What happened to the Peace and Justice Center?
Many of us have asked this question in the past few years. The CPJC Board ceased posting its meeting dates last spring and the website went silent; it had left its rented office site before that, and a few months ago announced on its website that it was dissolving the non-profit corporation and bringing the Center to an end. A group of us long associated with the Center have begun to work to bring organized peace work back to the community, but exactly what brought the Center to an end is still a bit of mystery.
But here is what we know at this point: Years ago some of us had a sense the Center was having difficulties, and after the executive director left in the summer of 2019 a group of us gathered to discuss how we might be of help. That September we sent a letter to the Board offering to meet with them to brainstorm options and contribute support, but our offer was not accepted. Nevertheless, we met a number of other times, seeking to find a way to offer help, but still with no success. A few of us individually attended Board meetings and were welcomed, but the small Board seemed to prefer to keep its affairs to itself and manage its work confidentially. The larger community of long-time supporters also felt in the dark, wondering if the Center still existed, particularly after it closed the office. It was not until late in 2021 that our group reconnected to seek again to help out. We had heard that the Center planned to dissolve the non-profit corporation and close up shop. We met to seek alternatives to closure, even considering an offer to step into board roles and to relieve present Board members of a project they seemed to have decided could not be continued. After a series of conversations the Board invited us to meet with them, and in the course of these meetings we came to believe it was not wise for us to assume roles in the existing corporation. We had sought records of the past years’ Board activity, including financial records, but these were not made available, and we decided therefore to create an alternative peace organization to take up the work the CPJC Board had decided to leave behind. It was with some regret that we saw the Board proceed with the dissolution process.
What is happening now? This has been a complex affair. Many emotions have arisen in its course—grief, anger, frustration, sympathy. The COVID period has made it difficult for many organizations to sustain themselves, to raise funds, to be active. The Board’s problems predated this era, but were certainly intensified in the face of the pandemic. The small Board [four members] seems now to be pursuing the dissolution process, closing the 501(c)3.
A way forward: Our newly-formed group has been meeting every other week for some months now, discussing how to work in this transition, what our mission is, and how to reconnect with the community of Peace Center supporters who want to know what happened, and how to continue to support peace work in our town. We are now calling ourselves the Chico Peace Alliance, and between five and ten of us are active in this project. We hope to in some way continue the 40-year tradition of important work the Chico Peace and Justice Center represented. We invite others who have long supported this work to once again engage with it, to offer their energy, ideas, and participation to this newly [re]begun endeavor.
But here is what we know at this point: Years ago some of us had a sense the Center was having difficulties, and after the executive director left in the summer of 2019 a group of us gathered to discuss how we might be of help. That September we sent a letter to the Board offering to meet with them to brainstorm options and contribute support, but our offer was not accepted. Nevertheless, we met a number of other times, seeking to find a way to offer help, but still with no success. A few of us individually attended Board meetings and were welcomed, but the small Board seemed to prefer to keep its affairs to itself and manage its work confidentially. The larger community of long-time supporters also felt in the dark, wondering if the Center still existed, particularly after it closed the office. It was not until late in 2021 that our group reconnected to seek again to help out. We had heard that the Center planned to dissolve the non-profit corporation and close up shop. We met to seek alternatives to closure, even considering an offer to step into board roles and to relieve present Board members of a project they seemed to have decided could not be continued. After a series of conversations the Board invited us to meet with them, and in the course of these meetings we came to believe it was not wise for us to assume roles in the existing corporation. We had sought records of the past years’ Board activity, including financial records, but these were not made available, and we decided therefore to create an alternative peace organization to take up the work the CPJC Board had decided to leave behind. It was with some regret that we saw the Board proceed with the dissolution process.
What is happening now? This has been a complex affair. Many emotions have arisen in its course—grief, anger, frustration, sympathy. The COVID period has made it difficult for many organizations to sustain themselves, to raise funds, to be active. The Board’s problems predated this era, but were certainly intensified in the face of the pandemic. The small Board [four members] seems now to be pursuing the dissolution process, closing the 501(c)3.
A way forward: Our newly-formed group has been meeting every other week for some months now, discussing how to work in this transition, what our mission is, and how to reconnect with the community of Peace Center supporters who want to know what happened, and how to continue to support peace work in our town. We are now calling ourselves the Chico Peace Alliance, and between five and ten of us are active in this project. We hope to in some way continue the 40-year tradition of important work the Chico Peace and Justice Center represented. We invite others who have long supported this work to once again engage with it, to offer their energy, ideas, and participation to this newly [re]begun endeavor.
