Friends United Meeting

What Friends United Meeting does

Friends United Meeting is an Indiana-domiciled, independent Quaker nonprofit that connects affiliated Yearly Meetings and churches across North America, the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, Belize), Central America (Guatemala), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia), and the Middle East (Palestine/Ramallah). Its mission is to 'energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed.' Service lines include spiritual formation programs (Unleashing the Power, Cultivating Generous Congregations, Living Letters service-learning trips), publications (FUM Journal, Advent and Pentecost devotionals, and the previously published Quaker Life magazine), the Summer Mission Focus children's curriculum, and the FUM Bookstore. Operations are anchored at a Richmond, Indiana headquarters and an Africa Ministries office relocated in December 2025 to Kakamega, Kenya, supported by roughly 20 employees plus field staff.

The organization is governed by an elected General Board and Executive Board drawn from member Yearly Meetings and operates on a donation-funded nonprofit model with no equity or shareholders. Revenue streams comprise charitable donations (anchored by the 'Encourage One Another in Love' Ministry Support Fund targeting $650,000 by December 2026, ~70% raised as of April 2026), planned giving and legacy gifts administered via partnerships with Everence Financial Services and Friends Fiduciary Corporation, and modest bookstore sales. Donor infrastructure runs on Blackbaud's adaptive giving forms, Mailchimp-delivered E-News, Cognito Forms for surveys/events, and Blackbaud/M-PESA payment rails for U.S./Canada and Kenya donors.

FY26 has been defined by an externally visible retrenchment: in October 2025 the General Board paused the long-running Quaker Life magazine, eliminated communications staff, cut Africa office support, and imposed a travel, hiring, and salary freeze; the 2026 Joint Triennial was suspended due to U.S. visa denials. An eleven-member Search Committee is conducting an international search for the next General Secretary. These moves indicate a small nonprofit under sustained financial pressure, leaning on its denominational network and donor base to stabilize operations.

Name

Friends United Meeting

Legal name

Friends United Meeting

Website

https://friendsunitedmeeting.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Friends United Meeting is an independent Quaker nonprofit connecting affiliated Yearly Meetings and churches across North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and East Africa through spiritual formation programs, publications, humanitarian relief, scholarships, and donor-funded ministry support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Organization Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Interfaith & Ecumenical Councils and Dialogue Organizations (BPAGAJAJ)

Keywords

• Quaker religious organization
• Christian ministry services
• Interfaith publications
• Humanitarian aid ministry
• Planned giving programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ministry Support Fund / Donations: Friends United Meeting raises funds through charitable donations to support global ministries, relationships with Yearly Meetings, and responses to humanitarian needs. The organization runs an 'Encourage One Another in Love' campaign with a goal of $650,000 by December 2026.
2. Bookstore Sales: Online bookstore selling Quaker books, publications, and religious materials.
3. Planned Giving / Legacy Gifts: Charitable giving tools including bequests, gift annuities, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, charitable remainder trusts, and real estate gifts administered through partnership with Everence and Friends Fiduciary Corporation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Friends United Meeting is a nonprofit Quaker religious organization that coordinates global ministry, spiritual formation programs, publications, and humanitarian support for affiliated Yearly Meetings and churches across North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. Its core offerings include programs such as Unleashing the Power, Living Letters, and Cultivating Generous Congregations; publications including the FUM Journal and Advent/Pentecost devotionals; an online bookstore and donation platform; and planned-giving tools administered through partnerships with Everence and Friends Fiduciary Corporation.

