Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara announces record $1.25 million to 11 local nonprofits
Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara made a big announcement to help almost a dozen nonprofits in the community.
The organization awarded a record $1.25 million in grants to 11 local nonprofits.
The funding was made possible through the contributions of 1,426 local women members who pooled their charitable donations.
Over 500 Women’s Fund members, guests, sponsors, and community supporters gathered at the iconic Lobero Theatre to celebrate and learn about the funded projects.
From the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara:
Board Chair Carolyn Jabs emphasized the mission: “Together, when we pool our resources, we can achieve far more than we ever could alone.”
Since its inception, the Women’s Fund has awarded over $12.8 million to 163 programs at 73 nonprofits, positively impacting more than 100,000 women, children, and families.
Critical Community Needs Addressed:
· Support for homeless individuals· Mental health care initiatives· Nutritional assistance for seniors· Educational opportunities for low-income children· Vision care services· Reliable transportation for youth· Hygiene facilities for those in need
The 2024-2025 grant recipients listed below will tackle some of the most critical needs facing ourcommunity, including the following:
Support for homeless individuals
Mental health care initiatives
Nutritional assistance for seniors
Educational opportunities for low-income children
Vision care services
Reliable transportation for youth
Hygiene facilities for those in need
Carpinteria Children’s Project – $100,000 to provide scholarships for 20-40 low-income studentsin CCP’s Dual Language Immersion Program, enhancing kindergarten readiness and supportingfamilies with access to additional resources and services.
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County – $75,000 for upgrading CASA’sdata management system and hiring a full-time data management specialist to improveadvocacy for children in foster care.
Channel Islands YMCA – $100,000 to establish the county’s first fully licensed transitional housingprogram for youth exiting foster care, providing intensive case management and support for nineyoung adults.
Children’s Resource & Referral of Santa Barbara County – $200,000 over two years to expandtheir child-care licensing program, guiding 60 women through the licensing process to create upto 480 new licensed child-care spaces in underserved communities.
Domestic Violence Solutions – $100,000 to upgrade security measures at their emergencyshelter and long-term housing facility, enhancing safety for 162 clients annually through newfencing, security systems, and training for staff.
Good Samaritan Shelter – $150,000 to purchase a fully equipped food truck, the Good Samwich,providing culinary training program graduates with paid employment while serving 14,000 mealsannually to the community.
Mothers’ Helpers – $80,000 over two years to hire a part-time bilingual support centercoordinator, enhancing operations to serve over 600 low-income families annually whileimproving volunteer management and reducing response times for parent requests.
New Beginnings Counseling Center – $150,000 over two years to increase mental health carestaffing by hiring a full-time front desk staff member and expanding intake coordinator hours,improving client intake, and reducing wait times for approximately 860 clients annually.
PATH Santa Barbara – People Assisting the Homeless – $110,000 to purchase and install privacypartitions in the women’s dormitory, improving the living conditions for an average of 114 womenannually and enhancing their well-being within the shelter.
SEE International – $110,000 to expand the SEE Vision Care Program by hiring additional staffand increasing service days at their Goleta clinic, enabling the organization to serve an additional1,126 patients and reduce appointment wait times.
Showers of Blessing – $75,000 to purchase a new gas-powered truck base, ensuring reliabletransportation for their mobile shower services and enabling continued access to hygienefacilities for 800 clients, providing a total of 7,000 showers each year.
More information about each of these grantees can be found here:https://womensfundsb.org/gifts.html
Membership in the Women’s Fund is open to all women passionate about making a collectiveimpact.
To join or learn more, visit www.womensfundsb.org