Survey Results

This all came about because of our efforts to teach peace to children and high school students. We increasingly found in 2006 that the Freedom From War name was not serving our younger target markets. We also heard from adults that a name that was more descriptive would be better. For our international members, a name that would better support programs beyond war, such as protecting the environment, was an important consideration.

How did we do this?

We sent a survey request to every existing member who has provided their e-mail address (see below). Of the people that received the survey, we had our answer within hours when over a hundred people responded. We also arranged for focus groups and talked with many people to get outside our existing membership.

The below summary report shows how many people answered a specific question and the percent of the total answers. While we learned a tremendous amount from the fill in the blank questions, the following is a brief overview of the numbers.

Question 1 tells us the war was by far the most important peace issue. Question 2 highlights people believe we should teach peace to people of all ages. Question 3 helps us understand the full suite of questions as the participant is telling us how engaged they are in peace issues. Question 4 illuminates that 100 people think the Teach Peace name is better. Question 5 helps us communicate with the appropriate frequency. Question 6 gives us insights on what we need to do to be financially successful. Question 7 helps us discover new talent and grow the organization.

As additional background, many name alternatives were suggested and we investigated each one. Thank you to everyone who suggested alternative names. In the end, only a few names suggested were available and the Teach Peace name was by far the most popular.

Sample actual comments from survey participants that asked us to change to Teach Peace:

1. Teach Peace is more inclusive, proactive and says more of what the mission is.

2. "Teach Peace" emphasizes the positive solution; "Freedom From War" repeats the idea it wants to eradicate ... the name change is a wise move.

3. I prefer a name that doesn't have "war" in the title so Teach Peace is better.

4. The new name sounds more permanent. When Iraq is out of the news there will still be the need to teach peace.

5. I am a junior high teacher and if I had curriculum I would love to implement it into my class. I could also help develop curriculum.

6. The most important peace issue is media reform and education - because that is the only thing that will advance all peace issues - which are interrelated (i.e. war, environment, nukes, poverty, etc).

7. Bravo for the name change. I can in fact associate "freedom" with "fighting" which is very near "war", but I cannot in any way make "teach" resemble anything violent or destructive.

What is the difference between Teach Peace, Teach Peace.com, and the Teach Peace Foundation?

All of the above are acceptable ways to refer to the new organization. The first is what you will see us use most of the time. The second is generally used when referring to the Internet site and the full address is www.teachpeace.com. The third is the full legal name of the organization. The word "Foundation" is important because we see our work continuing with future generations. The saying goes, "how you start is how you finish." While this name change is a continuation of what we previously started, it is important to note that we are an international foundation so as not to loose sight of the importance of teaching peace around the world and to future generations.

What happens to all the goodwill and name recognition of the Freedom From War brand?

All Internet traffic is automatically redirected to www.teachpeace.com. We listed the FFW program name in the left hand www.teachpeace.com navigation for a few months as a "bridging strategy" is designed to minimize confusion and maximize Teach Peace growth.

Did participants want to know more about a specific issue?

Yes. Many people wanted to know more about specific programs, the results achieved so far, and how donations are put to work. All of these questions are explained in detail in the 65 page Teach Peace business plan at www.teachpeace.com/Business%20Plan.pdf.

Why are sharing the survey results with you important to us?

We want to thank everyone that completed a survey and this is one way for us to say thank you. We also want to encourage you to forward future surveys to family and friends. Our Internet counter is already past 1 million and we want to pick up the pace! To see the Internet counter, just look at the bottom of this page. In addition, the below scoring formula was used to award gifts from our online store.

Awards are won when you earn 100 points or more. A total of 14 people won awards. The top 5 people will receive a gift from our store valued at $30. The remaining 9 people with points over 100 points will receive a $20 gift from our store. All winners will be notified by e-mail no later than January 27th.

The Board of Directors discussed the input received and the advantages and disadvantages of changing the organization name. We agreed that in the long-term, our desire to free ourselves from war would be accelerated with the Teach Peace name.

Your input will continue to guide our growth. We believe by using state-of-the-art technology and top-notch marketing practices that we are on track to be a major force for peaceful change!

Dave Dionisi is going to Washington on Friday (February 2nd) to call upon Congress not to attack Iran and promote the Department of Peace legislation. Click here and you can take action to be part of this effort!

The results are in and as a result, Freedom From War is now Teach Peace!

The below summary report shows how many people answered a specific question and the percent of the total answers. While we learned a tremendous amount from the fill in the blank questions, the following is a brief overview of the numbers.