The Giving List Santa Barbara Vol. 2 by Montecito Journal

the giving list Santa Barbara

Welcome to The Giving List 2022

ou are receiving this book because of your ability to impact philanthropy in Santa Barbara. Whether as an individual, a professional working within a charitable foundation, or a financial professional guiding your clients’ charitable investments, your contribution to Santa Barbara’s nonprofit sector is substantial. You have the means, intelligence, and experience to uplift Santa Barbara through the direct power of your giving and your ability to influence your peers on the causes that matter the most. We hope we are helpful in that endeavor. What you find in your hands is a compendium of stories describing the work being done by some of the most vital nonprofit organizations in this region. Organizations on the front lines of recovery, pressing for social and racial justice, protecting our children, supporting the arts, and fighting to preserve our precious natural world. The nonprofits in this book are not the only important ones in Santa Barbara. They reflect a carefully curated collection of what we believe represents some of the most vital work being done in this vicinity. This book is, in a way, a love letter to Santa Barbara, my adoptive home. My husband and I moved our family here a dozen years ago, and not a day goes by that I’m not blown away by Santa Barbara’s powerful culture of giving back. How people here are defined more by the difference they make than the money they make. How everywhere you turn there are people deeply steeped in Santa Barbara’s rich philanthropic spirit. The same is true of those featured in this book. From social sector leaders who constantly uplift the community, to the corporations that have baked social responsibility into their strategies, to the nonprofits that are doing the work on the ground, each has something important to say about why, how, and to which organizations we contribute, matters. Santa Barbara County is home to thousands of nonprofits and has a deep and colorful philanthropic history. These organizations play a critical role in meeting some of the region’s most pressing challenges. In order to provide these services, they rely on the strong support of Santa Barbara’s vast donor network,

which includes the commitment of people like you. Our intention is to cut through the fundraising noise so that you can more easily determine on which causes and organizations to focus your giving. We have found that most giving guides are missing the most important aspect of connecting donors with causes: powerful storytelling. So, we have worked closely with each organization in this book to tell its unique story to you. Our world is changing rapidly. The recognition of equity, inclusion, diversity, and access as a critical consideration in all aspects of life includes philanthropy. It involves not only the causes we support, but the ways in which we support them. It is for this reason that helping organizations of all shapes and sizes gain direct access to individual donors is not just important, it’s critical. Because nothing is as impactful as giving locally, and the best way to change the world is to uplift our own beloved community. This book would not be possible without the help and support of some of Santa Barbara’s premier institutions. We are deeply grateful to the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Natalie Orfalea Foundation, the Mosher Foundation, the Zegar Family Foundation, the McCune Foundation, and the Hutton Parker Foundation for supporting our matching grant program. A special thanks to TVSB for your partnership in this endeavor. The impact of your ongoing commitment to supporting Santa Barbara’s nonprofit community is immeasurable. And to our anchor partner, Montecito Bank & Trust, for being with us on this journey from the start. You are a shining example of how a first-rate community bank can fundamentally impact the fabric of its local community by investing in the nonprofits that provide a vital safety net for the people who live here. Your leadership provides a master class for giving back. We hope you are as inspired by this book as we have been making it. Sincerely, Gwyn Lurie CEO,ß The Montecito Journal Media Group

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Giving Back

ince 1976, Silverhorn Jewelers has been hand crafting exquisite pieces of jewelry of the finest materials and enduring quality. Traveling the world seeking out rare and unique gemstones, the Silverhorn designers win awards for creativity and craftsmanship year after year. Each piece, created with the gemstone in mind, is crafted using artisan methods and exacting precision. Silverhorn is dedicated to and a long-time generous supporter of many notfor-profit causes in the Santa Barbara community. In addition to cash and fine jewelry donations, Silverhorn’s owners and employees commit personal time to volunteering. Through their marketing programs they encourage their clients and the community to join them in support of worthwhile causes. Our collaboration with The Giving List provides an additional opportunity to invest in our community. Mention The Giving List and we will donate 10% of any purchase, in your name, to any one of the highlighted organizations in The Giving List doing vital work in Santa Barbara County. Please visit our internationally recognized Silverhorn Design Studio 1235 Coast Village Road, Montecito, California 93108 805.969.0442 | www.Silverhorn.com

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How to Read This Book

he Giving List was created to make it easier for you to navigate the dizzying array of worthwhile causes and nonprofit organizations here in Santa Barbara County. To that end, we have distributed 60,000 copies of The Giving List Santa Barbara to people like you: individual donors, staff within the region’s small and large private foundations, and to philanthropic advisors, wealth managers, and estate planners. As you dive into this book, we want to point out some of its unique features, and of The Giving List program as a whole.

