Foundation News
As one of the largest private sources of funding for area nonprofits, agencies, and college bound students, the foundation makes funds available to identify and strategically address critical community issues – to strengthen the nonprofit sector, to encourage collaboration and partnerships, and to engage and align philanthropic capital with community needs in order to positively impact the county’s common good. On this page, you will find all of the latest news about what the foundation is doing in our many communities in Santa Barbara County.
- Media Toolkit
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The media is a key community stakeholder and we strive to help media professionals with information about our work and our philanthropic leadership.
Santa Barbara Foundation Honors 2013 Scholarship Award Recipients for Academic Success and Community Service
“To me, community service is not just something we must do. It is something that truly comes from my heart and it is something that I will continue to do in my future,” said award recipient, Melissa Diaz-Trejo. “My goal is to make a difference in at least one life. By helping out, I know I am one step closer to building an improved community.” This sentiment is echoed by all of the Spaulding and Fleischmann award recipients who have followed their passions in their willingness to give back to the communities they live in. Most have donated their time and efforts to a variety of important issues and organizations, volunteering at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Marian Medical Center, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Pacific Pride Foundation, Direct Relief International, and Santa Maria Valley Animal Shelter, to name a few. For their great academic success and devotion to community service, each student was given an award. Read More...
Pacific Pride Foundation Remains Foremost Resource for People Living with HIV/AIDS
For those growing up as part of the millennial generation, a conscious understanding of AIDS has always been a reality. Reaching epidemic proportions in the 1980s and throughout the early 1990s, education became a crucial form of prevention while researchers continued examining the disease. Over 30 years later, AIDS is still to this day a pandemic with no known cure, and education remains the first part of AIDS policy throughout the nation. In Santa Barbara County, estimated to have between 1,500-2,500 people positively diagnosed, the Pacific Pride Foundation is the foremost resource for people living with HIV/AIDS, helping those who are suffering, and those who are most marginalized, receive compassionate health care and social service programs not available through any other organization in the county. Read More...
Cactus Society Strengthens Research and Conservation Efforts Through Endowment Fund
Cacti are a vital component of many desert ecosystems, providing food and shelter for animals such as hummingbirds, tortoises, deer, and rabbits. However, several cactus species are now endangered due to illegal seed and plant collection, habitat loss, and climate change. The Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) is one organization working to promote the conservation, knowledge, and appreciation of cacti and succulents through publications, conventions, and a seed bank as well as research grants and travel opportunities to advance the work of botanists around the world. Seeking ways to stay relevant and ensure its long-term capacity, CSSA recently opened an endowment fund with the Santa Barbara Foundation, ensuring their organization would continue to grow in perpetuity. Read More...
Corporate Philanthropy Leaders Share Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Since 1990, the Intel Foundation’s charitable giving has grown from $1 million to $110 million. A key factor for its success has been the development of a strategic philanthropy program that directly ties to the company’s corporate values. “Corporate philanthropy is not about playing a golf game or writing a check for the next gala,” said Wendy Ramage Hawkins, executive director for the Intel Foundation. “Senior corporate leaders need to be able to tell stockholders, owners, and bosses that the philanthropy program makes sense for business, builds the company’s reputation, and extends the brand in the community. At Intel, our company leaders understand what we get out of our programs, so they are willing to fund it and they are willing to increase that funding substantially over time.” Read More...
Hands Across Santa Maria Volunteer Fair Connects Organizations to New Volunteers
Given the chance, everyone is willing and able to lend a helping hand. Our communities are full of people who go above and beyond with their volunteer commitments, giving up evenings and weekends as well as day-to-day activities in order to make a difference. But where do you start? How do you begin your volunteer story? Earlier this month, the Santa Maria Affiliate of the Santa Barbara Foundation hosted a volunteer recruitment fair at the Abel Maldonado Youth Center, providing an opportunity for folks to learn more about getting involved. Read More...
Posse Program Bolsters Academic Success on Westside
Jo Ann Caines, principal of La Cumbre Junior High School and an educator with 25 years of experience on the Westside, continued to face a major challenge. Even if low-income Latino students were succeeding in elementary and junior high, they began to flounder in high school with no peer support in high-level classes, low parent education levels, limited resources in the home, and no immediate academic assistance. To address this achievement gap and to prepare students to pursue higher education, La Cumbre Junior High partnered with San Marcos High School to develop the Posse Program. Read More...
