Positive Futures Network is an independent, nonprofit organization supporting people’s active engagement in creating a just, sustainable, and compassionate world.

The Positive Futures Network [PFN] and its publication YES! magazine start with the belief that we need deep change if we are to avoid the breakdown of society and the natural world.

Our hope lies in the fact that millions of people around the world are creating the needed changes in their homes, communities, work places, and nations. Powerful innovations are taking hold within agriculture, businesses, criminal justice, schools--virtually every sector of society.

This work is barely visible in the media and the prevailing political discourse – yet holds the promise of transforming the foundations of our world.

The work of the Positive Futures Network is to give visibility and momentum to these signs of an emerging society in which life, not money, is what counts; in which everyone matters; and in which vibrant, inclusive communities offer prosperity, security, and meaningful ways of life.

We spotlight the creative work occurring in the U.S. and around the world, and encourage everyone, young and old, and from all communities, to be part of a powerful process of change.

YES! A Journal of Positive Futures

We are best known for our publication YES! A Journal of Positive Futures. Our award-winning quarterly magazine invites readers to be part of a global community of change makers.

Each issue focuses on a theme, showing the possibilities and practical steps that can lead us all to a more positive future. In each issue you also find book reviews, practical advice for living more sustainably, the page that counts, special features, columns, and short "indicators."

The Utne Reader called YES! “the perfect antidote to cynicism” and in 2001 named YES! the best alternative publication for social and cultural coverage. Utne notes that YES! reports on “everyday people doing important work that fosters social justice, economic democracy, peace, and environmental sustainability.” YES! was also nominated for the Alternative Press Award for political coverage in 2003.

In the last three years, our circulation has nearly tripled to 40,000 – reaching people in every state of the U.S. and 50 other countries.

Education Outreach

Educators find YES! a powerful tool for informing young people about the seriousness of our ecological and social problems while giving them hope and channels for positive action.

Our “YES! for Youth ” program helps high school and college teachers throughout North America use materials from YES! to inspire and empower their students.

Outreach to journalists and leaders

The strong message of vision and action found in each issue of YES! makes it a valuable tool for activists and journalists. YES! is widely distributed at conferences and study groups, in faith-based settings, among elected officials, as background for stories in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television programs.

Our Website: www.yesmagazine.org

Our Website amplifies the reach of the stories we publish in YES! to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, many of whom may not have access to the hard-copy publication. We also use the Web to respond quickly to events such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq. We post discussion guides to each issue of YES! and links to relevant events and organizations readers can draw on to make change happen.

Books

In 2000, we published our first book, Saying Yes! Conversations on a World that Works for All, a collection of some of the best interviews by Sarah Ruth van Gelder. The book features some of the most visionary contributors to YES!, providing a glimpse into exciting possibilities for social transformation.

In 2003, we published our second book, Making Peace: Healing a Violent World. In turbulent times, this book shows the power and practicality of alternatives to violence, hate, and domination. Making Peace presents alternatives through stories told by some of the world`s great thinkers and activists, including Joanna Macy, Jamal Rahman, Michael Nagler, and others.

Radio

Board chair David Korten, executive editor Sarah Ruth van Gelder, and executive director Fran Korten are all regularly interviewed on radio programs across the nation about current crises and possibilities for positive change.

NETWORKING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

State of the Possible Retreats

In 1999, we launched a series of retreats entitled “The State of the Possible.” Held twice a year from 1999 to 2004, these invitational gatherings brought together social change leaders from community across the U.S. [and sometimes from outside the U.S.] to explore possibilities for transformational change. Participants used the retreats as a time to examine the historic potentials of our time, to gain spiritual renewal, and to build trust.

Each participant is involved in networks that extend to thousands of people. As the participants created new collaborations with one another, they built powerful webs of connections across the divides of race, age, and social change movement.

Speakers Bureau, conferences, and information sharing

A new speakers bureau, now on line, draws from the State of the Possible retreat participants to help conference organizers find diverse, positive speakers for their events.

Our staff and board members also frequently speak at conferences designed to inspire and engage people in creative change and we co-sponsor many of these conferences.

Through each of these activities the Positive Futures Network helps build the momentum for change so needed at this critical time of danger and opportunity.