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Non-profit

Public Interest Registry

Website:

thenew.org/
Location:

Reston, VA
Tax ID:

33-1025119
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $96,274,965
Expenses: $95,799,726
Assets: $58,677,340
Formation:

2002

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Public Interest Registry is a non-profit that was created by the Internet Society Foundation to oversee the more than 10.6 million internet “.org” domain name extensions, 1 which account for fewer than five percent of the domain extensions globally. 2

The most common domain extensions on the web are .org, .com and .net, according to Wix. 3 The .org domain extension is primarily used for non-profit groups, religious organizations, 4 and educational websites. 5

The Public Interest Registry has made contributions of $60 million or more a year in 2019, 2020, and 2021 to the Internet Society and the Internet Society Foundation. 6

In 2019, the Internet Society tried to sell the Public Interest Registry to an investment firm. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers did not approve of the sale. 7

Background

The Internet Society Foundation launched the Public Interest Registry in October 2002. 8 PIR has a nine-member advisory council that is made up of industry leaders who advise PIR on public policy issues and the introduction of new services. 9

Finances

The Public Interest Registry had $95.4 million in total revenue and $103.3 million in total expenses in 2019. 10 PIR stated its revenue was “driven by” domain registration and renewals. 11

Leadership

Lise Fuhr was the Public Interest Registry board chair for two three-year terms before stepping down in April 2022. 12 Fuhr is the director general of the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, a policy group for electronic communications network operators in Europe. 13

Jonathon Nevett is president and CEO of Public Interest Registry. 14 He co-founded Donuts Inc. in 2010 and is a founding board member of Domain Name Association. 15

Michael Silber is a board member for the Public Interest Registry. 16 Silber is an attorney and is group chief regulatory officer for Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a technology business in Africa. 17

Keith Davidson is a board member for the Public Interest Registry. 18 Davidson has worked for 21 years in several management positions for InternetNZ, a not-for-profit organization that is manager of the “.nz” domain. 19

Price Caps Lifted

The wholesale price of a “.org” domain rose from $6 in 2003 to $27 in 2019, an average of 3% a year. 20 There was a 10% cap on how high PIR could raise its annual fees in any given year until the cap was lifted in 2019 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. 21

Attempted Sale

The Internet Society announced it would sell Public Interest Registry to the investment firm Ethos Capital for $1.14 billion in November 2019. 22 The Public Interest Registry needed the approval of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for any change in who controlled the registry. 23

The sale agreement stated that PIR would become a for-profit Pennsylvania limited liability company. 24 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ board did not approve the sale 25 stating that Ethos Capital was “bound to serve the interests of its corporate stakeholders” 26 and had no “meaningful plan to protect or serve the .ORG community.” 27

2021 Expansion

Public Interest Registry announced in 2021 that it was acquiring the top-level domain “.GIVING” and would become the steward of the “.FOUNDATION”, “.CHARITY”, and “.GIVES” domains. 28

