Dedicated to Peace and Social Justice.

We work with advocates to host events that help build our Fresno community.  Reach out to schedule an event, or if you’d like more info.

We are a Center

  • We maintain an inviting facility where people work against violence in all its forms.
  • We engage in dialogue to explore the root causes of violence in the world, and work for peaceful solutions.
  • We have books, video and periodicals that explore the ideas of nonviolence, and host private discussions about peace and justice for the curious.
  • We provide resources — meeting space, office equipment usage and financial support — to other groups whose work is compatible with ours.

We are Advocates

  • We speak and act in the public arena to promote the ways of peace and love, in open opposition to the ways of violence and hate.
  • We are visible in the community, as writers and radio journalists, as guest speakers, as street demonstrators, and as more.
  • We create projects to promote the values of thoughtfulness, of  respect, of reconciliation, of the pursuit of justice, and of the fierce but nonviolent defense of human rights.
  • We bring speakers and educational programs to Fresno, with the intent of propagating the way of peace.
  • We act in coalition with others, to support programs, projects and movements that speak to the major issues of violence reduction.

We are Community Builders

  • We bring people from different backgrounds together to learn from each other, to debate respectfully, and to find common causes and values that unite our community.
  • We assist the community in finding its public voice and power.
  • We act as an incubator, providing financial and logistical support, as well as encouragement and legitimacy, to individuals and new groups just beginning to address the issues of injustice and violence.

What people say about us

“In 2006 I was honored by The Center for Non-Violence and given the Way of Peace Award for Youth. This was my first award and at 16, I was making my first steps into activism. As a junior in High School I helped lead a massive walkout protesting harsh immigration laws being introduced in as national policies. Being born into an activist family, fighting for peace and social justice came naturally.”
Simone Cranston-Rhodes
Tenants Together
“On the days following 9/11, the Fresno Center for Nonviolence was a key player in galvanizing a thoughtful, proactive community response. Richard and Vincent Lavery led weekly meetings at the Center and demonstrations at Shaw and Blackstone as the progressive community grappled with the implications of 9/11 and the U.S. attack on Afghanistan that followed on October 7.”
Dan Yaseen & Camille Russell
Peace Fresno
"When the FCNV opened its doors in 1992, largely as a response to the first Gulf War, its purpose was to stimulate changes that reduce violence at all levels—local, national and global... The FCNV continues to represent an independent and authentic commitment to peace... Its motto, ‘A lamp has been lit,’ remains a clarion call to those dedicated to act in the interests of peace to join together in solidarity and demonstrate a nonviolent alternative to the status quo."
Angela Price & Joshua Shurley
Former & current FCNV board members

Questions? Concerns?

Feel free to talk with us in-person, by phone, or email.