Curation Before we started outreach to any of the nonprofits featured in these pages, we consulted with a wide variety of leaders working as executives in private community foundations, leaders of nonprofit boards, wealth management firms, and philanthropic advisors to ensure that we included a balanced cross section of some of Santa Barbara’s most important nonprofit organizations. We sought to understand which nonprofits were leading in recovery as we endure the long tail of the pandemic and racial justice awakening sparked by the murder of George Floyd. The result is that – unlike other giving guides – the list we present to you is made up of not just large, well-funded, and established nonprofits, but many smaller grassroots organizations with deep connections to the communities they serve. If one or more motivate you to learn more or donate, just wave your phone’s camera over the QR code accompanying each in order to connect directly with that organization.

Matching The Giving List was created to help nonprofits create predictable, unrestricted revenue through storytelling. One tried and true method to accomplish this is matching challenge campaigns. Thanks to the Hutton Parker Foundation, the McCune Foundation, the Mosher Foundation, the Natalie Orfalea Foundation, the Santa Barbara Foundation, and the Zegar Family Foundation, you will find more than $140,000 in matching challenges being offered in The Giving List Santa Barbara. We hope that you will be sufficiently inspired to help one or more of these organizations meet its matching challenge.

Ongoing Support Our partnership with the nonprofits in these pages does not end with the printing of this book. Each profile will live on TheGivingList.com through 2022, where we will be updating each profile monthly, so that you can continue to track the important ongoing work of each and every Giving List organization.

Staying Connected We are building a community of people who care deeply about philanthropy and understand the vital role it plays in our world, and we want you to join. If you would like to be included in our newsletter “The Fifth Estate,” please visit www.TheGivingList.com and follow the prompts.

You can also join our Newsletter by waving your phone’s camera over this QR code

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Contents

501(c)(3) nonprofit center that provides screenings, evaluations, and therapy services to preschool-aged children ��P. 242

Books are analog. And analog can be tricky when trying to create a table of contents. Our intention throughout The Giving List is that every organization – regardless of order – is equally important. For that reason we have reversed the table of contents so that the last nonprofit that is featured in the book appears here first. Don’t fret, the page numbers all correspond.

248

one of Santa Barbara’s key social sector leaders ��P. 240

226

Centers of Peace and Preservation Santa Barbara Beautiful’s

purpose is to stimulate community interest and action toward the enhancement of Santa Barbara’s beauty as a complement to current and future government and private activity ��P. 236

Casa del Herrero’s

mission is to maintain, preserve, and restore the house, furnishings, gardens, and history of the Steedman/ Bass estate for the benefit of the community, visiting public, scholars, educators, and students ��P. 234

End of Life

Lotusland

Dream Foundation

serves terminally-ill adults and their families by providing end-of-life Dreams that offer inspiration, comfort, and closure ��P. 254

preserves and enhances the unique, historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska, care for and improve its collections, and develop its conservation and horticulture programs, so they educate us, inspire us, and advance our understanding and appreciation of the importance of plants in our lives and in the life of the planet ��P. 232

Hospice of Santa Barbara’s mission is to provide care to

La Casa de Maria’s mission is to be a sanctuary of peace where

anyone experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness or grieving the death of a loved one �� P. 252

Life Chronicles’ mission is to help families heal and connect by

all may renew purpose, strengthen community, and increase their effectiveness in promoting a culture of peace, social justice, and respect for the earth ��P. 230

videotaping the life stories of an elderly family member or a seriously ill loved one �� P. 250

Profile – Kenneth Kahn knows what it’s like to grow up

238

216

Easy Lift’s mission is to fulfill our community’s need for specialized

Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary’s

VNA Health is caring for our community with compassion and

Redwings Horse Sanctuary’s

Caretakers

integrity �� P. 244

Santa Barbara RiteCare Language Center

without much, so he’s giving back to his community ��P. 228

Animal Instincts

transportation to allow individuals and organizations access to essential programs and services ��P. 246

Profile – Ernesto Paredes is a local boy who grew up to be

is a

mission not only mandates quality of health and happiness for the parrots in its care, but also emphasizes community outreach and education ��P. 224 mission is to eliminate the causes of equine suffering through educational and community outreach programs; and provide permanent sanctuary or selected foster/adoptive homes for those equines ��P. 222

