Ask most people what a nonprofit grant pays for, and they’ll describe a program – classes taught, meals served, families housed. And that instinct makes sense: programs are visible. They’re the work you can point to; the outcomes you can count. But behind every effective program is an organization capable of delivering it consistently, day after day, even when resources are tight and demand is high. Capacity building grants make a different bet: that strengthening the organization itself is what makes the real work possible.
That’s the thinking behind the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Small Capacity Building Grant Program — funding designed not for a specific program, but for the people, tools, and systems that keep a nonprofit running well. Over the last five years, SBF has invested over $2.6 million in these grants, and the results speak for themselves.
C.A.R.E.4Paws, a local nonprofit with the mission to reduce pet overpopulation and improve pet family welfare on California’s Central Coast, was the recipient of a 2025 Small Capacity Building Grant. They operate a mobile veterinary unit, performing spay/neuter surgeries across Santa Barbara County including in remote communities like New Cuyama. The grant funded the purchase of a new high-capacity autoclave, allowing them to sterilize surgical instruments more efficiently and increase the number of surgeries they could perform each day. This is the kind of infrastructure investment that doesn’t make headlines – until you see what it enables in the field.
One story in particular illustrates the point. It started when a New Cuyama resident reached out to the C.A.R.E.4Paws team reporting that she regularly fed 25 to 30 cats in her backyard. The team drove out to see it for themselves. 
“She wasn’t kidding,” reflected Julie Crutcher, a grant writer and core volunteer at C.A.R.E.4Paws. “We showed up at dinner time and the cats (easily 30 of them) came from all directions. There were even more cats just walking down the street, close to houses.”
New Cuyama is home to about 650 people, sits an hour from Santa Maria, and has no local veterinary services. C.A.R.E.4Paws estimated the cat population could easily double in six months if left unchecked. They wasted no time.
The organization launched three large TNR (trap-neuter-return) clinics, made possible in part by the autoclave’s ability to turn around large volumes of sterile surgical packs quickly and reliably. Those clinics drew in partners: fellow Santa Barbara organizations ResQCats, ASAP Cats, Santa Barbara County Animal Services, and Santa Barbara Humane all joined the effort, contributing funding, trapping expertise, and ongoing veterinary services. The New Cuyama community itself got involved too, eventually taking ownership of a neighborhood Pet Food Pantry that now serves 50 to 60 families every week.
On one visit in December, the team used the New Cuyama Community Resource Center’s entire building to run their biggest clinic yet, spaying or neutering 48 cats in a single day. None of it would have been possible without a van stocked full of sterile surgical packs — made possible by the new autoclave.
This is what capacity building looks like when it works: not just a stronger organization, but one equipped to show up as a reliable partner, to anchor a collaboration, and to keep going when the mission gets ambitious. As Isabelle Gullo, Executive Director and Cofounder of C.A.R.E.4Paws, put it:
“The autoclave sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation has been a lifesaver. Thank you for helping to power us forward. It truly takes a village to make an impact!”
C.A.R.E.4Paws is one of 885 active nonprofits serving Santa Barbara County, and stories like this one are a reminder of the remarkable work happening across our community every day. We are grateful for their dedication to the animals and families of Santa Barbara County, and proud to play a small role in supporting it. To learn more — visit C.A.R.E.4Paws’ website or watch a video about the New Cuyama project here.
Visit our website to learn more about the Small Capacity Building Grant Program & submit an application before the next deadline of July 14, 2026.
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