Stanley Center for Peace and Security

It is a member of left-of-center donor collaborative Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG). ²

Background

Stanley Center for Peace and Security was created in 1956 by engineer C. Maxwell Stanley and philanthropist Elizabeth M. Stanley as the Stanley Foundation. It was based in Muscatine, Iowa, which was the location of Stanley’s two major companies, ³ Stanley Consultants and Home-O-Nize Company. ⁴ Stanley was a leader of the United World Federalist organization which supported a strong United Nations to improve international governance. He did not believe that the world was ready to adopt these approaches, so he created the Stanley Foundation to develop a more active approach to select global issues. ⁵

Stanley Center is a member of Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG) along with left-of-center foundations Arca Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Omidyar Network, Open Society Foundations, Ploughshares Fund, Skoll Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. ²

History

In 1960, Stanley Center brought together international policy experts for the first annual Strategy for Peace Conference which continues today to discuss select global issues and recommend policy solutions. In 1965 it brought together representatives from 114 countries for its first annual United Nations of the Next Decade conference. In 1970 Stanley Center hosted the first Stanley Center Conference on United Nations Procedures to develop ways to discuss and submit recommendations on how to strengthen the United Nations to the UN Secretariat. ³

In the following years Stanley Center began a global education program for the local Iowa community, published a monthly magazine on international issues, and created the radio program “Common Ground.” ³

In 1994 Stanley Center partnered with think tank Council on Foreign Relations to organize a series of conferences entitled New American Global Dialogue to discuss the impact the United States has on global policy. In 2012, Stanley Center created the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group to address the core issue of reducing the use of nuclear weapons, and in 2014 it identified climate change as a core issue. ³

In 2019, as part of a robust strategic planning process, Stanley Foundation was renamed Stanley Center for Peace and Security with a new logo, website, and publications focused on its three issue areas of climate change, mass violence, and reducing the use of nuclear weapons. ⁶

Issue Areas and Approach

Stanley Center works to “promote human rights through equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to remove the threats of climate change, mass violence, and nuclear war for people everywhere.” ⁷

In 2021, Stanley Center signed a solidarity pledge to “stand together against the acts of racism and discrimination that are structurally and culturally built into the foundation of this country and manifest in the repeated targeting of Black people and other people of color.” ⁸

Stanley Center works with people from different countries and backgrounds to address its three issue areas through policy discussions, policy analysis, driving policy action, and journalism and media programming. ⁹

Local Work

Stanley Center works in Iowa by supporting the Model United Nations club at Muscatine High School, presenting the Catherine Miller Explorer Award to local educators, and promoting efforts to provide global education for educators, nonprofits, and school groups in the Muscatine area. ⁶ Stanley Center has a Global Education Institute for Teachers and the Investigation U Day camp for local youth. ⁷

Living Building

In 2020, Stanley Center acquired the former Musser Public Library ³ to build a new headquarters. The building is 100% self-sufficient and is the first certified “Living Building” in Iowa. ¹⁰ It includes on-site solar energy production, a rainwater collection system, and native vegetation. ¹¹

Financials

The 2021 tax return shows total income of $15,567,558 and expenses of $5,224,735. President and CEO Keith Porter earned $267,995 in compensation, and employee compensation and benefits were over $2.5 million. ¹²

In 2021, Stanley Center pledged to divest its endowment of any investments tied to oil, gas, and coal and move these investments to environmentally and socially responsible companies. ¹³

Leadership

Keith Porter is president and CEO of Stanley Center. He joined the center in 1987 and was in several positions including radio producer, communications officer, program officer, manager of media programs, and director of policy and outreach. ¹⁴

Lynne Stanley was elected chair of Stanley Center in 2021. She is the granddaughter of founders Max and Betty Stanley.³ She earned a law degree from the University of Iowa and practiced corporate law for 8 years. She has been involved in Stanley Center’s governance since 1989. ¹⁵