Dear SafeBear: a letter from the leadership team explaining our current fundraising priorities
SafeBears tabling and hosting two parent mixers at new-student move-in, August 2024. Attendees included UCPD, BPD, campus administration and city leadership.
Dear SafeBear,
The SafeBears mission is simple: we fight for the safety of Berkeley students through advocacy, partnership, education and action. If you get our email updates or follow our Facebook group, you know that in recent months we’ve:
Organized advocacy directed at the California Governor and the UC Regents
Seen the positive results of our earlier advocacy efforts for automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in the City of Berkeley – including the recent arrest in the Oct 26 gunfire incident
Collaborated with campus to improve student education on the risks of spiked drinks and predatory drugging
Educated parents about safety news, resources, and best practices with Facebook posts and our website Resources page
Met regularly with administration to get answers, advocate for more safety measures, and keep them honest on their safety promises
We also strive to develop and deliver programs that will make tangible improvements to student safety. This programming, as we said at our recent all-member meeting, takes two things: time and money.
Earlier this year SafeBears ran an 18-day private security pilot program, which garnered extensive media coverage from coast to coast, and got the attention of UC leadership at the highest levels, including systemwide president Dr. Michael V. Drake.
We believe our private security pilot was wildly successful: among other things, it motivated university administration to work with our organization more closely and to take safety concerns more seriously.
Did you know that beginning this fall campus residential services contracted with UCPD for Security Patrol Officers (unarmed, non sworn) to guard Units 1, 2 and 3 in the evening and nighttime hours? Sounds a lot like our private security program, doesn’t it?
We’re sometimes asked if we will repeat our private security program. We have absolutely not ruled out the possibility, and believe we could quickly reprise it given the tremendous amount of volunteer work that past and current leadership put into it. But, currently, we’re not actively planning for it, because we think the program served its purpose and is not at this time sustainable long term from either a financial or time perspective. (The 18-day contract with Streetplus cost $42,000.)
Rest assured: we will continue to advocate, relentlessly, for the return of the police patrols that not so long ago protected Cal students: such as dedicated bike patrols in Southside and downtown and the joint UCPD-BPD Telegraph Avenue Patrol (TAP). And we will never let UC Berkeley forget that it used to staff UCPD with far more sworn officers (70 in 2014 and 80 in 2007, compared with fewer than 50 today).
So what do we plan to do next? In recent months SafeBears leadership and other parent volunteers have focused on listening to the people our organization exists to serve: STUDENTS. What are their safety concerns? What do students think would help them feel and be safer? What assistance can SafeBears offer?
Based on our work with students, we’re proud to present two programs in which SafeBears will partner with UC Berkeley student government, known as the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC):
free and convenient personal safety classes where students will build confidence and learn self-defense strategies;
a grant program for nighttime events to promote safe and inclusive socializing after dark.
Both programs will begin fairly small, with a goal of benefiting hundreds of students in the spring semester. But both are highly scalable, and could grow to reach thousands of students, depending on interest level and the generosity of parents and students with their time and treasure.
And, we have some exciting news to share: an anonymous donor has covered our expected overhead expenses for 2025. That means every dollar you give using the two program links will go to the programs.
As we approach the end of 2024, please consider including SafeBears in your charitable giving. We hope we’ve earned your trust and would be honored by your support.
Please continue reading after this letter for some FAQs about our nonprofit status.
Go Bears! 💙 💛 🐻
Warmly,
Steve, Victoria, Melissa, Ingrid & Roberto
SafeBears showed appreciation for local law enforcement with a billboard up for three months in Berkeley in summer ‘24.
FAQs
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Yes, almost certainly, as SafeBears is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. But we can’t give tax advice, so you should consult a tax professional if you have any questions about your specific situation.
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Yes, you will get an immediate confirmation by email, and we will send a separate letter for tax preparation purposes ahead of the April ‘25 filing deadline.
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We strive to keep our overhead expenses as low as possible. But certain costs are unavoidable, such as web site hosting, tax preparation, insurance, and Zoom hosting, among other items. Our annual overhead is currently about $5,000.
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NO. The five board members are volunteers. There is no paid staff. Our by-laws require each board member to make at least a $100 donation annually, and most of our past and current board members have contributed more than that, not just in significant volunteer hours, but also in the form of additional cash donations as well as donated expenses (i.e., not asking for reimbursement for legitimate expenses).
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Yes. SafeBears has been tax exempt since May 2023. You can view our ‘23 tax filing here.
DONATE for personal safety classes
DONATE for safe nighttime events
We’re working on other projects to support student safety, including some in partnership with student organizations. If you’d like to support our work with a non-earmarked donation, please give to our general fund.
And by the way, our expected overhead expenses for 2025 are already covered.
