Home About Mission
What we stand for

What we believe, and the line we won't cross.

Five working principles that guide every decision — from which families we help to which donors we accept.

Safer Chemistry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using the world's only EPA Safer Choice–certified fire retardant to defend wildlife habitats, equine properties, and irreplaceable historical landmarks from wildfire.

Our mission is simple: take the toxic out of fire defense. Every grant, every partnership, every dollar gets measured against that single test.

01 / Honesty

No trade-offs we wouldn't make ourselves.

We don't deploy chemistry on someone else's home that we wouldn't put on our own. If it's not safe enough for our families, it's not safe enough for yours.

02 / Specificity

Real numbers. Real outcomes.

$50 treats a perimeter. $250 covers an engineering hour. We refuse to traffic in vague impact statements. Every gift maps to something concrete.

03 / Open work

What we learn, we share.

We open-source the engineering, the assemblies, the test results. The next sanctuary or landmark to harden shouldn't have to start from zero.

04 / Lean overhead

Most of every dollar goes to the work.

We don't run a marketing department. ~85% of every gift funds projects. Operations and fundraising costs are reported every year.

Where we draw the line

Some donors offer money with strings attached. We've turned them down before and we'll do it again. Specifically:

  • We won't endorse products we haven't tested ourselves.
  • We won't accept funding from companies whose retardant chemistry doesn't meet our standard.
  • We won't sell donor information.
  • We won't make claims our science can't back up.

If a fire chief, builder, or insurer wants to know where to draw the line on the chemistry they specify or use, that's a conversation we'll always have.

Governance

Built to be accountable.

Safer Chemistry is governed by a board of directors with backgrounds in fire safety, building science, environmental health, and nonprofit operations. We file Form 990 every year and publish our financials on this site.

Tax status
501(c)(3)
Board members
5
Projects / overhead
85% / 15%

Help us hold the line.

Your gift today funds the chemistry, the installations, and the open-source engineering that keep habitats and landmarks from burning.

Donate now