- ABOUT WILPF US
- WILPF Listserves
- How Committees Work
- Support WILPF
- Work/Intern for WILPF
- Governance Structure
- WILPF HISTORY
- Triennial Congresses
- Board and Board Minutes
- BYLAWS, POLICIES & Financial Reports
ABOUT WILPF US
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was founded in 1915 during World War I, with Jane Addams as its first president.
WILPF works to achieve through peaceful means world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish those political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all.
Vision Statement
WILPF envisions a transformed world at peace, where there is racial, social, and economic justice for all people everywhere—a world in which:
- The needs of all people are met in a fair and equitable manner
- All people equally participate in making the decisions that affect them
- The interconnected web of life is acknowledged and celebrated in diverse ways and communities
- Human societies are designed and organized for sustainable existence
Mission Statement
WILPF members create the peaceful transformation they wish to see in the world by making connections that:
- Provide continuity with the past so that knowledge of historical events and patterns informs current activities for change
- Create analysis and action that reflect and reinforce each other
- Link and challenge root causes of oppression, especially racism, sexism, heterosexism, militarism, economic disparity, and political disempowerment
- Build and strengthen relationships and movements for justice, peace, and radical democracy
Interested members are invited to apply
for the following leadership positions
WILPF is exceptional among non-governmental organizations for the number and variety of opportunities it makes available for its members to involve themselves in its leadership at the national and international levels. That’s because our members are our organization, and our organization’s effectiveness depends—in every way—on the quality of our members.(read more)
WILPF Listserves
A listserve is an email tool which allows a group of people to email to the entire group, without disclosing the email addresses of all those on the “list”. Special WILPF listserves provide important communications functions for the organization and for many WILPF committees.
Generally, listserves are restricted to WILPF US members only.
- Issue
CommitteeListserves - Other
CommitteeListserves - WILPF
Members
DiscussionListserves - The
BranchesListserves
How Committees Work
WILPF relies on the commitment of volunteers in committees to advance our work. The committees function within the guidelines and best practices approved by the national Board. Click here to see these guidelines.
WILPF program and issue work primarily takes place within our issue committee. All WILPF US members are welcome to join any issue committee. For further information about the functioning, organization, and current issue committees see here.
WILPF US members are also welcome to join many of our national ad hoc committees. Additionally, some of the standing committees of the Board seek qualified members. For more information about about openings in ad hoc committees and standing committees of the Board, email secretary [at] wilpfus [dot] org.
Read moreSupport WILPF Planned Giving
Thank you for your support of peace, women’s empowerment, and activist organizing at WILPF US!
Read moreWork/Intern for WILPF
Founded in 1915, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is the oldest, continually active women’s peace organization in the world, with sections in 37 countries. WILPF exists to “bring together women of different political beliefs and philosophies united in their determination to study, make known and help abolish the causes and legitimization of war.” Toward this goal, WILPF members engage in a number of specific projects, issue committees, and national campaigns, evolving and changing over time.
Governance Structure
WILPF US is a non-profit 501(c)(4) corporation organized under the laws of Pennsylvania, with its primary business office in Des Moines, IA, and branches across the United States. It has a board of directors elected by WILPF members and offers a variety of volunteer leadership opportunities to its members.
It is internally governed by the WILPF International Constitution and By-laws, the U.S. Section (of International WILPF) Bylaws. It reports annually to the Internal Revenue Service on IRS form 990.
To better understand the structure of WILPF US and how individual members can connect to those wider structures, please see this July 2023 eNews article.
Read more
WILPF HISTORY
WILPF works to create an environment of political, economic, social and psychological freedom for all members of the human community, so that true peace can be enjoyed by all.
WILPF was founded in 1915 during World War I, with Jane Addams as its first president. WILPF works to achieve through peaceful means world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish those political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all.
Generations of Courage,a 16-page booklet on the history of WILPF. [PDF:2,005KB]On April 28, 1915, a unique group of women met in an International Congress in The Hague, Netherlands to protest against World War I, then raging in Europe, to suggest ways to end it and to prevent war in the future. The organizers of the Congress were prominent women in the International Suffrage Alliance, who saw the connection between their struggle for equal rights and the struggle for peace. WILPF’s foremothers rejected the theory that war was inevitable and defied all obstacles to their plan to meet together in wartime. They assembled more than 1,000 women from warring and neutral nations to work out a plan to end WWI and lay the basis for a permanent peace. Out of this meeting the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was born.
Read moreWILPF US Triennial Congresses
- WILPF US 35th Triennial CongressMay 29-June 2, 2024 35th Triennial Congress (these were in the past, already happened) See videos of the Congress Water is essential, yet our expectations that it will always be there excludes the activism and advocacy that is required to maintain our planet’s supply of this fundamental key to our …
- WILPF US 34th Triennial Congress August 9-22, 2021 WILPF US 34th Triennial Congress See videos of the Congress WOMEN, POWER, and SOCIAL JUSTICE:Building from Strength Holding a virtual congress in 2021 was a groundbreaking experience for Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, US SECTION, and definitely went BIG…
- WILPF US 33rd Triennial CongressA Great Congress! Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom - U.S. 33rd Triennial Congress Thursday July 27th– Sunday July 30th, 2017 University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center West, 2nd Floor Conference Rooms 828 South Wolcott Ave ● Chicago IL 60612 Congress is over, but t…
Board and Board Minutes
The WILPF US Board meets every other month, and the Steering Committee meets in alternating months. Board meetings are usually via teleconference and are open to all WILPF members; pre-register to receive call-in information and agenda in advance of meeting by writing to secretary [at] wilpfus [dot] org.
Read moreBYLAWS
- 24-01-BYLAWS-WILPF-USEffective January 2024 [PDF:168KB]
- Staggered-Elections-Cycles-ChartReferenced in January 2024 Bylaws, in section V.A.4.f. [PDF:113KB]
Principles & Policies
- President’s Corner Archives
- WILPF-US-Principles-and-Policies-1985 From the WILPF US "Principles and Policies" brochure [PDF:112KB]
Financial Reports
- WILPF CALL FOR PEACE RESOURCE GUIDE # 6[pdf:419KB]
