Charitable organizations seeking attention and donations in the increasingly competitive online environment now have a new way to stand out.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that starting this week, nonprofits around the world can register for website addresses with new domains—.ngo and .ong—that alert donors they have met certain standards and deserve of a donation.
Only active, independent and nonpolitical charities will be able to purchase the domains from an accredited registrar after having been vetted and approved by Public Interest Registry, a nonprofit group that manages the domains.
The nonprofits will then be able to create profile pages on the online nonprofit directory OnGood, recently launched by Public Interest Registry, and use a payment mechanism called Ammado to solicit donations.
Successful applicants will automatically receive both domains.
The domain acronyms use phrases that both English speakers and those who speak romance languages recognize as referring to nonprofits: NGO, which stands for nongovernmental organization, commonly used in the U.S., and ONG, used in France, Italy, Spain and other countries that speak romance languages.
The OnGood directory, which is written in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, accepts donations in 80 currencies and via 20 payment methods.
According to The Chronicle, Public Interest Registry solicited feedback and conducted workshops in 30 countries over a three-year period to learn what domain features would most benefit nonprofits.
