Peace Direct Inc.

“Finance committee reviews and approve the 990 which is shared with the board.”

“All board members review the conflict of interest policy annually at the first board meeing of the calendar year and must agree to its terms in writing.”

“To determine the executive director compensation, an analysis of salaries/compensation is conducted by the board. Current salary of the director is benchmarked to the compensation of other executives in the region, city and by annual budget and industry.”

“All information is available upon request.”

“Peace direct is an international organization working with local people to stop violent conflict and build sustainable peace. We believe that local people should be at the center of defining and driving peacebuilding in their communities. Since our founding in 2004, we have established ourselves as a champion of locally led efforts to prevent violent conflict and build lasting peace around the world. In 2019, the porticus foundation reviewed peacebuilding organizations worldwide and ranked peace direct no. 2 in reach and influence globally, second only behind an organization that functions as a network for other peacebuilding organizations. Peace direct's long-term goal is the substantial shift in power and resources to local actors working on the frontlines of conflict around the world, leading to a reduction in violent conflict in those contexts and more just, sustainable peace. Peace direct's strategic plan focuses on expanding our global impact. Our work is critical to mobilizing vital resources enabling our partners to continue their work. Our vision of dynamic support to and solidarity with our partners enables us to be nimble in our capacity to meet emerging needs, especially in times of crisis. As a part of our five-year strategy, we expanded our scope to support local peacebuilding in our own backyards, recognizing our responsibility to help undo the root causes of injustice and violence here in the us while we strive to reach all regions experiencing violence.”

“Overall programing has remained the same. Titles of programs have changed”

“Supporting local peacebuilders: we support local people on the frontlines of conflict who are preventing, responding to, and rebuilding after war. We support courageous local peacebuilders in 13 countries through long-term partnerships, networking, resource mobilization, and shared learning. All programs we support are designed by or co-designed with our local partners. Examples of our partnerships include supporting the reintegration of child soldiers and other former combatants in the democratic republic of congo; helping young people find alternatives to violence and become leaders for peace in their communities in somalia and the central african republic; expanding the work of peace committees to mediate conflicts in sudan; strengthening local civil society networks to prevent atrocities and promote peace in myanmar; and, advancing the leadership of women and girls in building peace in pakistan. In drc, our partners have also created the peace gold project, forming cooperatives that are producing the first ethically and environmentally sound gold in the country and securing peace and livelihoods for their communities. Here in the u.s., we partner with networks working for racial healing, justice, and the prevention of violence in this country. We hold online peace exchanges to share knowledge, network, collaborate, and activate projects together. We will bring lessons from more than 15 years of experience with local peacebuilders around the world to bear on our work here at home as we listen and follow the lead of local communities on the frontlines in this country. We plan to expand our support further by exploring and building new partnerships in south and central america, a region with some of the highest rates of violence globally and a thriving civil society with which to partner for peace.”

“Advocacy and research: peace direct is committed to making space for local voices to be heard in international policymaking, as well as advocating alongside local peacebuilding partners for the needs and recommendations they themselves identify. Our seasoned advocacy team maintain extensive networks and relationships with the united nations, u.s. And uk governments, engaging key decision-makers regularly to inform and influence policy. As a leading voice within the peace and security field for locally led peacebuilding, we help shift u.s. And un policies and programs toward greater recognition and support for local peacebuilding. For example, peace direct helped advocate for the reform of the un peacebuilding architecture with greater inclusion of and support for locally led peacebuilding. In addition, we have successfully advocated for increased u.s. Recognition, funding, and support for youth-led peacebuilding, including support for the youth, peace and security act of 2020. Looking ahead, peace direct plans to engage more with u.s. Based organizations and coalitions to educate and advocate for policies that help undo racism and militarism here at home as well. This includes shifting resources from wasteful war spending to supporting real security for communities in the us and around the world, as well as decolonizing the aid, humanitarian, and peacebuilding sectors. Our advocacy is informed by the reports and publications from our research team. Our research team works alongside our local peacebuilding partners and experts to undertake cutting-edge, action-oriented studies to build a stronger evidence-base for locally led peacebuilding. We have published more than 20 reports that vary in focus of country and themes, including recent reports: time to decolonise aid, covid-19 and the impacts on local peacebuilding, escaping perpetual beginnings: locally-led atrocity prevention in eastern drc, and local peacebuilding: what works and why. Overall, our primary recommendation remains the same: local actors need to lead, and be better supported by the international community, in peacebuilding processes before, during, and after conflict erupts. Peace direct further promotes the work of our partners plus 1800 locally led peacebuilding initiatives through peace insight, our comprehensive digital platform showcasing local peacebuilding globally. Peace insight is where you can find articles and stories from our network of local peacebuilding experts (lpes) based in conflict areas. Our trusted lpes provide updates and analysis on country developments, network with local peacebuilding groups and support our programs. Students, academics, and policy makers have referred to peace insight to supplement their research on the effectiveness and importance of locally led peacebuilding. Importance of locally led peacebuilding. In addition, we engage with local peacebuilders worldwide through our online forum for peace practitioners, platform4dialogue. This platform enables local peacebuilders to communicate directly with one another across the globe, building connections and sharing experiences and learnings. Additionally, platform4dialogue provides others in the peacebuilding community access to local perspectives to learn together and improve practice and policy.”

“Public engagement: although more governmental institutions and large funders are beginning to recognize the importance of locally led peacebuilding, peace direct knows it cannot gain momentum without the support of the public. One of peace direct's objectives in the u.s. Is to build a broad-based public constituency who is informed, inspired, and activated to work for peace in their own communities, and in solidarity with others around the globe. Through our growing digital engagement and direct people-to-people connections, we share inspiring stories, disseminate research and policy information, and mobilize individuals to take action with us in support of locally led peace. We are using creative ways to share our message of the effectiveness and importance of locally led peacebuilding outside of our "bubbles" with the hopes of empowering anyone to be a peacebuilder. In the u.s. This includes: peacechats: a monthly event where we introduce peace direct's mission and programming to a new audience. Peace direct staff share stories of our partner's work, as well as personal stories of the peacebuilders we've met, with the intention of inspiring new people to become engaged in with peace direct and our mission of supporting local peacebuilders. Peacetalks: a series of events hosted by peace direct featuring local peacebuilders sharing their stories of hope and resilience in the face of violence inspiring audience members to build peace in their communities. Recently, we have highlighted the efforts of local peacebuilders from the u.s., particularly as they respond to systemic racism and militarism felt in the country. Student allies program: our student engagement program empowers, supports, and connects aspiring and active youth peacebuilders with each other, as well as with the larger network of youth peacebuilders worldwide. Advocacy and public engagement initiatives help them develop their writing and communication skills and exposes them to the peacebuilding sector early in their academic and professional careers. The program also empowers them to be leaders in supporting local efforts for sustainable peace in their communities.”

“Ppp funds forgiven in 2021 65,170”