TECHO becomes first Latin America group to win PIR's .Org of the Year
in plain words
Public Interest Registry runs the .org domain name system. Every year it gives awards to nonprofits doing good work around the world. This year a group called TECHO, which fights poverty in Latin America, won the top prize for the first time for an organization from that region. TECHO got 50,000 dollars as part of a larger prize pool.
Full summary
PIR Public Interest Registry The nonprofit registry operator of .org. Full definition of PIR (PIR), which operates the .org domain, revealed the winners of its 2026 .ORG Impact Awards on October 6 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The awards honor mission-driven individuals and organizations worldwide for their social impact. This year's judges selected seven category winners from more than 4,200 applicant An organization that has applied to ICANN to run a new gTLD. Full definition of applicant across 145 countries, with TECHO.org earning the top .Org of the Year Award from that group.
TECHO, a youth-led nonprofit working to fight extreme poverty across Latin America and the Caribbean, becomes the first Latin America-based organization to receive PIR's top honor. The organization had been a finalist for the award the previous year before winning outright in 2026. PIR gave TECHO a $50,000 donation as part of an overall $180,000 prize pool distributed among the category winners.
Other 2026 category winners included Style Her Empowered (Quality Education for All), Friends of Tonga (Environmental Stewardship), Boys Champions Foundation (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Hope to Walk (Health and Healing), Food4Education Foundation (Hunger and Poverty), and Dr. Adriana Viola Miranda of the 1000 Days Fund (Rising Star, for leaders under 30).
PIR CEO Jon Nevett said TECHO's efforts to mobilize local communities to address Latin America's housing crisis are critical and should inspire wider collective action, adding that the awards program has become a community organizations return to year after year. TECHO Global CEO Juan José Ayerza said the recognition belongs to the families, communities and volunteers across Latin America who built the movement together, and thanked PIR for its support.
The 2026 ceremony marked the eighth year of the .ORG Impact Awards. Since the program's launch, PIR says it has awarded more than $1 million total to support the work of .org-registered organizations globally.