NotesTertiary reference, used only for uncontested founding history: founded in 1917 and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, engaging in religious, charitable, social, philanthropic and relief work on behalf of participating yearly meetings and other bodies of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States. The Internal Revenue Service has determined AFSC to be an association of churches. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with regional, area and international project offices. Notes extended 2026-08-13, consulted directly from the same page: AFSC was established on 30 April 1917 by seventeen members of the Religious Society of Friends, meeting days after the United States entered the First World War, to organize a constructive alternative to military service for conscientious objectors. In 1947, AFSC and its British counterpart, the Friends Service Council, now known as Quaker Peace and Social Witness, jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded on behalf of Quakers worldwide rather than to either organization alone, recognizing their wartime relief work. The organization today divides its programs across eight geographic regions, each running work on peace, immigrant rights, restorative justice, economic justice and climate justice.