Anna and Kiah Jordan have built a life in Santa Barbara shaped by philanthropy and a shared commitment to the community around them.
Kiah’s childhood took him from Hawaii to New Zealand and eventually to Westmont College, where he studied business and Spanish. There, he met Anna, who had come from Illinois to pursue a degree in English.
After graduating, they continued to call Santa Barbara home, putting down roots through their careers, nonprofit involvement, and family life. After completing her MFA in creative writing, Anna returned to Westmont College as a professor in the English department, continuing a long line of educators. Kiah went on to complete his Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business, eventually founding Impact Family Office in 2016, a company that helps families consider how their investments, spending, and philanthropy align with their values.
Anna and Kiah both grew up with strong examples of service around them, helping shape their commitment to service and generosity. Anna comes from a multigenerational family tradition in education, while Kiah grew up in a family deeply involved in service, including his parents’ missionary work and his father’s leadership of a foster care agency.
These values guide Anna and Kiah’s own lives. Early in their marriage, they began thinking about how they could engage meaningfully in their community and be good stewards of what they had.
“It sounds cliché, but we really want to bloom where we’re planted, but we also want to fertilize the soil around us,” Anna said.
Since then, the Jordans have continued to put that belief into practice through lasting relationships with nonprofits across the county.
Kiah’s board involvement began with the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, an organization he remains deeply involved with, now serving as its board chair. Today, Kiah serves on four nonprofit boards, including the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Among the organizations the Jordans support, Angels Foster Care holds a particularly meaningful place in their family’s story. Anna and Kiah served as resource parents and adopted two of their children through foster care. Anna continues to contribute to the organization as a member of Angels’ board of directors.
“Angels Foster Care has helped us grow our family and shaped so much of our family identity,” she said.
Kiah first became familiar with the Santa Barbara Foundation through clients who held donor-advised funds at the Foundation and through his own nonprofit board involvement, which eventually led him to connect with President and CEO Jackie Carrera.
“I kind of got to know it from the periphery before getting to know it from the inside,” he said.
Today, Kiah serves on the Foundation’s board and chairs its Finance and Administration Committee.
For Anna and Kiah, supporting the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Community Engagement Fund reflects their broader involvement with nonprofits and the community throughout Santa Barbara County.
“We trust it to do well with the dollars we give it, and we don’t feel like we have to dictate where it goes or what they do with it,” Kiah said.
The fund allows their contributions to support needs beyond the organizations they already give to, with the Foundation determining where those resources can make a meaningful difference.
At home, that same commitment to community is woven into everyday family life. Anna and Kiah hope to pass those values on to their four children, encouraging them to approach others with empathy, curiosity, and an understanding of their stories.
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