.ORG Impact Awards Celebrate 12 Winners at Inaugural Program Gala

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- During an intimate gathering at The Watergate Hotel, 12 individuals and organizations were named winners of the inaugural 2019 .ORG Impact Awards, sponsored by Public Interest Registry – the people behind .ORG. This first annual program celebrates .ORG domain name users of all types and sizes for their accomplishments in community mobilization, marketing and outreach, and mission achievement. Both organizations and individuals on the .ORG domain were honored for their work in connecting communities and leveraging the Internet for transformative change.  

Leaders from the philanthropic and Internet communities joined finalists at the awards gala on Thursday, Oct. 10 to watch the live announcement of the 2019 winners. The top awards of the night went to World Refugees School, named .ORG Non-profit of the Year; and Community Focus Group, named Community Group of the Year. World Refugees School is a U.S.-based non-profit offering the world's first and only formally accredited K-12 education program for the global Refugee Community. Community Focus Group is a Kenyan-based charity with the mission to inform, connect, and mobilize the community around human rights and sustainable livelihoods.

Actor, philanthropist and children's book author Taye Diggs was named the 2019 .ORG Impact Awards Honoree for his dedication to the greater social good via charitable and community involvement with a multitude of .ORG community member organizations including: A Broader Way, of which, he is a co-founder; the National Head Start Association; Storytime Village program in Wichita, Kansas; The DREAM Project in the Dominican Republic; and STOMP Out Bullying, where he serves as a Global Ambassador.

"The .ORG domain has powered the inspirations of people around the globe for more than 30 years and now is the time to formally recognize the people and organizations behind the work that impacts communities around the world," said Jon Nevett, CEO of Public Interest Registry, the people behind .ORG. "From organizations big and small, with missions that represent local, regional and global nature, we're thrilled to highlight how the winners of the .ORG Impact Awards are using the Internet and their status as a .ORG Community member to enact social good. As this is the inaugural year of the program, we look forward to adding to this stellar group of recipients year after year and helping all winners connect with each other to encourage community through strong partnerships, sharing of resources and celebrating achievements."

The complete list of 2019 .ORG Impact Award winners include:

Individual Awards honor the contribution of an individual to their organization or the broader sector and receive a $5,000 donation to the charitable organization of the winner's choice:

• Innovator Award – Alicia Weston, founder of Bags of Taste (UK)
• Rising Star Award – Diane Diamantis, president and co-founder of The Kelsey B. Diamantis TS Scholarship Family Foundation, Inc. (U.S.)
• Outstanding Volunteer – Zehra Abbas, president and co-founder of Studio 89 (Canada)

Sector Awards recognize organizational and team accomplishments and receive a $2,000 donation to the charitable organization of the winner's choice:

• .ORG Non-profit of the Year – World Refugees School (U.S.)
• .ORG Community Group of the Year – Community Focus Group (Kenya)

Initiative Awards celebrate achievement in a specific online niche area and receive a $1,000 donation to the charitable organization of the winner's choice:

• Best Integrated Communications Campaign – Skateistan, "Empowering Children Through Skateboarding and Education" (U.S. / Germany)
• Best Social Media Campaign – The Mayhew, "Mayhew Website Redesign" (UK)
• Best Use of Partnerships/Celebrity Endorsements – Kiva, "The Big Impact of Small Loans" (U.S.)
• Outstanding Multimedia Content – C Three Foundation, "C Three Foundation Multimedia Approach" (U.S.)
• Outstanding Online Fundraising Campaign – Teach For America, "Teach For America Alumni and Staff Challenge" (U.S.)
• Outstanding Website Redesign – The Mayhew, "Home Is Where Their Dog Is" (UK)
• Top #GivingTuesday Campaign – The City Mission, "Fund a Project That Would Change Your Community" (U.S.)

Nominations closed in June 2019 and were reviewed by judges representing leaders in the Internet, non-profit and marketing sectors. The top five entries per category were named finalists last month, and represent 40 organizations from 8 countries.

The .ORG Impact Awards is one of two new .ORG initiatives designed to educate, recognize and empower the global .ORG community. In addition to the awards gala, the inaugural .ORG Community Forum took place on Thursday, Oct. 11 and brought together a variety of stakeholders from the .ORG community to explore common areas of interest and challenges facing their organizations today. The full-day Forum featured 11 subject matter expert speakers from AARP, American Red Cross and Wikimedia Foundations, among other organizations. More information about the Forum and links to helpful resources are forthcoming in the .ORG Newsroom.

For more information about the inaugural .ORG Impact Awards, please visit www.orgimpactawards.org.

About .ORG
.ORG is the original purpose-driven "generic" top-level domain (gTLD) with more than 10 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. For more than 30 years, .ORG has built an enduring legacy of trust, preserving an open and secure Internet where diverse communities can establish a trusted online identity and freely share ideas. .ORG is powered by the non-profit Public Interest Registry (PIR). PIR has been a champion for a free and open Internet for more than 15 years 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.TheNew.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Riley McBride Smith 
pir@allisonpr.com 
(202) 591-1125

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/org-impact-awards-celebrate-12-winners-at-inaugural-program-gala-300937334.html

SOURCE Public Interest Registry