What CATALYST FOR PEACE does

Catalyst for Peace is a US-based 501(c)(3) private foundation headquartered in Falmouth, Maine, founded in 2003 by Libby Hoffman using personal proceeds from her family's company initial public offering. The organization channels philanthropic capital into community-led peacebuilding, primarily through its flagship Fambul Tok program in Sierra Leone (operating since 2007). The foundation operates with a small team of 1–10 employees and supports grassroots reconciliation, leadership development, and social cohesion in post-conflict regions. Beyond Sierra Leone, the organization has supported adjacent work in India, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and Israel/Palestine, and has hosted learning events convening practitioners from more than ten countries.

The foundation's core product is its "inside-out" peacebuilding methodology — a community-owned approach to reconciliation that reframes peacebuilding from external intervention to local leadership, formalized and scaled through the Wan Fambul National Framework established in 2018 in partnership with the Sierra Leonean government. Complementing program delivery, Catalyst for Peace has built a content library spanning documentary films, books, and educational media. Programming is delivered through direct engagement with community partners rather than a commercial technology platform, and there is no indication of AI, ML, or software product components.

The organization's revenue model is non-commercial: funding comes from philanthropic donations, foundation grants, and the founder's personal commitment of IPO-derived proceeds. There is no priced product or fee-for-service revenue line; program scope in any given year is set by what the funding base supports, making the foundation's capacity sensitive to funder concentration rather than market demand.

Name

CATALYST FOR PEACE

Legal name

Catalyst for Peace

Website

https://catalystforpeace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Catalyst for Peace is a Falmouth, Maine-based 501(c)(3) private foundation that funds community-led peacebuilding, principally the Fambul Tok program in Sierra Leone, serving post-conflict communities through an inside-out methodology, documentary content, and a national partnership framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian peacebuilding services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution & Stabilization (BPAGABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Post-Conflict Recovery, Reconciliation & Social Cohesion Programs (BPADAFAL), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Community peacebuilding programs
• Post-conflict reconciliation services
• Humanitarian foundation grants
• Peacebuilding documentary films
• Inclusive governance consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Foundation Grants: Catalyst for Peace operates as a US 501(c)(3) private foundation that provides catalytic funding for inside-out peacebuilding practice. As noted on their peacebuilding page: 'As a US 501(c)3 private foundation, part of our work involves providing catalytic funding for inside-out peacebuilding practice, including storytelling that supports this practice. We do not accept unsolicited proposals.'

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Catalyst for Peace is a US 501(c)(3) private foundation that catalyzes authentic cooperation between local leaders and outside partners by providing catalytic funding, co-creating, and partnering on community-owned peacebuilding programs. Its flagship is Fambul Tok, a locally-owned reconciliation program in Sierra Leone that uses village-level ceremonies of truth-telling, apology, and forgiveness to heal post-war communities, alongside complementary programs such as Peace Mothers, the People's Planning Process, and global learning events including Constellating Peace.

Product overview

Catalyst for Peace is a nonprofit peacebuilding organization that does not offer a software product but operates a portfolio of peacebuilding programs and resources. The core program is Fambul Tok, a community-owned and led reconciliation initiative in Sierra Leone. Related programs include Peace Mothers (women's leadership), the People's Planning Process (community development), and Constellating Peace (global learning events). The organization also produces documentary films, publishes books, and provides educational resources. The Wan Fambul National Framework represents the institutionalization of their approach into Sierra Leone's national policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fambul Tok: A groundbreaking, large-scale, locally owned and led peacebuilding and reconciliation program in Sierra Leone that brings victims and perpetrators from the civil war together in village-level ceremonies of truth-telling, apology, and forgiveness.
• Wan Fambul National Framework
• Voice to Vision
• Seeing Africa

Products and services

• Fambul Tok A large-scale, locally-owned and led peacebuilding and reconciliation program in Sierra Leone that brings victims and perpetrators from the civil war together in village-level, tradition-based ceremonies of truth-telling, apology, and forgiveness to heal communities and the nation.
• Peace Mothers A women's leadership program that emerged from Fambul Tok, supporting women who participated in reconciliation to come together, discuss their needs, and lead their communities in peace and development work across Sierra Leone.
• Wan Fambul National Framework for Inclusive Governance and Rural Development The Government of Sierra Leone's national planning framework for inclusive development and local governance, emerged from the People's Planning Process and the Catalyst for Peace-Fambul Tok partnership, and adopted as Sierra Leone's national policy.
• Constellating Peace global learning events Global learning events that bring peace and development leaders from around the world to Sierra Leone for immersive exchange and embodied learning about the inside-out approach to peacebuilding.
• Fambul Tok Documentary Film Award-winning documentary film about the community-based approach to reconciliation in Sierra Leone, telling the story of the Fambul Tok program and the people who made it possible; available via Vimeo.
• The Answers Are There: Building Peace from the Inside Out Book by Libby Hoffman published in October 2022, telling the story of her 30 years as an international peacebuilder and her partnership with Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fambul Tok program has helped communities across Sierra Leone heal after 11-year civil war through village-level ceremonies of truth-telling and forgiveness
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Constellating Peace 2.0 Partner OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Teams from Nepal (national peacebuilding movement on climate and natural resources), Kenya (Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission leaders), Somalia, Colombia, Chicago (deputy mayor and community healers), The Gambia, and across the US participated in the 2024 Constellating Peace 2.0 gathering, sharing and learning inside-out peacebuilding approaches.
• Government of Sierra LeoneflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018CFP and Fambul Tok partnered with the Government of Sierra Leone to develop the Wan Fambul National Framework for Inclusive Governance and Rural Development. This national policy framework emerged from the People's Planning Process and has made Sierra Leone a pioneer globally in putting communities at the center of peace and development. The Government officially hosted Constellating Peace events.
• Fambul Tok International - Sierra LeonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2007CFP co-founded Fambul Tok with John Caulker in December 2007. The program brings victims and perpetrators from Sierra Leone's civil war together in village-level, tradition-based ceremonies of truth-telling and forgiveness. CFP serves as co-creator, international funding partner, and program partner, providing ongoing support for this large-scale, locally-owned peacebuilding initiative. This partnership is CFP's primary 'living collaboratory' for testing and proving the inside-out approach.
• George Mason University - Institute for Conflict Analysis and ResolutionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003CFP helped establish the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution in 2003. This emerged from CFP's work convening grassroots Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers with American policymakers, aiming to bring positive dimensions of religion onto the international stage and counter religious extremism.
• United Religions Initiative (URI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFP partnered with URI to train teams of peacebuilders from southern India, Northern Uganda, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and North America in locally-rooted, faith-based peacebuilding. The partnership also aimed to build organization-wide interfaith peacebuilding capacity. Rev. Canon Charles P. Gibbs, now CFP's Senior Partner, was the founding Executive Director of URI.
• International Peace InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFP partnered with the International Peace Institute to hold UN General Assembly side events on inclusive governance and community-centered peacebuilding, including 'An Agenda for the People by the People: Consolidating Peace and Advancing Development in Sierra Leone.'
• Institute for State EffectivenesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFP partnered with the Institute for State Effectiveness to support implementation of the Wan Fambul National Framework and launched the Learning Exchange for Community-Centered Peace & Development initiative, an ongoing series of virtual convenings for peace and development practitioners.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/catalyzingpeace
• YouTubevimeo.com/user36434132
• Facebookfacebook.com/CatalystForPeace
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/catalyst-for-peace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CATALYST FOR PEACE