Product overview

Friends United Meeting operates as a Quaker religious organization with a portfolio of interconnected programs and publications. The core offerings include spiritual formation programs (Unleashing the Power, Living Letters, Cultivating Generous Congregations), communication platforms (FUM Journal, Quaker Life Magazine, E-News newsletter), and resource distribution (FUM Bookstore, Virtual Display Table, Advent and Pentecost devotionals). The organization also facilitates global partnerships through field staff and yearly meeting support, runs educational initiatives like Summer Mission Focus, and provides charitable giving tools including an online donation platform and planned giving services. These offerings work together to advance FUM's mission of energizing and equipping Friends through the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Fundraising goal of $650,000 for Ministry Support Fund
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• USFW-KenyacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2025USFW-Kenya is leasing space to FUM's Africa Ministries Office on the bottom floor of their new guesthouse in Kakamega, Kenya. This partnership provides a cost-effective home for FUM's African Ministries work while supporting USFW's guesthouse construction completion.
• Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025FWCC partnered with FUM, Friends Journal, and Right Sharing of World Resources for a collaborative dinner in Guatemala exploring opportunities for joint ministry. FWCC hosted the Central American tour with FUM's Global Ministries Coordinator as interpreter.
• Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023RSWR has been active in Guatemala since 2023 and has reached 285 families through its seed-grant program. FUM exploring joint ministry opportunities with RSWR in Guatemala.
• Everence Financial ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEverence provides stewardship resources, financial management tools, and charitable giving calculators for FUM and Quaker communities. They administer the Friends Retirement Plan, Friends Mutual Health Group, and offer planned giving calculators including gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions.
• Friends Fiduciary CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for issuing and administering charitable gift annuities to Friends United Meeting supporters, providing lifetime income while supporting FUM ministry.
• Everence Financial ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEverence provides stewardship resources and support for FUM and Quaker communities including individual financial management, congregational stewardship, cultivating generosity resources, and benevolence fund guidance.
• Kentucky Travel and Shipping AgencyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerShipping agency in Louisville, Kentucky used by FUM to ship supplies to Cuba, located in an immigrant neighborhood with the second-largest Cuban diaspora in the US.
• Earlham School of ReligionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ESR for theological education. FUM offers practicum opportunities for ESR students. Quaker Life devotional content draws on ESR student writings. Joint mission with ESR represented at various conferences.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL): U.S. Quaker lobbying and advocacy organization that shares FUM's Quaker donor base and peace testimony orientation, with comparable reliance on individual donations, planned giving, and Yearly Meeting affiliation — providing a useful comparison for FUM's U.S. engagement model.
• Church World Service: Larger multi-denominational humanitarian organization with global relief and refugee resettlement programs including Cuba and Caribbean work — comparable to FUM's humanitarian shipment and disaster response activities but at materially larger scale across more faith traditions.
• American Friends Service Committee (AFSC): The largest U.S. Quaker organization with global humanitarian programming, peace testimony work, and donor base that overlaps with FUM's. Operates at significantly larger scale than FUM with a similar Quaker identity and global ministry footprint.

Regional players

• Quakers in Britain (Britain Yearly Meeting): The principal Quaker body in the United Kingdom with comparable yearly meeting structure, theological identity, and global engagement focus — comparable to FUM's North American Yearly Meeting coordination model but operating in a different geography.

Direct peers

• Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre: British Quaker centre for spiritual formation, theological education, and global Quaker leadership development — closely comparable to FUM's Unleashing the Power and Living Letters programs serving the international Quaker community.
• Earlham School of Religion: Quaker theological seminary with an active partnership providing FUM with practicum students, devotional content writers, and ministry leadership development — comparable as a Quaker institution investing in leadership formation and theological education.
• Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR): A Quaker organization focused on economic justice and seed-grant micro-enterprise programs, already partnering with FUM in Guatemala where 285 families have been reached since 2023 — directly comparable as a mission-driven Quaker nonprofit with global grassroots programming.
• Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC): Global Quaker umbrella organization coordinating worldwide Quaker fellowship and inter-Yearly Meeting ministry. Directly comparable as a Quaker global fellowship body engaging the same worldwide constituency, and already a strategic partner of FUM in collaborative ministry work.
• Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI): A Quaker denominational body with similar evangelical Christian identity, Yearly Meeting affiliations, missions programming, and ministry partnerships in Latin America and Africa — the closest theological and structural sibling organization to FUM.

Others

• Everence Financial Services: Quaker-affiliated financial services and stewardship organization that administers FUM's charitable gift annuities, planned giving tools, and donor stewardship infrastructure — relevant as an enabling partner providing the financial backbone for FUM's revenue model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-united-meeting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Friends United Meeting