Choosing the best domain for your (or your organization’s) new website can be difficult, especially in today’s domain world, where there are an increasing number of options. Back in 1985, only a small set of initial top-level domains (TLDs) was available – .com, .info, .net, .ORG – domains that are still available and quite popular today. But now, with the availability of a huge number of new TLDs, selecting a new domain requires a great deal of consideration.
So, what is the best choice for you? Over the years, different domains have established unique identities, based on the people and organizations that have used them to create their own online residency. Companies that sell products and services online gravitated toward .com for pretty obvious reasons – the letters c-o-m were chosen specifically because they refer to words such as commerce and commercial. Likewise, the letters o-r-g harken back to words like organization and organic, which is why people and organizations that were not engaged in online commerce/business ended up choosing .ORG.
But here’s what’s interesting about .ORG; over the years, as more and more non-commercial companies and people started building their online presence on .ORG, the domain started to become associated with the non-profit community. So much so that today, an overwhelming majority of people believe you need to be a non-profit or non-governmental organization to use a .ORG domain.
The reality is nothing could be further from the truth! While there are large number of non-profits successfully using .ORG, many other for-profit organizations, clubs, businesses, community groups, and more have chosen .ORG to help them achieve their goals and make a major impact on the communities they serve. From large well-known organizations (like Google) that have created philanthropic enterprises, to smaller for-profit companies that create important products and services to address specific environmental or social challenges (like Envirofit), mission-based organizations the world over rely on .ORG to achieve their online and real-world goals.
In fact, .ORG has launched a new initiative designed to highlight the amazing variety of organizations that have chosen .ORG. The .ORG Story Program features .ORGs from five distinctly different categories: charitable crowdsourcing, community interest group, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and non-profit. Current .ORG Stories include:
Established in 2002, this organization is not only the first – it’s also the largest – crowdfunding organization that connects non-profits, donors, and companies to amplify the impact of their social good missions.
Founded in 1972, this community interest group is dedicated to preserving the tradition, culture, and history of quilting while promoting knowledge and understanding of the art through continuing educational services for members and their local communities.
Established in 2005, Google.org serves as Google’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) enterprise, which was created to make good on the promise made when google went public in 2004: To dedicate 1% of the company’s profits for social good. The .ORG continues to find new ways to extend the reach of nonprofit innovators through a unique blend of support that includes funding, tools, and volunteers powered by Google.
Established in 2003, Envirofit is a social enterprise company based in Fort Collins, Colorado that produces products and services that increase energy access for families in underserved areas of the world. They currently deliver clean cooking products that enable families to cook faster while reducing fuel use, smoke, and other environmental hazards.
Established in 2005, All Hands and Hearts is a non-profit that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of those impacted by natural disasters. They have delivered community assistance projects around the world in over 100 different disaster programs and are currently active in places like Florida and Mexico helping those affected by hurricanes and earthquakes.
As you can see even by this small sample, .ORG is indeed for everyone who has a mission and wants to make a positive impact on the world. Discover why these featured organizations have chosen .ORG for their online home – read their complete stories at https://thenew.org/org-stories/
About the author
Malleana Ruffin is Social Media Manager at Public Interest Registry (PIR), where she is responsible for managing all PIR social platforms. She found her love for social media and digital storytelling in 2012, and since then has worked with a number of amazing organizations (Allstate, Urban Broadcast Media, and McDonald’s to name a few) in a variety of industries. She joined PIR in May of 2018.
Malleanna has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing from Robert Morris University and a Social Media Marketing Certification from Hootsuite Academy. As a big fan of the culinary arts, she became a part-time private chef in her home city of Chicago.
