History
The Peace Alliance, a 501 (c)(4) nonprofit, was launched on March 31st, 2004. It was co-founded by internationally acclaimed author, speaker and peace activist Marianne Williamson along with a team of leaders who wanted to take the work of peacebuilding and make it a national and international priority through policy and legislation, as well as embodied in our everyday lives. Our focus is on proactive approaches to cultivating peace.
Our efforts started with a national grassroots campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace. It has grown to include other legislation, policies and concepts that support a culture of peace. We have helped train citizen activists in hundreds of congressional districts and high school and college campuses around the country. Our supporters and teammates have generated thousands of visits to Members of Congress along with hundreds of thousands of letters and phone calls in support of a more peaceful approach to the challenges faced by our nation at home and abroad.
We have held dozens of regional and national conferences, featuring such leaders, luminaries and artists as Walter Cronkite, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Deepak Chopra, Patch Adams, Steven Tyler, Judy Collins, Joaquin Phoenix, and many others.
Our work and initiatives have been featured on CNN, NPR, on talk shows and op-ed’s across the country.
On a policy level, we have helped spearhead efforts through our organization and close allies to pass numerous pieces of federal legislation (and some state), including:
- Helped secure over $110,000,000 in funding for International Peacebuilding priorities;
- Led successful national effort to secure U.S. Institute of Peace funding when Congress threatened to eliminate it completely during budget battles;
- Passed meaningful provisions of the Youth PROMISE Act (one of their top legislative priorities) as part of the final version of the Every Student Succeeds Act, S. 1177, which passed into law, and the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act in the House of Representatives;
- Supported the path for President Obama to sign an Executive Order to institutionalize the U.S. State Department’s Atrocities Prevention Board;
- Helped garner over 70 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives for legislation to establish a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding, including the introduction and support in the Senate.
- Helped educate and advocate for the inclusion of “Peacebuilding” efforts as part of the Democrats 10 key foreign policy priorities;
- Passage of the first in the nation Colorado Restorative Justice in Schools bill to implement and fund programs state-wide;
- Helped educate and advocate for the inclusion of meaningful “Peacebuilding” efforts;
- California Democratic Party adopted key Peacebuilding priorities into its party platform.
At the heart of everything we have done has been our grassroots leadership, who have worked tirelessly to help bring peace to the forefront of our national conversation. They provide the guidance and support that expand the scope and possibilities of our organization.
The Peace Alliance is a 501(c)4 nonprofit. In 2008, The Peace Alliance Educational Institute was established, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that may accept tax deductible donations.
