First conceived in 1980, the Peace Development Fund (PDF) was founded by a small group of activists and donors with a vision: to raise money to fund grassroots organizations promoting peace, global demilitarization, and non-violent conflict resolution. During the foundation's first funding cycle, PDF awarded 19 grants to projects designed to increase understanding of the arms race; some to organizations as nearby as Deerfield and Northampton and others to organizations as far away as California. With the
end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, PDF changed focus. Instead of thinking of peace as the absence of war, the Foundation began to see peace as "the presence of equitable relationships among people, nations, and the environment." Since that time, PDF has developed a new perspective on peacework, one centered on fostering social, environmental, and economic justice.
The records of the Peace Development Fund consist chiefly of grant-making files documenting the many organizations that submitted and received awards. Also included is a nearly complete run of PDF's annual reports, newsletters, and other publications, which together offer a full picture of the foundation's funding and programmatic history. Exchange Project files record PDF's efforts to provide training, not just money, to organizations lacking the skills necessary for effective fund-raising, strategic planning, instituting sound organizational structures, and dismantling racism.
Traprock Peace Center and PDF arms race flip chart
First conceived in 1980, the Peace Development Fund (PDF) was founded by a small group of activists and donors with a vision: to raise money to fund grassroots organizations promoting peace, global demilitarization, and non-violent conflict resolution. During the foundation's first funding cycle, PDF awarded 19 grants to projects designed to increase understanding of the arms race; some to organizations as nearby as Deerfield and Northampton and others to organizations as far away as California. With the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, PDF changed focus. Instead of thinking of peace as the absence of war, the Foundation began to see peace as "the presence of equitable relationships among people, nations, and the environment." Since that time, PDF has developed a new perspective on peacework, one centered on fostering social, environmental, and economic justice.
During the past thirty years, the Peace Development Fund has provided over $26.7 million in program services, including $19.8 million in direct grants, to more than 3,300 peace and social justice organizations in the United States and internationally.
Scope of collection
The records of the Peace Development Fund consist chiefly of grant-making files documenting the many organizations that submitted and received awards. Also included is a nearly complete run of PDF's annual reports, newsletters, and other publications, which together offer a full picture of the foundation's funding and programmatic history. Exchange Project files record PDF's efforts to provide training, not just money, to organizations lacking the skills necessary for effective fund-raising, strategic planning, instituting sound organizational structures, and dismantling racism.
Inventory
Art work, advertisements, peace memorabilia
undated
2001-052
Exchange project files, groups trained A-L
1985-1993
2001-052
Exchange project files, groups trained L-Z
1985-1993
2001-052
Exchange project files, newsletters
undated
2001-052
Includes print out of databases of groups and other miscellaneous files.
Exchange project files, PDF training materials
undated
2001-052
Exchange project files, workshops
1984-1988
2001-052
Exchange project files, workshops
1990-1992
2001-052
Exchange project files, workshops
1995-1996
2001-052
Grant-making files
1982-1986
9 boxes
2001-052
Grant-making files
1984-1996
Box 9
Grant-making files
1987
2 boxes
2001-052
Grant-making files
1988-1989
5 boxes
2001-052
Grant-making files
1988-1990
2001-052
Grant-making files
1990
4 boxes
2001-052
Grant-making files
1991
2001-052
Grant-making files
1991-1997
6 boxes
Box 1-6
Grant-making files
1992
2001-052
Grant-making files
1993-2004
Box 10
Grant-making files
1994-1995
2001-052
Grant-making files
1998
2 boxes
Box 7-8
Grant-making files
1999-2000
3 boxes
Box 13-15
Newsletters, annual reports, publications
1981-2001
2001-052
Organizational files
1991-1997
Box 12
Program files
undated
4 boxes
Box 16-19
Publications
2000-2010
Box 11
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Acquired from the Peace Development Fund, 2001 and 2011.
