Safe Streets to School

What Safe Streets to School does

Safe Streets to School is an Australian volunteer-led community advocacy nonprofit founded in 2020 in Wollongong, NSW. It campaigns for safer streets for children to walk or ride to school by organizing local chapters across Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs), where parent volunteers petition councils for pedestrian crossings, footpaths, and 30 km/h speed limits within a 2 km radius of schools. The organization serves parents, school communities, and local councils, and positions its advocacy within the Safe System framework and UN General Comment 9 obligations on child mobility. Operational activity is coordinated by co-founder Lena Huda and chapter leads across nine jurisdictions.

The organization has no proprietary technology stack. Its digital infrastructure consists of a website, an email newsletter, chapter-specific Facebook pages, and the GetUp petition platform, which is used as the backbone for petition launches and supporter mobilization. Campaign evidence is grounded in a proprietary dataset of 800+ community survey responses that inform LGA-specific infrastructure asks. A chapter mentorship program lowers the barrier for new local groups to launch, and the organization co-signed a 2022 federal election priority statement alongside the Heart Foundation, Climate Council, and Bicycle Network.

The business model is that of a small grant- and donation-funded nonprofit. The organization has no paid staff (1–10 volunteers per public listing) and is funded by individual donations plus an NSW government grant received in September 2021 for a pilot program. There is no commercial revenue, no pricing model, and no enterprise customer segment. Supporter count is 1,253 across nine chapters in NSW, South Australia, ACT, and Queensland, with documented presentation at the 2023 Sydney Summit and alignment with the February 2025 federal parliamentary inquiry into e-bikes.

Name

Safe Streets to School

Legal name

Safe Streets to School

Website

https://safe-streets-to-school.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Safe Streets to School is an Australian volunteer-led nonprofit founded in 2020 that organizes local chapters to petition councils for safer walking and cycling infrastructure within 2 km of schools, operating 9 chapters across NSW, SA, ACT, and Queensland with 1,253 supporters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Road Safety Advocacy

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

School Zone & Child Safety Systems (School Zone Flashers, Crossing Control, Speed Enforcement) (TLAJAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pedestrian Safety Infrastructure (Crosswalks, Refuge Islands, Ped Signals, Sidewalk Safety Treatments) (TLAJAGAE), Traffic Enforcement & Road Safety (Highway Patrol, DUI, Collision Investigation) (BPAIAGAJ), Education in Emergencies (EiE) & Safe Schools (BPADAKAJ)

Keywords

• Community advocacy campaigns
• School road safety
• Active travel infrastructure
• Pedestrian safety advocacy
• Local government petitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and grants: Primarily funded through donations and government grants. Healthy Cities Illawarra, supported by Safe Streets to School Wollongong and 30please, was awarded a grant by the NSW government for a pilot program with three schools. No commercial revenue model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Safe Streets to School is a volunteer-led community advocacy organization that organizes local chapters across Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) to petition councils for safer streets around schools. Its core asks within 2km of every school are pedestrian priority crossings on streets with speed limits of 40km/h and higher, footpaths on such streets, or 30km/h speed limits where no crossings or footpaths exist. The organization collects petitions via the GetUp platform, distributes campaign resources to schools, and runs community events such as Slow Down Days and Ride2School activities.

