PIR (.org) tax return: fresh Identity Digital contract regarding $1 per domain

.Org manager paid a lot less to Identity Digital for managing its registry backend under fresh contract.

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit that manages the .org top level domain name, has posted its annual Form 990 (pdf) tax return for 2024.

The firm generated $104.2 million in program revenue in 2024, up from $103.7 million in the prior year. Total revenue increased to $106.4 million from $105.1 million, thanks in part to higher investment returns.

PIR paid Identity Digital, which manages the .org backend, $10.5 million. That’s down from $15.1 million in the prior year following Identity Digital won a renewed contract to manage the domain.

The registry services expenses are down nearly 75% since PIR put the contract out for a rebid in 2016.

With 11.1 million .org domains under management, the fresh contract creates a benchmark for a high-volume registry at regarding $1 per name.

Separately, PIR recorded “TLD Assignment Revenue” of $0.2 million, which is likely related to a deal with Identity Digital to manage a number of top level domains.

PIR paid ICANN $3.1 million.

In 2023, PIR paid GoDaddy $1.2 million for promotional services. Last year, it paid $0.9 million.

PIR’s primary beneficiary is Internet Society, although its contribution to the group has been declining. In 2024, it contributed $61.0 million. That’s down from $64.8 million in 2023 and $69.3 million in 2022.

In a separate annual note, PIR disclosed that 2.2 million fresh domains were registered last year, which is higher than the firm has noted since at least 2017. Domains renewed at 52.4% in the first year and 74.2% in the second year. The overall blended renewal rate was 80.1%.