The DONA Foundation was constituted as a non-profit organization in Geneva, Switzerland on January 20, 2014 and registered with the Régistre du Commerce of the Confédération Suisse on February 21, 2014. The Foundation is multi-stakeholder in character and, except as otherwise required by Swiss law applicable to non-profit organizations, shall not be under the control of one or several governments.

As set forth in its Statutes, the purpose of the Foundation is to provide management, software development and other services for the technical coordination, evolution, application and other use in the public interest around the world of the Digital Object (DO) Architecture, including its logical extensions and follow-ons, with a mission to promote interoperability across heterogeneous information systems.

Within its purpose, the Foundation shall administer and maintain the stable operation of the Global Handle Registry (GHR), a key component of the DO Architecture, and is tasked with authorizing and coordinating the administration of the GHR with multiple parties around the globe known as Multi-Primary Administrators.