This year, Safe Passage Foundation has disbursed 11 scholarship grants totaling $2550 and 21 emergency aid grants totaling $8044.  This is a significant increase from last year when we disbursed 9 emergency aid grants totaling $2175.  

Emergency aid grant totals

Nearly all of the emergency aid grants we disbursed were for emergency food and housing needs. In the U.S. and most of the world, there are large gaps in the social safety net programs that help protect those with urgent needs related to economic or health crises.  Over the years, our emergency aid program has evolved to help fill those gaps as those raised in cults often lack the resources and social support structures that others take for granted.  Currently we are meeting only a tiny percentage of the vast need and in most cases the financial assistance we are able to provide is very limited but fortunately we have been able to help a few people.

In March 2021, Safe Passage Foundation borrowed $7600 at an annual interest rate of 2.75% through the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration.  The availability of these funds has enabled us to increase our operating reserves so we are more financially stable and able to provide emergency assistance faster.  In September 2022, Safe Passage Foundation purchased $3000 in Series I savings bonds with an interest rate of 9.48% for the first 6 months and 6.89% for the second 6 months.  We expect the interest earned on these bonds will help offset the interest cost of the EIDL.  

Currently, nearly all of the Safe Passage Foundation operating expenses (which average about $150/month) are paid directly by our corporate sponsor, MadLab so the only operating expenses in recent years are the credit card donation transaction processing fees.  For the current fiscal year, those fees totaled $104 or about 1.44% of the $7200 in donations received.  

FY 2023 interim Statement of Financial Activities

We started the year with a plan to revive Safe Passage Foundation and so far we’ve made significant progress. In May and June, director Steven Levithan, former director Juliana Buhring and many others launched Facebook fundraising campaigns that raised over $7800 for Safe Passage Foundation.  So far this year we have raised about $21,496 which is a significant increase over the $2820 we raised the previous year.

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Over the past 4 years (April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2018), Safe Passage Foundation has disbursed 28 college scholarship grants totaling $14,015 and 24 emergency aid grants totaling $13,128. During that period, Safe Passage Foundation received $35,597 in donations from over 40 donors and donations from current and former directors totaled nearly 50% of total donations.

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Many have asked about a brochure that they can use to tell others about the work that Safe Passage Foundation does and we are happy to announce that we got an updated brochure designed and it is is now available to anyone who wants to share a condensed version of who we are, what we do and how to get involved! Feel free to pass it along to friends, family or whoever you think might be interested. Continue reading

Many have asked for more visibility into the work Safe Passage Foundation does and the people SPF has helped, which is a fair question when we are asking you for your donations, so when we are able we will make our work public and today we are sharing a thank you note from Rob McClelland, 42, who SPF was able to help through our Emergency Aid Fund.

“I would like to thank Safe Passage Foundation for their generosity. Sometime ago I broke my foot in several places and was unable to work. I did not have enough money to pay the doctor bills along with rent. Safe Passage Foundation gave me financial support which helped me make it through this difficult time when I was unable to help myself. Their work is very important in helping people feel and know there are others that care in time of need.”

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When approaching prospective donors it is not enough that your organization has good intentions, good people and good plans. You are supposed to! It needs a proven track record of being able to accomplish its plans, a proven track record of being able to execute. The Safe Passage Foundation has been able to do important and valuable work with its scholarship and emergency aid fund when it has had the resources but there are certain economies of scale that are needed to sustain this, and in the last year Safe Passage Foundation was only able to raise roughly $1500, which is just not enough to make a meaningful difference. I have been appointed as SPF Coordinator till the end of the year to try to change this and to reinvigorate SPF and its important work for our community. Continue reading