Africa Schools of Kenya Launches Campaign in Response to Maasai Request to End FGM
In 2007, Teri Gabrielsen founded Africa Schools of Kenya (ASK) to provide educational programs for Kenyan children. Last year, the Maasai people of Esiteti asked Teri if she would help with the design of an alternative “coming of age” ceremony for the women in their community so that they would not need to perform the traditional ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM), a ceremony signifying a girl's transition to adulthood. ASK is currently in the middle of a 42-day campaign hoping to raise $50,000 in order to make the alernative rite of passage program sustainable, ensuring the safety of hundreds of girls. Read More...
Senior Volunteerism Remains Vibrant Force in the Community
Jose Gallardo has been busy his entire life - all 90 years of it. “For so many years, I did not even know what a weekend was!” he said. Serving as a specialized railroad worker during World War II, Jose later started his own milk delivery business and ultimately owned two restaurants. Countless retirees can relate to Jose’s work ethic and as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement, the number of retirees in this country will increase significantly. Doug Dougherty, executive director of the OASIS Senior Center in Orcutt, said he has seen a tremendous increase not only in the demand for senior services but in their volunteer force as well. “Seniors are the most vibrant volunteer force. They have a positive, can-do attitude and they want to be busy. They want to help this community.” Read More...
Alliance for Living and Dying Well Provides for Open Conversations about Quality End-of-Life Care
Conversations about death are not the easiest ones to have with family members. Where do you begin? How do you create an environment that is open and non-confrontational? How do you figure out what your final wishes might be? The Alliance for Living and Dying Well is a collaborative working to ease these sometimes tough conversations through its commitment to quality end-of-life care, also providing the community with awareness of the types of care available. “It is not just about getting the right documents in place, but also shifting attitudes about death and dying. This in itself is very transformational,” said Susan Plummer, the alliance’s executive director. Read More...
Katherine Harvey Fellows Program Encourages Next Generation of Leaders
The Katherine Harvey Fellows program inspires, motivates, and educates – preparing its participants to become future community leaders. Those who become fellows are immersed in an education that provides the key elements of philanthropic work, grantmaking, and mentoring, engaged in an 18-month experiential learning opportunity that is truly transformational. Founded in 1999 by the Santa Barbara Foundation, the program is now run in partnership with the local, leadership nonprofit Leading From Within, both of which are pleased to announce a 15-member cohort for the class of 2013-2014. Read More...
Highland Santa Barbara Foundation Inc. Distributes $685,000 in Grants to 17 Nonprofits - New Supporting Organization to Support Excellence in Education
The Santa Barbara Foundation is pleased to announce the distribution of $685,000 in grants to organizations specifically tackling challenges and opportunities surrounding education. The grants were made through the foundation’s newest supporting organization Highland Santa Barbara Foundation Inc. (HSBF). Distributions from the supporting organization’s assets will continue to be given annually to qualified charitable organizations located predominantly in Santa Barbara County. Read More...
Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara Begins Investing in Santa Barbara Education
Earlier this month, Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara (SVPSB) gathered with invited guests to hear a panel discussion on education needs in Santa Barbara County. Hosted at the Santa Barbara Foundation, panelists included David Cash, superintendent of Santa Barbara Unified School District; Paul Cordeiro, superintendent of Carpinteria Unified School District; Pedro Paz, school board member for Santa Barbara School; Sally Kingston, director for college bound programs and instruction at Carpinteria Unified School District; and Moderator Ben Romo, SVPSB partner and CEO of First Five Santa Barbara. Read More...
Hands Across Santa Maria Celebrates Volunteerism
Some are flashy and boldly colored, some are elegantly adorned with glitter and ribbon, and some simply bear a distinctive signature. Each is a one-of-a-kind paper hand created to uniquely represent the “hand” many generous men, women, and young people give to the community regularly through volunteer service. The artistic hands are the kickoff for the Santa Maria Affiliate of the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Thanks for Caring: Hands Across Santa Maria project – a unique celebration of volunteerism with the dual mission of recognizing the efforts of current volunteers while inspiring others to get more involved. Read More...
Yvette Cabrera Returns to Santa Barbara for Mission and State Journalism Initiative
Yvette Cabrera has just been appointed to the startup journalism project Mission and State, formerly known as the Santa Barbara Investigative Journalism Initiative. The project was created late last year through a Knight Foundation grant awarded to the Santa Barbara Foundation and supported by matching grants from several local foundations and individuals. Mission and State will operate under the umbrella of the not-for-profit Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media and Public Policy. Cabrera joins a team ready to enhance the online journalism experience. Read More...
