Winners eligible for prize donations up to $50,000 USD out of $180,000 USD total prize awards
RESTON, Va., April 15, 2026 -- Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit stewards of the .ORG domain, opened the nomination period for its eighth annual .ORG Impact Awards on Wednesday. The .ORG Impact Awards are an annual celebration that recognizes outstanding mission-driven individuals and organizations from the global .ORG Community for their positive contributions to society.
PIR's .ORG top-level domain has powered mission-driven organizations around the globe for over 40 years. From large corporations to small community groups to multinational NGOs, .ORGs work to positively impact the communities they serve. Over the past eight years, the .ORG Impact Awards have recognized more than 300 outstanding .ORGs from over 120 countries. Through the Awards, PIR has awarded $865,000 USD for transformative work taking place around the world.
"The .ORG Impact Awards remind us that meaningful change often starts at the community level, driven by people who see a need and come together to take action. Our .ORG Community of changemakers inspires us every year," said Jon Nevett, CEO of Public Interest Registry. "As we open this year's nominations, we're excited to uplift and celebrate the next wave of changemakers who are reimagining what's possible and strengthening communities around the world."
Applications will be accepted from April 15 to May 27, 2026.
Categories for the 2026 awards include:
- Health and Healing
- Quality Education for All
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Environmental Stewardship
- Hunger and Poverty
- Community Building
- Rising Star
Applications are free and open to any organization with a .ORG domain. The Rising Star category is open to any individual under the age of 30 affiliated with a .ORG domain. The award categories are designed to be inclusive of any and all .ORGs that are working to make a positive impact in the world.
Organizations may apply for multiple categories of awards if more than one category is a good fit. The top five entries in each category will be named as finalists on August 11, 2026.
All 35 finalists will be invited to attend the final awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. with complimentary travel and opportunities to meet with other .ORG Community leaders and hosted by a celebrity on October 6, 2026. Category winners and the 2026 .ORG of the Year will be announced at the award ceremony, honoring their work to make the world a better place. Additional event details will be released in the coming months.
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. Finalists across all categories will receive a $2,500 USD donation.
Winning organizations have the flexibility to use the award funds however they see fit in order to advance their mission. Being recognized as a finalist or winner of the prestigious .ORG Impact Awards will help raise the profile of your organization, drive donations, funding, talent acquisition, partnership development, and audience reach.
To nominate an organization or individual for a .ORG Impact Award, visit www.orgimpactawards.org.
In 2025, nearly 3,000 applicants from over 120 countries submitted applications. The winner of the 2025 .ORG of the Year award was the Democratic Republic of Congo-based (DRC) nonprofit Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (The Fund for Congolese Women), which works to empower women within the DRC by advancing initiatives to eliminate gender-based sexual violence, provide empowerment programs for women and girls, educate women about HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, and advocate for environmental justice.
"Winning a .ORG Impact Award has allowed us to empower even more Congolese women to build a more just and peaceful future. Across the Democratic Republic of Congo, grassroots women's organizations are driving change often with limited resources but extraordinary resilience. This recognition belongs to them," said Ms. Julienne Lusenge, Executive Director of Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (FFC), the 2025 .ORG Impact Awards winner of the 2025 win. "We encourage other members of the .ORG Community to apply for this year's awards. When changemakers are supported and celebrated, the impact reaches far beyond borders."
Other 2025 winners include: IncluEdu, a nonprofit working to transform education across Latin America by harnessing AI to teach sign language and advance deaf inclusion; Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, a nonprofit organization advancing biodiversity and climate resilience across India by restoring mangrove ecosystems; Humanos 3D, a nonprofit organization harnessing the power of emerging technologies to create personalized assistive devices for people with upper limb disabilities; Access to Specialist Knowledge, a nonprofit organization which connects healthcare workers in underserved regions with U.S. board-certified specialists who provide pro bono consultations; Andando, a nonprofit organization building long-term partnerships that break the cycle of poverty in rural Senegal; and Ecobed Biotech, a nonprofit in East Africa that transforms food waste into mosquito-repellent lotion, clean fuel, and organic farm inputs.
About Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry (PIR) is a nonprofit that operates the .ORG top-level domain—one of the world's largest generic top-level domains with more than 11.8 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. PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet for more than two decades 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.pir.org for more information.
Contact: Shane Tan, shane.tan@berlinrosen.com, (718) 883-0699
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