Strengthening Community Resilience Through the Disaster Relief Fund

Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to contact the Santa Barbara Foundation whenever they experience impacts from disasters—including fire, flood, severe storms, or other emergencies. Reaching out ensures SBF can evaluate the situation, understand emerging needs, and determine whether the Community Disaster Relief Fund may be an appropriate source of support. This is a rolling source of funding, and requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. Early communication helps the Foundation respond quickly and allocate resources where they will have the greatest impact. To learn more about how the fund works, visit our disaster relief home page.

• Apache Fire (July 2024): On Tuesday, July 23, the Apache Fire ignited from sparks cast into the flammable roadside brush by a truck driving south on Hwy 33 dragging towing chains. That night Apache Canyon residents were evacuated as the fire rapidly expanded and threatened homes and farming infrastructure. Two days later as the fire continued to move through the high levels of fuel load, Quail Springs residents watched the smoke plumes and rising flames 2 miles away and coming toward their canyon over the southern ridges. Mandatory evacuations went into place for Quail Springs/Burges Canyon on Thursday, July 25. In response, the Programs team approved a Community Disaster Relief Fund grant in the amount of $9,000 for Quail Springs. The funds were to provide financial support to cover the costs of evacuating the site with the animals, replacing lost livestock, and repairing water lines in the Quail Springs community. 
• Winter Storms (2024): In January and February 2024, Santa Barbara County experienced extreme weather events that prompted evacuation warnings/orders and caused flooding and damage in various areas of our county. A state of emergency was declared for Santa Barbara County by both County officials as well as Governor Newsom. In response, 805 UndocuFund activated their application for support and approximately 100 applications were received from undocumented residents of Santa Barbara County households. Eligibility criteria included damage to personal property, flooded vehicles and compromised food supplies. 805 UndocuFund determined that 53 of the Santa Barbara County applicants met their eligibility requirements through affirmed damage to personal property. The League of California Community Foundation provided SBF with $55,000 including a 10% administrative fee ($5,000) to provide disaster relief assistance to the 805 UndocuFund.