Deckers Outdoor Corporation CEO Angel Martinez Shares His Inspiring Philanthropic Journey with the Corporate Philanthropy Roundtable
On Angel Martinez’s first day at a new school in California, the principal glanced at his outfit and promptly took him shopping so he would fit in with the other students at school. This act of kindness left a deep impression on Angel, who was born in Cuba and spent his early years in the South Bronx of New York where his adoptive guardians struggled to make $40 a week. “The odds of me being here, doing what I’m doing and talking to all of you today, are slim to none,” said Angel, speaking to a group of Santa Barbara business and community leaders at the Corporate Philanthropy Roundtable’s 2013 kick-off event, A CEO's Journey in Philanthropy. “I was the beneficiary of help from so many people. I received scholarships that still inspire me today, and I have an obligation to give that back in my own way.” Read More...
Uncommon Gifts for the Common Good
In creating a personal giving plan, many donors are thinking outside the box and contributing assets which may result in a larger charitable impact as well as a significant tax advantage. While cash and marketable securities remain the principal type of assets contributed, the foundation has seen an uptick in uncommon or illiquid assets donated by generous and savvy donors to set up funds that carry out their philanthropic passions. Since 2009, the foundation has received gifts of privately held stock, limited partnership shares, real estate, patent royalties, art, and collectables. One of the largest gifts ever received by the foundation was comprised of tranches of corporate bonds. Read More...
Legal Aid Foundation Parlays Express Grant into Sustainable Giving Program
From keeping a roof over a family’s head by preventing a landlord’s discrimination to protecting a victim of domestic violence from further abuse, the Legal Aid Foundation provides critical legal services throughout Santa Barbara County. In 2011, Legal Aid received a $5,000 Express Grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation to develop a major gifts program aimed at generating a reliable stream of income for the organization and increasing its capacity to provide legal assistance. Legal Aid used the grant to hire a major gifts consultant who trained both board and staff, and helped the organization host a luncheon that raised $156,000 in cash and pledges. A year later, Legal Aid duplicated the luncheon with similar results. Read More...
Donor Advised Fund Helps Peter and Karen Brill Create Impactful Philanthropy
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Karen Brill never thought she would have the opportunity to attend college. Thanks to an anonymous donor, not only was Karen able to attend Bucknell University but she also went on to pursue her M.Ed. in counseling psychology from Temple University. Today, Karen honors that gift by volunteering both her time and resources to organizations benefiting education, children, and the arts. Karen and her husband Peter recently decided to create a donor advised fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation to approach their philanthropy in a targeted and systematic way, ultimately becoming more impactful with their giving. Read More...
Youth Interactive Helps Children Find Creative Passions
The Funk Zone has long been home to local artists, working in collaboration and perfecting their craft in an atmosphere of creative energy. Therefore, it seems perfectly fitting that an organization wishing to inspire youth to discover the best part of themselves through the pursuit of their passions, would open its doors. Youth Interactive provides programs focused on technology, entrepreneurship, and the arts, empowering children and teens to become self sufficient through the development of creative skills. Read More...
Diane Adam, Fred Gluck, and Chris Slaughter Elected to Santa Barbara Foundation Board
Diane Adam, Fred Gluck, and Chris Slaughter have been elected to the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Board of Trustees, each beginning a three-year term in January 2013. Selected for their diverse interests, experience, and leadership in both professional and volunteer arenas, trustees establish policy, set priorities, and are responsible for guiding the foundation’s activities. Read More...
Santa Barbara Foundation Ends Banner Year Distributing $26 Million in Grants in 2012
Grantmaking Addresses County’s Challenges and Opportunities by Providing $2 Million in Year End Grants to 41 Nonprofits
In 2012, the Santa Barbara Foundation, together with its donor partners, distributed $26 million in charitable grants. These community investments helped to fuel the good work of community organizations – primarily in Santa Barbara County –making significant impact by addressing critical challenges and compelling needs. See recipients...
Business Leader Michael Towbes Establishes New Fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation to Support the Performing Arts
Long-time Santa Barbara resident and business leader Michael Towbes has established The Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts at the Santa Barbara Foundation to benefit nonprofit performing arts organizations and their venues throughout Southern California. A life-long supporter of theater, dance, and music, Mr. Towbes, along with his wife, Anne Smith Towbes, previously led the $60 million effort to restore the Santa Barbara Performing Arts Center at the Granada Theater and was instrumental in maintaining KDB 93.7 FM as a classic radio station in Santa Barbara. Read More...
Foundation News Archive