Charitable Giving Strong in 2025 Despite Economic Challenges
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Close community caring has been driving some specific charitable donations in 2025.
Across the country there have been needs, from the fire relief in Los Angeles County to GoFundMe requests throughout communities in the U.S. for an immediate issue.
Santa Barbara’s charity donations, as with other communities, have been a concern with cuts in personal income or rising inflation costs for many families. There have also been many non-profits finding their budgets short with federal financial reductions being announced throughout the year.
For the Unity Shoppe, the recent Unity telethon was a windfall of donations reaching $700,000.
CEO Angela Miller-Bevan has been emotionally appreciative for the contributions.
“The generosity of our community is the reason thousands of families will not face hunger. Because people showed up, gave boldly, and believed in this mission, Unity Shoppe has the resources to keep our community fed as we move into 2026. This support is more than financial, it is life changing,” she said.
Miller-Bevan says, “we’re serving thousands of people more than we did last year and this community came out full force. “
And there are changes on many levels of needs. She said “we’re looking for funding but we are also helping more people because of all these federal cuts and so our Lompoc store’s numbers doubled.”
Dillan Scott is a recipient of scholarship funds, and says, “the money helps but the big thing is the people putting the money in believe in me”
He is 19 with a limited income but says “whenever you order from Walmart I try to roundup and give to the Salvation Army . I am actually a social worker now so I get to see where the dollar goes.”
Chris Bernt favors programs for children or the arts for school kids, including one with the Santa Barbara Symphony.. “They are involved in a lot of education and outreach programs and I like music. “
Kristine Pacheco-Bernt said she gives to the food Bank of Santa Barbara County and Pug Nation where she picked up her dogs. In general she was, “more focused on community especially like neighborhood specific community.” With that she has seen many fundraisers on the Eastside of Santa Barbara just for that area. “I work with children i am an educator. I see the results almost immediately.”
At the end of the year, many people are putting money into a charity for tax benefits. There is a new charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples.
A survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about half of those who donate are done for the year. About 20% have donated and still plan to do a little more before the end of the year.
In their Year in Help report, the cities of Santa Barbara and Ventura made GoFundMe’s “Most Generous Places” List for 2025.