Why Forgiveness?
Life can seem like a series of betrayals, from the stranger who cuts you off in traffic to the loss of relationships when a divorce happens to the ultimate sense of abandonment and betrayal when a family member dies. One of the fundamental challenges of humanity is how to deal with these betrayals. Do we stuff our pain and numb out with addictive behaviors? Do we store up and rehearse our injuries, becoming bitter, angry, and in many cases physically ill? Or do we do what it takes to work through our pain and come to a place of acceptance and healing?
At World Forgiveness Initiative, we say that forgiveness is the one process that can heal all the large and small betrayals of life and restore a deep and authentic experience of freedom, power, and joy to our lives. We know this from our personal experiences and the experiences of hundreds of others we’ve spoken with or read about.
World Forgiveness Initiative is committed to making a global difference by working with world leaders to bring forgiveness tools to interrupt age-old conflicts, not just between individuals, but between communities, nations, and cultural groups.
Our Vision & Mission
OUR VISION
The radical transformation of people, communities and the world through a bold new model of forgiveness.
OUR MISSION
We provide state-of-the-art programs, services and tools that create freedom, power and joy for all.
We promise that by 2030, all people are choosing and experiencing the freedom, power, and joy of forgiveness.
Our Initiatives
Creating Awareness – This initiative focuses on providing events and programs designed to spread the word about World Forgiveness Initiative and about forgiveness as a source of freedom, power and joy. The core event in this initiative is our free, one-hour Forgive & Live event. This event introduces World Forgiveness Initiative and distinguishes common misunderstandings about forgiveness that get in the way of our freedom, power and joy.
Creating awareness of an issue may not seem like action that makes a difference, but some of the most effective agents of social change—equal voting rights, nonviolence, and ending world hunger and poverty, to cite a few examples—have had to begin with raising awareness. Talking about forgiveness is not just important; it is the critical first step in fulfilling our mission.
Providing Education – When people begin to realize that practicing forgiveness can bring them freedom, power, and joy, the next question we hear repeatedly is, "How do we forgive?" This initiative provides experiential trainings such as our Forgiveness 101 Workshop and teleconferenced book studies that educate people about forgiveness and provide take-away tools that support the practice of forgiveness in everyday life.
Strategic Planning for Forgiveness Globally – Although our primary efforts are aimed at raising awareness and providing education to individuals, we believe that it is critical to our mission to also address the institutionalized non-forgiveness in our cultural, political, and social structures worldwide. Therefore, WFI is working to bring together like-minded world leaders and partner organizations to create a coalition that will design and take strategic actions to spread forgiveness globally.
Our History
WFI Founder and Board President Jo Ann Rotermund studied and practiced forgiveness in her own life for several years, with transformative results. Through natural conversations with her daughter Jennifer Rotermund, now Executive Director of WFI, the two saw a need for transformative forgiveness to be available to every person on the planet. JoAnn, Jennifer and a small group of friends founded WFI in 2002. Two years later, on January 18th, 2004, World Forgiveness Initiative was officially launched as a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington.
Our Core Team
Currently, World Forgiveness Initiative is an all-volunteer organization.
- JoAnn Rotermund: Founder, President of the Board
- Jennifer Rotermund: Executive Director and Vice President of the Board
- Kathryn Drinkard: Volunteer Staff and Secretary of the Board
- John Miller: Volunteer Staff
- Valerie Andrew: Board Member
- Jana Hagen: Board Member
Honorary Board Member:
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Anglican Archbishop Emeritus from South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Contact Us
World Forgiveness Initiative
116 NE 194th St
Shoreline, WA 98155
(206) 417-1091
info@worldforgivenessinitiative.org
World Forgiveness Initiative is a federally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.