UNITED RELIGIONS
PO BOX 29242, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941290242 www.uri.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: FOUNDED IN 2000, UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE (URI) IS A 501(C)(3) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. ITS PURPOSE IS TO PROMOTE ENDURING, DAILY INTERFAITH COOPERATION BY ENGAGING PEOPLE AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL TO BUILD BRIDGES OF UNDERSTANDING ACROSS RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE WORLD. WE IMPLEMENT OUR MISSION BY CREATING A VITAL TRANSFORMATIVE NETWORK THAT CONNECTS, ENABLES, TRAINS AND AMPLIFIES THE WORK OF LOCALLY BASED GROUPS. URI'S NETWORK ENABLES GRASSROOTS LEADERS TO SELF-ORGANIZE IN ACCORD WITH URI'S PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES, IMPLEMENT LOCAL INITIATIVES, EXCHANGE INSPIRATION, IDEAS AND KNOWLEDGE, AND DEEPEN MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT THROUGH STRONG INTERPE

SINCE INCEPTION, URI'S NETWORK HAS GROWN TO NEARLY 1,000-MEMBER GROUPS IN 109 COUNTRIES. EACH GROUP, CALLED COOPERATION CIRCLES (CCS), IS COMPRISED OF PEOPLE REPRESENTING AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, TRADITIONS OR BELIEFS WILLING TO ENGAGE IN INTERFAITH DIALOGUE AND COLLABORATE ON HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. UTILIZING THIS DUAL STRATEGY APPROACH, THESE COOPERATION CIRCLES CARE FOR REFUGEES, EDUCATE CHILDREN, PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, CLEAN RIVERS, PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE, RESOLVE CONFLICTS, AND NEGOTIATE PEACE AMONG MANY OTHER LOCAL AND GLOBAL KEY ISSUE.

GLOBAL NETWORK DEVELOPMENT: IN 19 YEARS, URI HAS GROWN FROM 83 FOUNDING MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS, CALLED COOPERATION CIRCLES (CCS), TO NEARLY 1,000 GROUPS IN 109 COUNTRIES. COLLECTIVELY, CCS HAVE MORE THAN 600,000 MEMBERS AND TOUCH THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. URI'S UNIQUE GLOBAL NETWORK OF GRASSROOTS CCS CALLS FORTH LOCALLY INITIATED ACTIONS BY SELF-SUPPORTING GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS. CCS CAN BE SMALL GROUPS ORGANIZING FOR THE FIRST TIME OR WELL-ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIONS. EVERY CC MUST HAVE AT LEAST SEVEN MEMBERS, THREE OF WHOM MUST BE FROM A DIFFERENT RELIGION, SPIRITUAL EXPRESSION OR INDIGENOUS TRADITION.URI'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE INCLUDES EIGHT REGIONS WHICH ARE STAFFED BY 17 REGIONAL COORDINATORS WHO SUPERVISE REGIONAL STAFF, COORDINATE REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT INCLUDE TRUSTEES, AND COOPERATION CIRCLE MEMBERS. THE PRIMARY WORK OF THE REGIONAL BASES IS TO PROVIDE DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH AND NETWORK SUPPORT FOR CCS. NETWORK BENEFITS INCLUDE: HELPING CCS BUILD CAPACITY, RAISING VISIBILITY FOR CC WORK, ASSISTING CCS IN CREATING PARTNERSHIPS, CONNECTING WITH POLICY-MAKERS, ORGANIZING LOCAL AND REGIONAL GATHERINGS AND TRAININGS, AND SEEDING NEW CCS. CCS ARE INSPIRED AND SUSTAINED IN THEIR WORK BY ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN URI'S VITAL NETWORK WITH OTHER CCS WITH WHOM THEY GENERATE CONNECTION, COMMUNICATION, CO-MENTORING AND SHARED LEARNING. URI'S GLOBAL SUPPORT OFFICE, WHICH IS BASED IN SAN FRANCISCO, PROVIDES ACCOUNTABILITY, TRAINING AND CONSULTATION FOR REGIONAL COORDINATORS, REGIONAL STAFF AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS. URI'S GLOBAL SUPPORT OFFICE OVERSEES THE OPERATIONS OF THE URI NETWORK, ENERGIZING THE NETWORK BY SUPPORTING REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS, CREATING A FLOW OF QUALITY INFORMATION, MAINTAINING A CC MEMBER DATABASE, MANAGING FINANCE, PUBLICIZING CC IMPACT WORLDWIDE, ENGAGING IN FUNDRAISING, AND PROVIDING FOCUSED RESOURCE SUPPORT AND TRAINING IN AREAS SUCH AS CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION, THE ENVIRONMENT, WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT, AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHAIR OF THE URI GLOBAL COUNCIL AND URI'S PRESIDENT, WORKING ON BEHALF OF AN ELECTED 29 MEMBER GLOBAL COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES, LEAD THE URI NETWORK AND ARE SUPPORTED BY 16 GLOBAL SUPPORT STAFF.

GLOBAL COUNCIL: THE GLOBAL COUNCIL (URI'S INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES) IS URI'S GOVERNING BODY. WITH TRUSTEES FROM 22 COUNTRIES REPRESENTING DIVERSE RELIGIOUS AND INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS, THE GLOBAL COUNCIL BRINGS ITS GRASSROOTS EXPERIENCE TO URI'S ONGOING STRATEGIC PLANNING, NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AND SERVES TO INCREASE URI'S PRESENCE ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE GLOBAL COUNCIL CURRENTLY MEETS ONCE A YEAR IN PERSON, AND THREE TIMES A YEAR BY VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL. IN BETWEEN THESE MEETINGS, THE COUNCIL OPERATES THROUGH WORKING COMMITTEES THAT COMMUNICATE BY EMAIL AND CONFERENCE CALLS. MEMBERS OF THE GLOBAL COUNCIL ALSO REPRESENT REGIONS, AND SIT ON REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT PLAN AND IMPLEMENT REGIONAL STRATEGIES TO BUILD NETWORK BENEFITS TO MEMBER CCS AND DEVELOP COLLECTIVE GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS, SUCH AS MOBILIZING CCS AROUND THE WORLD TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE ON SEPTEMBER 21.

COMMUNICATIONS: URI'S INTERNATIONAL NETWORK RELIES ON A ROBUST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. URI'S GLOBAL WEBSITE, WWW.URI.ORG, IS DESIGNED TO MAGNIFY URI'S IMPACT, HIGHLIGHT CC SUCCESSES, CONNECT CCS, PROVIDE RESOURCE INFORMATION TO CCS, AND ENCOURAGE GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS FOR COLLECTIVE GLOBAL ACTION AND MORE. ADDITIONALLY, URI PRODUCES BI-WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTERS CALLED YOU ARE I, A PRINT NEWSLETTER SERIES CALLED INTERACTION, AN ANNUAL REPORT, AS WELL AS OTHER PRINT, ONLINE AND MULTIMEDIA COLLATERAL FOR THE NETWORK. IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA DOMAIN, URI IS ENHANCED BY ENGAGING AUDIENCES ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, LINKEDIN, AND YOUTUBE. GIVEN FAST-PACED TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, URI'S COMMUNICATIONS TEAM STUDIES NEW SYSTEMS, MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO URI, AND RECENTLY LAUNCHED A NEW WEBSITE AND INTEGRATED CONSTITUENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PLATFORM IN 2017.

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