Stemming the Proliferation of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons

The Cypress Fund supports organizations working on formal and informal strategies to stem the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Key to our efforts are the beliefs that:

	Supporting and enhancing the Non-Proliferation Treaty Regime is key to stemming the flow of WMD.
	Grass roots efforts against proliferation can help change attitudes and norms about the use of WMD. NGOs leading these efforts must be able to disseminate the results of their studies and analysis to inform public attitudes, and also, equally important, to do the same with government agencies and officials both abroad and in the United States.

Peacebuilding and Safer Societies

Creating societies that use political dialogue, rather than deadly violence, to resolve disputes requires the development of new bonds between the fields of conflict resolution, democracy-building, civil society building, human rights, public health and development. The Cypress Fund supports groups working to bridge these fields, in the belief that:

	The elements that lead to safer societies include democracy (or at least a few robust democratic institutions); civil society (an informal infrastructure acting as a buffer between the government and its citizens – what de Tocqueville deemed to be the great strength of American democracy); a strong framework of human rights and rule of law; security mechanisms; adequate public health; healthy development and economic security; and mechanisms to resolve conflict.
	To attain the stable economic development, freedom from ravaging diseases, robust physical infrastructure, and access to education that lead to less violent societies, leaders and citizens must learn to use public participation and dialogue to resolve large-scale social problems and to create blueprints for social change.
	Supporting groups working at the intersection of these fields can ripple throughout a society, creating change much larger than their own individual efforts.

The Cypress Fund provides ongoing, reliable support to grantee organizations

Reliable, ongoing support is the goal of most grants. NGOs committed to the fields of arms limitation, non-proliferation, and conflict prevention, need regular support in order to build the staying power to help move the United States and the world in the direction of peace, stability and security in the 21st century. By giving institutional support to organizations working in our program areas, we hope to free these groups to focus on their core missions, rather than fundraising.

Reporting requirements are not onerous, and we do not micromanage. However, we do expect that a Cypress Fund board member will be involved in the board meetings of the grantee organizations, in order to keep broad oversight of the goals and missions of the grantee.

All grants must contain a strong educational and informational purpose

Developing new theory, best practices, and fresh ideas in the areas of peace and security is a priority of the Cypress Fund. As part of its grantmaking, The Cypress Fund plans to use its resources to disseminate grant results, hold annual conferences among grantees, and issue reports to policy makers and NGOs working on issues of peace and safety.

The Cypress Fund may at times act as an operating institution

Rarely, when the Cypress Fund determines that more information or different types of programs are necessary to attain particular goals, it may act as an operating institution, to commission studies, organize new groups, establish pilot projects, or develop new initiatives.

Please note that the Cypress Fund does not accept unsolicited proposals. All grantees must be 501(c)(3) organizations, or the foreign equivalent.