Product overview

Safe Streets to School operates as a unified advocacy campaign rather than a traditional product company. The core offering consists of a campaign platform that coordinates local chapters across Australian Local Government Areas to advocate for safer streets for children. The platform integrates with GetUp for petition management and supporter engagement. Supporting offerings include a School Resources Toolkit with worksheets, maps, and planning guides for schools to promote active travel, and a Local Chapter Mentorship Programme that provides volunteers with tools and support to establish new chapters in their communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Safe Streets to School Advocacy Campaign A community-based advocacy campaign organized across Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) to petition councils for pedestrian crossings, footpaths, and 30km/h speed limits within 2km of schools. Free to participate; targets parents, residents, schools, and councils.
• School Resources Toolkit Educational materials and downloadable resources for schools including walking and riding worksheets, active travel maps, slow-down day planning guides, and video resources to promote active transport to school. Provided free to schools.
• Local Chapter Mentorship Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Australia has one of the lowest shares of walking and cycling to school among OECD countries.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Heart FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2022Part of the alliance of Australian organizations (also including Climate Council, Australasian College of Road Safety) calling for three transport priorities for the 2022 federal elections, including lower urban speed limits and safe routes to school.
• Climate CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2022Alliance partner in the three transport priorities campaign for the 2022 federal elections, advocating for lower urban speed limits and safe active travel routes to school.
• Australasian College of Road SafetyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2022Alliance partner in the three transport priorities campaign, providing road safety expertise and policy credibility to the advocacy.
• NSW GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021Awarded a grant through Healthy Cities Illawarra to fund a pilot with three Wollongong schools, supporting schools to advocate for infrastructure improvements and hosting 30km/h Slow Down Days.
• Bicycle NetworkminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 March 2021Promoted Ride2School program on the resources page, linking families to Bicycle Network's ride2school initiative and event registration.
• Healthy Cities IllawarracoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2021Long-term strategic partnership supporting Safe and Active Routes to School (SAARTS) program. Healthy Cities Illawarra led a NSW government-funded pilot with three Wollongong schools, combining infrastructure advocacy support with Slow Down Day events. Safe Streets to School Wollongong co-developed the program and advocacy materials.
• 30pleasecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2021Advocacy partner focused on 30km/h speed limit implementation. 30please co-authored joint submissions to NSW Treasury and partnered on Slow Down Days. Provides research references and campaign credibility for speed limit advocacy.
• GetUpcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Technology and platform partner providing petition infrastructure. GetUp enables each LGA chapter to start petitions, collect signatures, and manage supporter communications. This partnership allows new chapters to launch without building their own digital infrastructure.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• 30please: Australian speed-limit advocacy campaign focused on 30km/h urban streets. Directly comparable as a partner organisation campaigning on the same 30km/h school-zone policy asks.
• Amy Gillett Foundation: Australian charity advocating for safer cycling infrastructure and behaviour change. Comparable as an active-transport safety advocacy organisation with similar policy asks around protected infrastructure and speed reduction.
• Healthy Cities Illawarra: Community-based advocacy organisation in the Illawarra region focused on active and safe routes to school. Directly comparable because it co-developed the Safe and Active Routes to School (SAARTS) pilot with Safe Streets to School.
• Safe Routes to School (US national network): US national coalition advocating for safe walking and cycling routes to school. Highly comparable as the international equivalent mission and chapter-based advocacy model for school-zone safety.
• Bicycle Network: Australian active transport charity running the national Ride2School program. Directly comparable as an Australian non-profit promoting active travel to school and a current Safe Streets to School promotion partner.

Regional players

• Living Streets: UK-based charity campaigning for safer streets for pedestrians, particularly around schools. Comparable in mission and community-advocacy model but operates in the UK rather than Australia.

Emerging players

• Kidsafe Australia: Australian child-injury-prevention charity focused on keeping children safe in everyday environments including roads. Comparable as an Australian child-safety NGO whose scope overlaps with school-zone safety advocacy.

Broad incumbents

• Climate Council: National Australian climate advocacy organisation that joined the same 2022 federal-election transport-priorities alliance. Comparable as a coalition partner promoting mode-shift away from cars for environmental as well as safety reasons.
• GetUp: Large Australian advocacy and petition platform that hosts Safe Streets to School's petitions. Comparable as the broader civic-advocacy infrastructure provider whose platform enables the campaign's supporter growth.
• Heart Foundation: Major Australian health charity that co-led the 2022 federal-election alliance with Safe Streets to School around active travel and 30km/h speed limits. Comparable as a large-scale health-focused advocacy partner in the same coalition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Safestreetstoschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safe-streets-to-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Safe Streets to School