Keep People Safe. Keep DanceSafe Alive. Help Us Raise $100k.

May 6th 2026 UPDATE

Big thanks to all our donors!

Against the odds, our mission endures.

Last month, DanceSafe was forced to lay off nearly every member of our team. Within days of this difficult change, the White House declared federal funds cannot be used to purchase fentanyl test strips. This hits DanceSafe and the entire harm reduction movement hard. Many of our wholesale customers depend on federal grants to get these life-saving tools into the hands of people who need them.

Our hearts are breaking—but we’re not giving up.

DanceSafe now runs entirely on volunteer leadership.

In 1998, our mission was forged in the crisis of the drug war. We were created under pressure, and our resolve is only made stronger by this moment. But our public health mission remains under attack.

January-April Wins

We raised $27,000 from over 500 small donors. Our largest grassroots fundraising project in years.

> We transitioned storefront fulfillment to a new partner—reducing costs, labor, and liability while improving our website’s functionality. Early data show sales and website performance have improved in the last few months.

> We dramatically reduced operating expenses before the layoffs.

> We also paid off a major sales tax debt in April, which had been draining our savings for two years.

Our Top 5 Priorities in 2026

Empower chapters to operate independently with tools for community-driven harm reduction.

Launch an art fundraiser in partnership with the Shulgin Foundation. We will soon be offering unique glassworks for purchase, all of which are made from pieces of glass from the late Sasha Shulgin’s own laboratory. Proceeds support both organization’s programs. Stay tuned to be among the first to know when the art sale goes live!

The White House just banned federal funding for fentanyl test strips. This is the perfect time for academic research measuring the effectiveness of fentanyl test strip education and distribution as an overdose prevention tool. We have already begun working with university research partners.

Promote our storefront and resources—including new educational content—to ensure people who use drugs and their communities continue to have access to quality health and safety tools as new trends and research emerge.

Improve impact measurement by tracking key performance indicators over time and using that data to drive better health and safety initiatives for people who party.

Gratitude to Our Team

We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has been impacted by the layoffs—three full-time staff and more than 10 contractors—whose courage and persistence helped stabilize the organization. For the last four months, our team focused exclusively on cutting costs, raising money, and keeping our chapter network active and funded through local partnerships. We are also grateful to our dedicated outreach volunteer network who keeps showing up no matter how tough it gets.

~DanceSafe

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DanceSafe is a nonprofit, peer-led public health organization dedicated to harm reduction, drug education, and community care in nightlife, festival, and electronic music spaces.

For decades, we’ve met people where they are. We bring trusted, science-based education, drug checking, and harm reduction supplies directly into the environments where risk exists. We do this without judgment, without scare tactics, and with deep respect for the communities we serve. Because we know that trust saves lives.

What We Do

Your support helps make the following services possible:

Drug checking (reagent testing, test strips, and advanced technologies where permitted)
Peer-led drug and consent education
On-site outreach and harm reduction supplies
Online drug alerts and educational resources
A nationwide chapter and volunteer network
Partnerships with public health departments, universities, and harm reduction organizations
Development of an Overdose Response Program to close critical gaps in care

Often, a DanceSafe booth is the first place someone feels safe enough to ask questions, get accurate information, or ask for help. That trust is lifesaving.

Why We Need Your Help Now

We want to move with financial transparency as we ask for your support. In just two years, DanceSafe's annual revenue dropped by 50%. Last year, we struggled to cut costs quickly enough to accommodate this steep decline in funding. However, recent strategic cost-cutting measures have allowed us to cut more than $248,500 in monthly expenses over the last 4 months alone. This is helping us get back on our feet, but we need a surge of funding in the short term to stabilize.

Demand for DanceSafe’s work has never been higher, but the cost of providing these services has increased, and funding for harm reduction remains unstable.

Right now, DanceSafe is facing the most financially precarious moment in our history. To stabilize operations and continue serving communities responsibly, we urgently need to raise $100,000.

Without immediate community support, core outreach and drug checking services are at risk.

By donating to this fundraising effort, you support in protecting essential public health infrastructure and ensuring that people have access to accurate information and safer supply tools when they need them most.

And, while our initial goal is $100k, we hope that this moment of courage and transparency will also inspire you to consider donating to DanceSafe monthly as well.

Your Impact

Your donation helps:

Keep outreach and drug checking services active
Support volunteers providing care on the ground
Expand harm reduction access beyond the events we can physically attend
Build a more resilient organization designed for long-term impact

Every contribution helps keep people safer and helps ensure DanceSafe can continue evolving to meet the needs of today’s communities.

Donate today to protect harm reduction, community care, and safer nights for everyone.