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Non-profit

Peace Through Commerce

Website:

peacethroughcommerce.org
Location:

Austin, TX
Tax ID:

27-3971757
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $29,921
Expenses: $60,824
Assets: $240,066
Formation:

2011
Type:

Non-Profit
President and CEO:

Philomena Blees
President and CEO's Salary:

$4,982 1

References

  1. Peace Through Commerce, Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.

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Peace Through Commerce (PTC) is an educational nonprofit corporation that uses a proprietary modeling system, the Matrix of Peace Systems, in an effort to create more peaceful and prosperous societies. 1

Activities

The Matrix of Peace Whole Systems Model of Society is a multi-sector model of society intended to promote societal peace. The Matrix model uses parameters that assume society is an ecosystem that is open to evolution, creative growth, experimentation, and decay while being dynamic, conscious, progressive, and intelligent. The theory behind the Matrix of Peace model claims that the cooperation of public, private, and civil society sectors with shared values create societal peace by generating justice, prosperity, and both environmental and economic sustainability. The Matrix of Peace Systems incorporates the three disciplines that have grown from the Matrix model, which are a theory, a diagrammatic model of society, and a technology for applying the theory. 2

Peace Through Commerce’s Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program works with women entrepreneurs in Israel and Palestine, encouraging them to take on the roles of peacebuilders through their business development. The AWE program uses PTC’s Matrix of Peace Whole Systems Model to teach women entrepreneurs about the core principles of peacebuilding and teaches that business is at the core of creating peace in society. 3

Funding

Peace Through Commerce is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While PTC does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Metrowest NJ ($50,000 in 2017), 4 DonorsTrust ($10,000 in 2019), 5 and the Beck Foundation ($5,000 in 2017). 6

Board of Directors

Khotan Shahbazi-Harmon is chair of the board and the founder and CEO of the Conscious Leadership Alliance. 7

Philomena Blees is the president and CEO of Peace Through Commerce and a board member emeritus of Conscious Capitalism, Inc. Blees is a former attorney in the office of General Counsel at the Texas State Treasury. 8

Michelle A. Waters is the vice president at Peace Through Commerce and sits on the board of eChange Endeavors. 9

Board of Advisors

Richard Barrett is a former fellow of the World Business Academy and a former values coordinator at the World Bank. 10

Joyce Beck formerly sat on the boards of the Omega Institute, Austin Social Venture Partners, and the Austin Area Inter-religious Ministries. 11

Timothy Fort is a former executive director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility, former coleader of the Business and Peace Task Force at the United States Institute of Peace, and former academic advisor for the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics. 12

Nitsan Gordon is the founder and director of Together Beyond Words. 13

Jean Houston is a cofounder of the Foundation for Mind Research and the founder and director of the International Institute for Social Artistry. Houston formerly worked as an advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Department of Commerce. 14

Roberta Lang is the founder and CEO of Austin Conscious Leadership and a co-chair of the board of the Rodale Institute. Lang formerly sat on the boards of the Whole Planet Foundation and Conscious Capitalism. 15

Elena Panaritis is a former economist at the World Bank. 16

Michael Strong is a cofounder of Freedom Lights Our World (FLOW) 17 and a cofounder of Conscious Capitalism. 18

Felora Ziari is a former chair of the board of the United Nations Association (UNA-USA) and a former president of the board of Interfaith Action of Central Texas. 19

Other members of the advisory board include Nilima Bhat, Karol Boudreaux, organizational consultant Jimmy Carter, Amber Chand, Paula D’Arcy, Teri Johnson-Sapp, Fred Krawchuk, Nancy Lunney-Wheeler, Elza Maalouf, Nina Jo Muse, and Nadine Spencer. 20

References

  1. “Home.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/.
  2. “Home.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/.
  3. “Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/awe/.
  4. Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Metrowest NJ, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
  5.  DonorsTrust, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
  6. The Beck Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3.
  7. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  8. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  9.  “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  10.  “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  11.  “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  12. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/
  13. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  14. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  15. “Roberta Lang.” LinkedIn, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertalang/.
  16. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  17. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  18. “Michael Strong.” LinkedIn, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-strong-21b6a359/.
  19. “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
  20.  “Our People.” Peace Through Commerce. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://peacethroughcommerce.org/our-people-2/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 2011

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $29,921 $60,824 $240,066 $0 N $29,771 $150 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form 990 $112,727 $108,001 $272,062 $93 N $34,197 $78,530 $0 $0 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $291,774 $242,933 $265,310 $9,401 N $188,029 $103,000 $745 $0 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $379,981 $287,287 $218,091 $11,023 N $227,981 $152,000 $0 $0 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $172,706 $198,410 $119,125 $2,251 N $170,896 $1,810 $0 $0
    2015 Dec Form 990 $220,383 $195,192 $206,492 $63,913 N $217,483 $2,900 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990EZ $166,421 $170,874 $117,492 $105 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990EZ $139,358 $103,194 $115,358 $155 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990EZ $45,501 $34,810 $79,864 $100 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990EZ $52,268 $43,377 $80,951 $11,677 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Peace Through Commerce

    1510 FALCON LEDGE DR
    Austin, TX 78746-6104