The Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation (CGJR) is a program of the Washington National Cathedral College that seeks to increase the impact of the religious sector on global poverty by strengthening interfaith collaboration and securing new resources. Created in 2005, the center is currently organized into two major programs: International Reconciliation and Peacemaking (IRP), and Global Justice and Global Poverty (GJGP), whose priorities include women’s empowerment, economic development, eradicating human trafficking and leveraging malaria control and prevention. It is under the administrative coordination of the latter program that the Women, Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA) is being created.

With support from The Sister Fund, WFDA launched its international advocacy campaign at the Women’s World Summit, scheduled at Washington National Cathedral in the spring of 2008. The Summit was a highly visible gathering where world leaders, heads of denominations and faith groups, CEOs of development organizations and corporate leaders committed to a global agenda of action and advocacy favorable to women and girls. This agenda was widely promoted among WFDA members and international governments, at important gatherings of religious leaders and at other strategic events where policymakers convened. It was accomplished through a branded advocacy campaign along the lines of the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History campaigns. Additionally, WFDA educated and influenced select international policymakers and legislators using a combination of moral authority and technical expertise.