Public Interest Registry (PIR), the people behind .ORG, today opened the nomination period for its sixth annual .ORG Impact Awards, an […]

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    • Blog
    • News

    Public Interest Registry Earns Great Place To Work Certification™

    Reston, Va. —Public Interest Registry (PIR) has earned another Great Place to Work Certification for 2024. This is the second time that PIR has earned this certification. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Public Interest Registry. This year, 98% of employees said it’s a great […]

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    • Blog
    • News

    A Big Thanks to Paul Diaz!

    by Jon Nevett, President and CEO of PIR Paul Diaz, one of PIR’s longest serving employees and a key stalwart of the domain name industry, is stepping down from his role as PIR Vice President of Industry Affairs this July and will be retiring from the industry. Paul joined PIR in 2011 and has had […]

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    A row of people sitting and using their smartphones, with the logos of PIR and IWF visible in the top left corner of the image.
    • Blog
    • News

    A Call to Help Disrupt The Spread of Child Sexual Abuse Materials

    Together we can do so much more. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) leads the charge to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online and we at Public Interest Registry (PIR) are dedicated to supporting their efforts. We are honored to work with them across two important programs: Domain Alerts and TLD Hopping List. IWF services […]

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    • News

    PIR and IWF Announce Partnership

    “Trailblazing” partnership takes aim at criminals profiting from child sexual abuse online Criminals running commercial child sexual abuse ‘brands’ are taking advantage of a ‘loophole’ to remain online. This new partnership aims to shut them down for good.   London and Reston, Va. (February 6, 2024) —Criminal child sexual abuse ‘brands’ are the target of […]

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