Towards a Just and Equitable Towards a Just and Equitable Central Coast Central Coast

The Central Coast Regional Equity Initiative aims to deepen our understanding of regional disparities, facilitate a region-wide multi-sectoral conversation, and advance social, health, environmental, and economic equity through a community and research-informed action framework.

A collaborative partnership between The Fund for Santa Barbara and the UCSB Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy, the Initiative's first report, "Towards and Just and Equitable Central Coast," was produced with support from USC Equity Research Institute in December 2021 and uses rigorous, community engaged research both to bring socioeconomic inequities — and the price we pay for them — to light, and to establish concrete guideposts for regional equity.

Over the past year our work has been guided by our transformative vision, one rooted in equity, sustainability, and justice. In the spirit of “building from our victories,” we elevate that this collective “our” refers to all of us, and speaks to the community power that strengthens our region and our struggle for equity

Our collective success so far couldn't have happened without the broad community support we've received for the Initiative from the philanthropic sector, government, and community-based organizations and leaders

In 2023, we are continuing to deepen cross-sector relationships built on trust, acknowledging power and privilege, practicing a spirit of reciprocity, and sustaining our efforts and energies This work is guided by our three-year Strategic Action Plan, facilitated by Evolve Equity and The Fund