11th October 2016, Oxford – Nominet, a public benefit company with 20 years’ experience running the .UK internet infrastructure, has confirmed a £5.4 million charitable donation to Nominet Trust, its charitable foundation.
Nominet established Nominet Trust in 2008 with the proceeds from its successful registry business, and Nominet Trust has since become the UK’s leading social tech funder. This year’s contribution, covering an 18 month period, brings the total Nominet has donated to Nominet Trust to over £44 million.
Nominet Trust supports the imaginative use of technology to address complex social challenges. It has benefitted over 10 million people by investing in internet related projects that improve lives and communities. Recent projects and partnerships include iAMDigital, BAFTA Young Game Designers, iDEA, MakerClub’s Digital Families and Alice.SI.
Baroness Rennie Fritchie DBE, Chair of Nominet, comments: “Nominet is committed to delivering public benefit, and we are building on our work running a thriving and trusted .UK registry with support for initiatives that improve digital engagement, increase internet safety, and deploy technology in innovative ways to tackle social challenges. Nominet Trust has developed an important and exciting programme that we are delighted to support.”
Russell Haworth, Nominet CEO, said: “We want to contribute to creating a vibrant digital future, finding new ways to build an internet that benefits more of us, in more ways, more of the time. Supporting the next generation of talent and ideas is vital, and our donation to Nominet Trust will help charities strengthen their impact online, and will support marginalised young people by giving them access to digital skills, as well as employment and business opportunities.”
The donation comes as Nominet Trust appoints Natalie Campbell as its new Chair. Natalie, a career-long champion of the idea that entrepreneurship drives social mobility and founder of A Very Good Company, succeeds the current Chair of Nominet Trust, Dr Clive Grace OBE, who will step down at the end of October when his term of appointment concludes.
Note to Editors
* This latest donation of £5.4m by Nominet, approved by the Nominet Board, is for the period 1 May 2016 to September 2017, rather than the usual 12 month period, to align the financial years of the two organisations.