Our Journey

We do our work with the understanding that prioritizing and resourcing BIPOC-led and centered initiatives have not always been the priority in non-profit and philanthropy spaces, even allegedly progressive ones — including CTF. 

CTF was founded in 2016, inspired by the founder’s desire to resource conflict literacy in the United States. 

As CTF began making investments to support organizations struggling with conflict, we learned there are very few resources around conflict — in the form of limited tools, trainings, consultants and facilitators, as well as funds to access this kind of support — and enormous demand for them. There are even fewer resources supporting BIPOC capacity builders, coaches, and healers for their work in this space.

Over time, with the onboarding of BIPOC leadership, CTF has evolved in its mission and programs as an effort to respond to this gap — and to imagine what not only repair but proactive change looks like in our organization, from the makeup of our staff to how we spend our money. CTF truly began to step into its power and potential as an organization when, as a team in 2020, we made a commitment to tackle issues of racial inequities within the organization and philanthropy overall. We are committed to the time and labor it will take for our own transformation — and know that ultimately, striving to do conflict work with a decolonial, pro-Black lens is how we can best serve our collective liberation.