.FOUNDATION Domain Extension

Why choose a .FOUNDATION domain?

A foundation is not a front-line organisation: it is a funding structure. It gathers, invests and distributes — it gives rather than delivers. So the word says where the money comes from, not what is done with it, and that is what separates it from .community or .church. One detail that matters here: this extension is run by Public Interest Registry, the non-profit that also administers .org.

Where the money comes from

Endowment, major campaigns, planned giving, legacies. A significant donor wants to understand your model before considering anything.

Where it goes

Grants made, share spent on administration, projects supported. This is the page that decides, and it has to be easy to find.

Giving

One-off gifts, regular giving, automatic receipts. Every additional step in the form loses donors.

Accountability

Annual report, accounts, trustees, registration number. A charity is judged on transparency before anything else.

The other sense

“Foundation” also names the footings of a building, the basis of a thing. A second sense some technical organisations use deliberately.

What it actually changes

• It names the funding, not the work. That is what separates it from .community and .church, which both name people on the ground.
• Its registry is itself a non-profit. Public Interest Registry has run .org since 2003: a consistency your donors can check.
• No registration restrictions. No charity number to show the registrar — but display yours on the site.
• It works as an email address too. giving@harding.foundation separates donors from administrative post.