Safe & Sound is grateful for each person who donates to support our mission, enabling this important work to continue now and into the future.

The questions and answers below should help you understand more about how to give and the impact of your donation. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss any of the information with you directly, just get in touch using the details at the bottom.

How can I donate to Safe & Sound?
The easiest way to donate is to visit our dedicated donation page. See below for information on different ways to give.

Is my donation tax deductible?
Safe & Sound is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization (Federal Tax ID #94-2455072) and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We’ll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

How financially stable is Safe & Sound?
Safe & Sound is a financially stable and growing organization. You can visit our past Annual Reports and Audited Financials which are publicly available on our website.

Who are the Board and Management of Safe & Sound?
Our board and personnel are publicly available on our website on our Team page. You can read more about our CEO, Dr. Pegah Faed in this announcement published at her appointment.

What program will my money be used to support?
Safe & Sound combines services, research, and advocacy to strengthen families in their communities, address childhood trauma, and prevent abuse. To achieve our mission and meet the evolving needs of children and families, Safe & Sound shows up in multiple, interconnected roles. Each role plays a vital part in creating the conditions where children and families can thrive. That’s why your donation will be used to support all areas of our operation to continue this holistic approach and create a future free from childhood trauma, where all children, families, and communities are safe, supported, and loved. You can see a breakdown of our revenue and expenses in our Annual Report which creates transparency around our donations income and program costs.

How do I know if my donation is having any impact?
As a donor, you will be subscribed to Safe & Sound’s regular email updates, including information on the outcomes of specific appeals. You will also be sent an online copy of our Annual Report each summer which sets out the work delivered over the preceding year, program statistics, and our financial breakdown. You can visit past Annual Reports online now.

How does my donation help prevent child abuse?
Safe & Sound combines services, research, and advocacy to strengthen families in their communities, address childhood trauma, and prevent abuse. Our programs work across the spectrum of prevention and intervention to strengthen family resilience. We embed supports directly into a family’s life by connecting them to evidence-informed services such as parenting classes, and counseling; we convene diverse partners, build their capacity to recognize early signs of family stress, and create referral pathways that are simple, family-centered, and culturally responsive; and we advocate for systems reform to foster a community-centric model of family support that is preventative rather than reactive. Your donation would support each of these programs. Learn more about what we do.

What big projects are you working on right now?
Safe & Sound is leading a bold, transformative effort to reimagine how families in San Francisco—and ultimately across California—access the support they need to thrive. The Community Pathway Initiative aligns all the areas of Safe & Sound’s work, including advocacy, direct services, education and partnership. Through this Initiative, we are creating long-term, sustainable transformation by building a scalable, upstream, community-based model, leveraging a network of family support centers, designed to reduce child welfare and criminal justice involvement by providing timely, trusted, and trauma-informed care before crises escalate. This work is a continuation of our vision set out in a 2022 issue brief Creating a Child & Family Well-Being System: A Paradigm Shift from Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting, which laid out a roadmap to shift from a punitive, fear-based reporting model to a supportive, community-based approach. This initiative is a long-term project requiring sustainable funding streams, which could leave a powerful legacy. You can read more on the Community Pathway Initiative page.

How do you collaborate with other organizations?
Safe & Sound works in partnership with government and community organizations to deliver our mission.

• Our Community Education for both children and adults is delivered in collaboration with partners such as San Francisco Unified School District, and through our position as the backbone agency for the San Francisco Family Services Alliance (FSA). We also offer trainings to pediatricians and practitioners nationwide on ACEs, toxic stress and trauma. Read more about Community Education.
  
• Our policy and advocacy work is made possible through collaboration within multi-disciplinary teams across the Bay Area and beyond. You can read more about it on our Policy and Advocacy Page. For example:
  
  • As the backbone agency for the San Francisco Family Services Alliance, and in partnership with its members, Safe & Sound strengthens the ability of FRCs and other community-based organizations to access public funding and build the infrastructure needed to support families effectively.
    
  • Safe & Sound serves as a core member and facilitator of the statewide Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Task Force.
    
  • In partnership with the San Francisco Human Services Agency’s Family and Children’s Services (FCS)—child welfare—FRCs, and other community-based organizations, Safe & Sound helped to develop the county-wide FFPSA Plan, which was approved by the State in 2023. We continue to act as the lead community organization in San Francisco’s FFPSA prevention planning and implementation process.
    
  • The Center for Youth Wellness, a program of Safe & Sound, worked in partnership with the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP) to deliver a three-year research project commissioned by the Maternal & Child Health Bureau of the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to study and provide recommendations on guidelines for screening for ACEs and providing strengths-based interventions in a pediatric primary care setting.
    
  • And we collaborate with several agencies and government organizations to break down silos and build a better response system for families.
    
• You can see a list of our partners on our website.

How do I donate by check?
Checks should be made payable to: Safe & Sound ATTN: Development 1757 Waller Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

What are other ways to give?
There are many ways you can support Safe & Sound, such as in-kind donations, pledging a multi-year gift, volunteering your time or donating stock. Some other examples include:

• Smarter giving – A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is an easy, tax-efficient way to support the causes you care about. You can recommend a grant to Safe & Sound directly from your DAF.
  
• Leave your legacy – If Safe & Sound’s work has been important to you in your lifetime, you can have a greater long-term impact for future generations through planned giving.
  
• Monthly giving – Signing up for a regular monthly gift provides us with a more predictable income, allowing us to plan sustainable services 365 days a year. Simply select the Monthly option on our online donation site.

To learn more about these different options, visit https://safeandsound.org/take-action/more-ways-to-give/.

What are employee matching gift programs?
Employee matching gift programs are corporate giving programs in which the company matches donations made by employees to eligible nonprofit organizations. It’s an easy way to double your contribution to us! Read more on this page.

Why do you prefer recurring donations?
Signing up for a regular gift provides Safe & Sound with a more predictable income, allowing us to plan sustainable services 365 days a year.

I need support with my recurring donation
You can email us at donations@safeandsound.org or call our office at (415) 668-0494 if you have questions about your recurring donation.

When will my recurring donation start?
Recurring donations are processed on the date of your original transaction.

Will I receive a confirmation for each monthly donation?
You will receive an email confirmation of the start of your recurring donation, and an email receipt each month thereafter. An annual summary of your total giving will be provided in December.

You can contact a member of the team by emailing donations@safeandsound.org or call our office at (415) 668-0494. We would be happy to answer any additional questions.