conscience - taxes for peace not war

What conscience - taxes for peace not war does

Conscience: Taxes for Peace Not War is a UK-based campaigning organization, registered in England and Wales as The Conscience Campaign Limited (company limited by guarantee) and headquartered at 1 Peace Passage, Brecknock Road, London N7 0BT. Founded in 1991, it is the only UK organization specifically advocating for the legal right of conscientious objectors to have the military portion of their taxes redirected to peacebuilding. Its principal campaigns include the Peace Tax Seven legal action — seven citizens who pursued judicial review and ultimately an application to the European Court of Human Rights (filed September 2006) challenging UK tax policy under Article 9 — and a sustained parliamentary push that has secured the support of 65 MPs for legislation introducing the right of conscientious objection to military taxation.

The organization operates a community-led model with a small paid staff team supported by an Executive Committee (Monica Frisch as Treasurer since 1991, Robin Brookes re-joining in 2015, and Anne McCullagh D'Lyske representing Scotland) and volunteer Education Assistants. Its product surface is built around advocacy and education rather than technology: a Supporter's Panel for ongoing grassroots engagement; an Education for Peace programme delivering factsheets, webinars, and research; a Conscientious Objector registration service; a campaigning handbook; commissioned policy reports including the Minister for Peace and Disarmament report; and the Contempt of Conscience documentary produced with Clarity Productions. Distribution relies on a Wix-hosted website, the Conscience Update email newsletter, and active social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, supplemented by fringe meetings at Labour, SNP, and Green Party conferences and parliamentary events.

Revenue is derived almost entirely from individual donations, with a suggested recurring monthly contribution of £5 processed via PayPal through the website. The organization holds strategic partnerships with the Quakers, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Network for Peace, War Resisters' International, War Resisters League, and Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe, and has been legally represented by Public Interest Lawyers. Its stated ambition is a progressive increase in UK tax allocated to peacebuilding alongside a corresponding decrease in military expenditure.

Name

conscience - taxes for peace not war

Legal name

The Conscience Campaign Limited

Website

https://conscienceonline.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Conscience: Taxes for Peace Not War is a UK campaigning organization founded in 1991 that advocates for the legal right of conscientious objectors to redirect the military portion of their taxes to peacebuilding, operating through parliamentary lobbying, legal action, education, and individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peace Advocacy and Campaigning Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax Policy, Legislation & Rulings (BPAIADAA)

Keywords

• Peace tax advocacy
• Conscientious objection campaigning
• Military tax redirection
• Peace legislation lobbying
• Peacebuilding education

Headquarters

HQ city

City Of London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization relies almost entirely on individual donations from supporters. They offer both recurring monthly contributions (via PayPal) and one-time contributions. Donations fund all campaigning and activity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

conscience - taxes for peace not war is a UK-wide advocacy campaign that lobbies for legislation allowing taxpayers with a conscientious objection to war to redirect the military share of their taxation to a peacebuilding fund. Core activities include maintaining a public Conscientious Objector to Military Tax Register, running the Peace Tax Seven legal and parliamentary campaign, producing educational materials and events, and engaging MPs through Early Day Motions, briefings, and a Campaigning Handbook.

Product overview

Conscience: Taxes for Peace Not War is a campaigning organization offering advocacy programs and services rather than traditional technology products. Its core offerings include the Peace Tax Seven legal campaign for conscientious objection to military taxation, the Supporter's Panel for community engagement, the Education for Peace programme with factsheets and research, the Conscientious Objector registration service, documentary content (Contempt of Conscience), policy reports (Minister for Peace and Disarmament), and volunteer/campaigner training resources. The organization focuses on legislative change for the right to redirect military taxation to peacebuilding purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Peace Tax Seven: A group of seven war tax resisters who pursued legal action for the right to conscientious objection to military taxation
• Supporters' Panel

