STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO FIGHT EXPLOITATION
SAFE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
What is SAFE Santa Barbara County?
The Strategic Alliance to Fight Exploitation (SAFE) in Santa Barbara County is an alliance of movement-minded partners from a variety of sectors (philanthropy, government, business, faith community, and non-profit) united to address sex and labor trafficking in Santa Barbara County through fundraising and awareness efforts to support the County’s 3-year Strategic Plan.
In 2013, the SB County District Attorney’s Office founded the SB County Human Trafficking Task Force (HTTF) under the Victim Witness Assistance Program in partnership with local and regional law enforcement, non-profit organizations, and social service agencies. As the Santa Barbara County HTTF expanded its efforts and reach, the District Attorney's Office contracted with Kingdom Causes, Inc. (KCI) in 2023 to develop and implement a three-year Strategic Plan to combat sex and labor trafficking and form action groups to achieve its goals.
The SB County Human Trafficking Task Force exists to develop and enhance a multidisciplinary team that implements victim-centered, collaborative, and sustainable approaches to:
Identify victims of all types of human trafficking.
Investigate and prosecute sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels.
Address the individualized needs of victims/ survivors through a comprehensive array of trauma-informed services.
In 2024, SAFE SB County launched to support the SB County HTTF’s three-year Strategic Plan to combat sex and labor trafficking locally. This Strategic Plan was developed in partnership with 29 members from multiple countywide agencies, including anti-trafficking subject matter experts and a local lived experience leader (survivor). The three focus areas of the Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force’s Strategic Plan are below.
To carry out the goals laid out in the Strategic Plan, SAFE operates a donor-advised fund that receives tax-deductible donations from SAFE partners and community members and allocates those funds to qualified, vetted organizations executing the Strategic Plan goals. The organizations that receive funds are a part of the larger movement to prevent human trafficking, assist at-risk populations, and protect survivors. You can read more about SAFE SB County’s 2025 funding priorities here. You can also review a summary of the 3-year Strategic Plan below.
Since launching in 2024, SAFE Santa Barbara County has funded several projects serving vulnerable populations and survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation across our county.
These projects include:
Case management support for local youth experiencing trafficking and vulnerability in Santa Barbara City
Prevention education for social workers, school counselors, and students in Lompoc schools to better identify and intervene for youth who may be at risk
A Care and Coordination Day to serve women experiencing homelessness and other risk factors for exploitation in Lompoc
Lived experience consultation of a local survivor, including training development and implementation, project oversight, and community engagement
Coordination for the SB County Interfaith Collaborative, which engages countywide faith communities in awareness and action
GIVE
Each donation is tax-deductible and directly supports projects and organizations in SB County working to reduce trafficking and exploitation. When you invest in SAFE SB County, you will receive regular updates on how funding is being used and where progress is being made! Your support of SAFE SB County is an investment in the movement to prevent trafficking and exploitation across our county, to protect survivors and provide wraparound care and services, and so much more.
A team of subject experts and key partners evaluate and choose grantees and projects that align with the Strategic Plan goals through a deliberative, careful process.
Follow the button below to the secure giving portal. Administrated by the National Christian Foundation (NCF), the donor-advised fund provides donors a means by which to make tax-deductible gifts while providing the SAFE team a way to fund the movement.
For more ways to give, please see our Make a Gift page.