New top level domain applicant using Kickstarter to raise funds

Group hopes to raise €80,000 through Kickstarter to help fund .meow top level domain.

In what I believe is a first for top level domain names, a potential applicant in the next round has turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for its application.

dotMeow Foundation is a Belgian nonprofit that wants to promote social inclusion, connection, and empowerment of the LGBTQIA+ community in Belgium and abroad.

It plans to apply for .meow and funnel proceeds from registrations toward its mission.

dotMeow has been accepted into ICANN’s Applicant Support Program, which means its $227,000 application fee will be discounted by 75%-85%.

But add operational and legal costs to the application fee, and it’s still not cheap to get a top level domain off the ground.

So dotMeow is running a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising €80,000, which will be added to the nonprofit’s existing funding to launch the domain.

Rewards for participating include domain vouchers that can be used to register domains through partner registrars if the TLD successfully launches.

As of this morning, dotMeow has raised over half of its goal from 676 backers.