References

  1. Public Interest Registry Annual Report. 2021. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://thenew.org/app/uploads/2022/05/PIR-2021-Annual-Report-DIGITAL.pdf
  2. Wix. “.ORG vs. .COM vs. .NET: What Do They Mean And Which Is Better?”; Jan. 26, 2022. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/06/org-vs-com-vs-net-domain-extensions?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9766148092^111852959659&experiment_id=^^473625301637^^_DSA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw852XBhC6ARIsAJsFPN0gtniK5MgiT2M8M6NKI_ghptrvcI7MN9n2mrmLXLewUOPNJSOx2xYaAqkwEALw_wcB
  3. Wix. “.ORG vs. .COM vs. .NET: What Do They Mean And Which Is Better?”; Jan. 26, 2022. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/06/org-vs-com-vs-net-domain-extensions?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9766148092^111852959659&experiment_id=^^473625301637^^_DSA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw852XBhC6ARIsAJsFPN0gtniK5MgiT2M8M6NKI_ghptrvcI7MN9n2mrmLXLewUOPNJSOx2xYaAqkwEALw_wcB
  4.  GoDaddy.com. “What Are .Org Domain Names?” Aug. 1, 2022. https://www.godaddy.com/tlds/org-domain
  5.  Wix. “.ORG vs. .COM vs. .NET: What Do They Mean And Which Is Better?”; Jan. 26, 2022. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/06/org-vs-com-vs-net-domain-extensions?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9766148092^111852959659&experiment_id=^^473625301637^^_DSA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw852XBhC6ARIsAJsFPN0gtniK5MgiT2M8M6NKI_ghptrvcI7MN9n2mrmLXLewUOPNJSOx2xYaAqkwEALw_wcB
  6. Public Interest Registry Annual Report. 2021. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://thenew.org/app/uploads/2022/05/PIR-2021-Annual-Report-DIGITAL.pdf
  7. DigWatch. “ICANN Rejects .Org Sale”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://dig.watch/updates/icann-rejects-org-sale
  8.  [1] Internet Society. Our History. Accessed July 27, 2022. https://www.internetsociety.org/history/#:~:text=The%20Internet%20Society%20was%20formed,the%20Internet%20is%20for%20everyone
  9. [1] Public Interest Registry. “Advisory Council”; Accessed July 31, 2022. https://thenew.org/org-people/about-pir/team/advisory-council/
  10. Public Interest Registry. Form 990. 2019. Part I. Summary. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/331025119
  11. Public Interest Registry Annual Report. 2021. Accessed Aug. 1, 2022. https://thenew.org/app/uploads/2022/05/PIR-2021-Annual-Report-DIGITAL.pdf
  12. Internet Society. “The Internet Society Announces New Appointments To The Public Interest Registry Board Of Directors”; April 7, 2022. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2022/the-internet-society-announces-new-appointments-to-the-public-interest-registry-board-of-directors-3/
  13. Lise Fuhr. LinkedIn. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lise-fuhr-91256a1/?originalSubdomain=be
  14. Public Interest Registry. Executive Team. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://thenew.org/org-people/about-pir/team/executive-team/
  15. [1] Public Interest Registry. “Advisory Council”; Accessed July 31, 2022. https://thenew.org/org-people/about-pir/team/advisory-council/
  16. [1] Internet Society. “The Internet Society Announces New Appointments To The Public Interest Registry Board Of Directors”; April 7, 2022. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2022/the-internet-society-announces-new-appointments-to-the-public-interest-registry-board-of-directors-3/
  17. Internet Society. “The Internet Society Announces New Appointments To The Public Interest Registry Board Of Directors”; April 7, 2022. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2022/the-internet-society-announces-new-appointments-to-the-public-interest-registry-board-of-directors-3/
  18. Internet Society. “The Internet Society Announces New Appointments To The Public Interest Registry Board Of Directors”; April 7, 2022. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2022/the-internet-society-announces-new-appointments-to-the-public-interest-registry-board-of-directors-3/
  19. Keith Davidson. LinkedIn. Accessed Aug 1, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-davidson-56745a5/details/experience/
  20. Flother. “Price Of .ORG Domains Has Risen By 3% Annually Far Below 10% Price Cap”; Dec. 14, 2019. https://www.flother.is/blog/dot-org-prices/
  21. Circle ID. “The .Org Price Caps Removed Under New Agreement With ICANN”; July 1, 2019. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://circleid.com/posts/20190701_dot_org_price_cap_removed_under_new_agreement_with_icann
  22. DigWatch. “ICANN Rejects .Org Sale”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://dig.watch/updates/icann-rejects-org-sale
  23. DigWatch. “ICANN Rejects .Org Sale”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://dig.watch/updates/icann-rejects-org-sale
  24. Maarten Botterman. “ICANN Board Withholds Consent For A Chane Of Control Of The Public Interest Registry (PIR)”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/icann-board-withholds-consent-for-a-change-of-control-of-the-public-interest-registry-pir-30-4-2020-en
  25. DigWatch. “ICANN Rejects .Org Sale”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://dig.watch/updates/icann-rejects-org-sale
  26. Maarten Botterman. “ICANN Board Withholds Consent For A Chane Of Control Of The Public Interest Registry (PIR)”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/icann-board-withholds-consent-for-a-change-of-control-of-the-public-interest-registry-pir-30-4-2020-en
  27. Maarten Botterman. “ICANN Board Withholds Consent For A Chane Of Control Of The Public Interest Registry (PIR)”; April 30, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/icann-board-withholds-consent-for-a-change-of-control-of-the-public-interest-registry-pir-30-4-2020-en
  28. Andrew Alleman. “PIR Acquires 4 Charitable Top Level Domains, Announces RSP Contract Bidding”; Dec. 8, 2021. Accessed Aug. 2, 2022. https://domainnamewire.com/2021/12/08/pir-acquires-4-charitable-top-level-domains-announces-rsp-contract-bidding/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 2004

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $96,274,965 $95,799,726 $58,677,340 $96,724,624 N $0 $95,506,710 $490,916 $3,447,380
    2019 Dec Form 990 $95,438,834 $103,268,740 $54,443,112 $94,116,273 N $0 $94,851,925 $569,891 $2,912,165 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $93,302,498 $95,826,978 $58,919,707 $92,073,785 N $0 $92,905,436 $347,338 $2,163,832 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $94,824,405 $126,150,897 $62,523,851 $92,507,589 N $0 $90,784,245 $1,293,168 $2,035,651 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $86,719,885 $82,586,027 $92,576,755 $91,695,523 Y $0 $85,019,612 $1,348,686 $1,856,131
    2015 Dec Form 990 $79,419,214 $80,479,371 $85,993,878 $85,925,753 Y $0 $77,999,973 $1,438,462 $2,744,126 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $79,425,183 $78,726,968 $81,656,868 $79,020,738 N $0 $77,550,189 $1,452,962 $2,229,378 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $71,531,489 $80,570,973 $80,510,038 $78,131,380 N $0 $70,637,857 $685,644 $1,270,580 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $67,047,405 $65,827,686 $85,017,910 $73,758,225 N $0 $66,072,808 $698,532 $1,181,988 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $62,096,689 $61,240,701 $78,681,946 $69,169,608 N $0 $61,065,446 $732,837 $1,102,281 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Public Interest Registry


    Reston, VA