EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The DotOrg Foundation is pleased to submit this application to ICANN to operate the registry for the .org top-level domain (TLD). We offer the ideal combination of a nonprofit organization that provides an outlet for noncommercial organizations and the technical and policy experience and expertise of a stable well-resourced registry.

The DotOrg Foundation envisions a .org TLD that attracts greater use based on greater value. By implementing our plans, we anticipate that not only will we better serve existing .org registrants, but that we will increase registration demand, particularly from the global noncommercial sector. Our vision is to administer the .org space in a way that will strengthen civil society around the world by rendering this segment of the Internet more useful and more accessible to groups in areas that have not been served well by the Internet.

The DotOrg Foundation is well aware of ICANN’s priorities:

• Preserve stability – in the transition and operation of the .org registry;
• Enhance competition – among registries and registrars;
• Differentiate the .org TLD – and restore its original focus;
• Comply with ICANN policies – and protect all .org registrants and registrars;
• Establish dialogue with the noncommercial sector – and respond to their needs; and
• Enhance registry services – and meet or exceed industry standards.

The DotOrg Foundation presents ICANN with a solution that meets these goals. We will safeguard current .org registrants while offering improved registry services for the future. We have secured a stable, well-resourced registry provider with a proven track record. The registry systems have been tested in preparation for this task. The transfer process has been carefully considered and balanced solutions proposed. We are committing to service levels that surpass the current best in class. We are committing to ICANN policies, such as the UDRP, which protect all current and future .org registrants.

In keeping with ICANN’s goals, we have gone beyond the RFP criteria in our commitment to meeting the noncommercial sector’s call for participation in policy development by planning to:

• manage the .org space to become an increasingly useful asset to noncommercial organizations and their audience;
• institute decision-making processes that are transparent and involve a high degree of participation from the .org community; and
• actively reach out to those groups that have thus far been underserved by the Internet.

We have convened a Board of distinguished directors who are leaders in their various fields. They will draw upon the experience, expertise and perspective of an Advisory Council that, itself, will be broadly representative of the international .org community. In fact, .org registrants and registrars will have the right to directly select some of the Advisors. The Council, in turn, shall elect three Advisors to the Board. This governance mechanism provides for the input in policy direction that the community has been seeking.

We have also focused on designing outreach mechanisms that allow us to take on the important task of engaging both ICANN accredited registrants and the .org registrants, particularly those from the global noncommercial sector. Through these mechanisms, we will discover which new products and services would encourage noncommercial registrations. We are confident that the DotOrg Foundation will bring a fresh focus to the domain name space, reflecting the views of the .org community.

In short, we answer ICANN’s need to ensure stability with superior technology, while taking on the responsibility for addressing the noncommercial sector’s unique needs.