Products and services

• Conscientious Objector to Military Tax Register Online public register where UK taxpayers with a conscientious objection to war can formally record their objection to using tax for military purposes; intended for individual citizens and supporters of the peace tax reform campaign.
• Peace Tax Seven Campaign Campaign seeking UK legislation that would allow taxpayers with a conscientious objection to war to have the military portion of their taxation redirected to a peacebuilding fund; engages parliamentarians and the public to build support for reform.
• MP Pledge and Campaigning Handbook Resource pack distributed to UK MPs and parliamentary staff, providing draft motions, briefing material, and a pledge to support peace tax legislation.
• Education for Peace Programme Educational programme providing resources, talks, and events to help the public understand peace tax legislation and the right of conscientious objection to military taxation.
• Minister for Peace and Disarmament Report Policy report arguing for the establishment of a UK Minister for Peace and Disarmament, used as a campaigning and briefing tool with policymakers and supporters.
• Contempt of Conscience Documentary Documentary film exploring the stories of UK conscientious objectors to military taxation and the case for legal reform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65 MPs have supported the call for legislation to introduce the right of conscientious objection to military taxation

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• War Resisters' International (WRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of war resisters that Conscience collaborates with. Santiago Forero, an education assistant volunteer, has contributed to international networks including WRI.
• War Resisters League (WRL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-based organization where Santiago Forero served on the Editorial Committee.
• Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe (RAMALC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLatin American anti-militarist network that Santiago Forero has been involved with.
• Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor UK peace organization. Monica Frisch, Conscience's Treasurer, was previously Treasurer of CND.
• Network for PeacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK peace network. Monica Frisch served as Treasurer.
• Public Interest LawyerscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm representing the Peace Tax Seven in their judicial review case, led by Phil Shiner.
• QuakerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReligious community with strong peace tradition. Many Conscience members and Peace Tax Seven are Quakers. Quakers have a long history of war tax resistance.
• Clarity ProductionsminorOthersProduction company that collaborated with Joe Jenkins on the full-length documentary 'Contempt of Conscience'.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW): The social-justice arm of Quakers in Britain, with a long tradition of war-tax resistance. Comparable because Conscience's supporter base and Peace Tax Seven members are heavily Quaker, and both pursue conscientious objection as a religious/ethical practice.
• War Resisters' International (WRI): International pacifist network focused on nonviolent resistance and conscientious objection. Directly comparable on the conscientious-objection-to-war axis, with Conscience's volunteer network explicitly embedded in WRI's international structure.
• Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND): UK's largest peace and disarmament advocacy organisation. Directly comparable as a fellow UK peace-movement NGO; Conscience's Treasurer previously served as CND Treasurer and the two organisations maintain a Core strategic partnership, operating in the same donor and volunteer pool.
• Network for Peace: UK umbrella network of peace groups. Comparable as a peer UK peace coalition where Conscience's Treasurer previously served as Treasurer and which serves overlapping constituents around military spending and disarmament.

Emerging players

• Peace Direct: UK-based organisation supporting local peacebuilders globally. Comparable as a peer UK peace-construction/peacebuilding NGO competing for similar individual-donor support, with overlap on the "tax for peacebuilding" theme.
• Tax Justice Network: UK-anchored advocacy organisation focused on tax policy reform and the political ethics of taxation. Comparable on the tax-policy-as-moral-issue axis that underpins Conscience's "ethical taxation" framing, though focused on global tax avoidance rather than military allocation.

Broad incumbents

• British Red Cross: Large UK humanitarian organisation focused on protection and conflict-related assistance. Comparable as a fellow UK humanitarian/peace-adjacent NGO, but operating at vastly greater scale and a broader humanitarian mandate.
• Human Rights Watch (UK): Major international human-rights organisation with UK operations and ECHR litigation experience. Comparable as an institutional reference point for the Article 9 conscientious-objection legal strategy Conscience pursued via the Peace Tax Seven case.
• Amnesty International UK: UK branch of a major international human-rights organisation. Comparable because Conscience frames its case as a human-rights / ECHR Article 9 issue; Amnesty operates at much greater scale in the same rights-advocacy space.

Others

• International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN): Coalition that won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Adjacent as a successful movement-style campaign operating on disarmament policy — a useful peer reference for how a small advocacy NGO can shape international arms-control law.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/taxesforpeace
• Facebookfacebook.com/taxesforpeacenotwar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conscience---taxes-for-peace-not-war
• Instagraminstagram.com/taxesforpeace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about conscience - taxes for peace not war