Here are the reasons to preference WILPF in your annual giving, and with a significant gift as part of Growing WILPF.

• WE NEED YOU NOW. We don’t ask very often. This is the first broad fundraising campaign in many years.  While we ask from time to time for small donations and remind people about their dues, this is the first time in a very long time that we’ve pressed hard for significant donations and campaigned for new members.

• A UNITED VOICE AT LAST.  With our new President in place and a new Board united in purpose, WILPF is emerging once again as a force for peace and justice in the world.  We are working closely together, putting aside divisions and lifting each other up, along with the issues that drive us.  With your help, nothing can stop us.

• SANCTUARY!  How much is a safe place to do your activism worth to you?     WILPF is where you’ve already invested so much of your time and passion. In the many hours you’ve given to WILPF over the years, you have formed meaningful relationships with women and men who share their values, care about the same issues, and who have created a ‘safe place’ in the community to work collaboratively on peace and justice. That’s worth a lot, especially in communities that are not friendly to peace and justice activists. How much is that ‘safe space’, and the relationships you’ve built with like-minded friends worth to you?  For most of us it’s been simply priceless… a satisfying and collegial space that even Church membership can’t always provide.  How much would it be worth to know that WILPF will continue to create a safe place for like-minded young people in your community for the next 100 years?

• WE’RE IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL. After 100 years, no one can doubt our longevity.  But without creating a safe “cushion” for the future, our ability to continue to organize in communities across America is threatened.  With enough support, we can update our internal and external Communications, provide Field Organizers to help struggling branches recruit new younger members and get back on their feet.  We can provide Program Support to amplify the work that has never stopped driving our members and inspiring us.  We can continue to support the work of committees and branches with an expanded Mini-Grant Program that promotes our Mission.  We can make a difference internationally by retaining our standing at the United Nations and providing a meaningful voice for those who have no voice.

• YOUR DOLLAR MEANS MORE AT WILPF.   Putting it quite simply, when you invest a dollar in an organization where there is already vast support, it’s just another dollar.  But investing now, as WILPF stand ready to reimagine itself and recreate itself in the 21^st Century, amid so many old and new challenges… well that makes your investment so much more meaningful.  Your contribution will ensure the continuation of WILPF.  We need you NOW!

• NO ONE ELSE IS LIKE WILPF.     We’re the ones who show up… at protests, events, we participate and actively support our colleagues.  While lots of other organizations exist to address peace issues and environmental issues, and they do wonderful work, WILPF works at a more deeply engaged community level, building on the resources YOU as members bring to the table.  Your voices, your hands, your feet on pavements across town and across the country are still our most precious resource.  We empower women, offer leadership mentoring and the chance for branches to set their own course based on their interests and the unique issues in their community.

• WE’RE NOT JUST A “VIRTUAL” PRESENCE – John Lennon said that most of life is simply Showing Up. “Showing up” vigorously, consistently and loudly in local communities is a strength that sets WILPF apart.  It’s a characteristic of our members that other organizations envy, and one that we cherish.

• WE STAND AT A CROSSROADS.  Your support NOW will allow us to choose to thrive in the future, to go forward ready to morph into an agile and energetic organization.  Without it, our future is in question.

• WE WANT TO INVEST IN YOUR WORK … in ways that we have not been able to do for some time. With reduced staff and most work done by hard-working volunteers, it’s been nearly impossible to grow our PROGRAMS and take our place actively on the world stage and simultaneously grow our branch membership.  Our strategy today depends on our capacity to amplify branch work and strengthen the voices of our members at the grass roots level, while we continue our international and UN work.

We urge you to look at the CAMPAIGN GOALS to see the strategy we plan for the funds you donate to our GROWING WILPF Capacity Campaign.   And consider giving us YOUR advice by taking our SURVEY!