August 14, 2002 Dear ICANN
Board Member:
On behalf of eGrants.org and its Board of Directors, I encourage
you to strongly consider the bids of The .Org Foundation and the joint bid of the
Internet Multicasting Society and the Internet Software Consortium to operate the
.org registry.
eGrants.org has previously spoken out in support of the concept
of non-commercial validation as a way to improve the integrity of the .org Internet
address.
We believe that accountability is the single most important issue that
should drive the ICANN Board's selection decision. The .Org Foundation has
proposed setting up the direct election of a majority of board members by the at-large
community of noncommercial users. The Internet Multicasting Society and the
Internet Software Consortium have put forward a model of accountability that comes
from traditional Internet approaches to transparency. For example, all their software
will be freely available with no restrictions in source and binary form. It's a high
form of accountability that also has the potential to drive down costs.
eGrants.org
is a nonprofit organization created by Tides Foundation in San Francisco to help
nonprofit groups use the Internet effectively to increase resources for positive
social change and environmental sustainability. We provide online donation
services that nonprofits use to raise money on the Internet. We also offer
several learning programs on online fundraising and Internet strategy, including
training workshops, a Resource Center on our Web site, and a monthly eNewsletter.
eGrants.org has processed more than $4.25 million in online donations, provided
training to more than 350 organizations nationwide in online fundraising and Internet
strategy, and provides Internet services to more than 800 organizations across the
United States. As a component of our online donation services, we individually
verify the nonprofit status of every customer that wants to buy our products.
We
wish to acknowledge the leadership of Michael Gilbert of The Gilbert Center in Seattle,
Washington, in helping to shape our thinking on this important subject.
Sincerely,
Michael Stein
Associate Director
eGrants.org
The Presidio, Box 29256,
San Francisco, CA 94129-0256
http://www.egrants.org/
info@egrants.org