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The Elephant Project’s mission is to create awareness and

funds for injured, orphaned, and abused elephants globally ��P. 220

Profile – Thomas Rollerson has always been guided by

experiences when giving back ��P. 218

208

Visual and Educational Arts Clay Studio

enriches lives by teaching and promoting the ceramic arts �� P. 214

Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s mission is to integrate art into the lives of people ��P. 212

Profile –Kai Tepper is a local force for the arts �� P. 210

194

Performing Arts Granada Theatre is owned and operated by the Santa Barbara

Center for the Performing Arts – serves Santa Barbara by providing a vibrant, state-of-the-art venue where world-class artistic performances are available to the widest possible audience, promoting appreciation for the performing arts and enhancing the quality of life in our community ��P. 206

Ensemble Theatre Company’s

mission is to engage audiences with entertaining, compelling, and thought-provoking theatrical productions and provide engaging theater education programs for youth and its theater audience ��P. 204

UCSB Arts & Lectures’ mission is to educate, entertain, and

inspire �� P. 202

State Street Ballet’s

mission is to inspire, educate, and entertain all audiences, while deepening and broadening its reach within communities �� P. 200

Santa Barbara Symphony’s mission is to enrich the lives

of Santa Barbara residents by producing and presenting the highest quality musical experiences performed with artistic excellence, which is accessible to the entire community, and to inspire a passion for symphonic music in the next generation of audience members, musicians, and funders �� P. 198

Janet Garufis “We are flexible when the need arises, though, and lately we’ve focused on the array of new challenges that we have faced, from fires and the debris flow to the pandemic.”

– Profile begins on P. 174

Profile – Anne Towbes

looks back at her role in Santa Barbara’s philanthropic legacy �� P. 196

Social Sector Leader – KCRW: A Commitment to the

Central Coast ��P. 192

184

Community Resources Friends of the Montecito Library’s mission is to raise

funds to support the library by improving its collection, services, and setting �� P. 190

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specifically as related to children, firefighters and their families, and burn victims and their families ��P. 182

Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley ’s mission is to

partner with all members of the community to achieve resilience against substance use, reductions in violence, and promote a healthy and safe environment for the community’s youth and families ��P. 180

CommUnify works to the benefit of all members of the community by bringing stability to the lives of those community members that most need it ��P. 178

Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade was created to prepare

for and respond to natural disasters and community crises through volunteer training, coordination, and deployment ��P. 176

Profile – Janet Garufis counts herself the “luckiest gal in Santa Barbara.” ��P. 174

Anne Towbes

160

“Philanthropy has truly opened up my heart and my life and I try to live in gratitude every day.” – Profile begins on P. 196

Leading the Way Brady | United Against Gun Violence unites people

Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation

supports the Santa Barbara Public Library by funding large-scale initiatives and strives to make the Library the cultural heart of Santa Barbara community life, where all are welcome ��P. 188

World Business Academy is a nonprofit think tank and

TV Santa Barbara’s mission is to provide citizens with access

Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara’s mission is to foster positive relationships between

to television and other electronic media resources in order to facilitate public dialogue, free speech, and participatory democracy; foster local creativity, education, and culture; and to reflect Santa Barbara’s diverse and amazing community �� P. 186

action incubator that explores the role of business in relation to critical moral, environmental, and social issues of our time �� P. 168

the many diverse groups in the Santa Barbara community and the surrounding areas; to sponsor programs and events which exemplify the teachers of Dr. King; and to observe and celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday �� P. 166

172

Leading From Within

Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation’s

Profile – Warren Ritter focuses on sharing his treasure,

brings social sector leaders together to: grow as individuals and improve their effectiveness as leaders, sustain each other as peers to keep leading and learning, and increase their capacity to be collaborators for the common good �� P. 164

Community Action mission is to provide relief to the poor, disadvantaged, underprivileged, disaster victims, and those facing emergency hardship situations based upon need (financial or other distress) at the time the assistance is given,

of all identities, races, and ethnicities from coast to coast, young and old, progressive and conservative, and everything in between, fed up and fired up, to protect our country from what is killing it ��P. 170

time, and talent ��P. 162

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154

International Human Rights Watch

defends the rights of people worldwide. It scrupulously investigates abuses, exposes the facts widely, and pressures those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all ��P. 158

Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50

states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay ��P. 156

140

Lisa Ling

Working for Our Most Vulnerable Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County’s

mission is to provide high-quality legal services in order to ensure that low-income persons and seniors have access to the civil justice system in times of crisis – to secure safe, habitable shelter, adequate income, and protection from domestic violence and elder abuse ��P. 152

“ What good is a platform, if you don’t use it for good to raise awareness about things that people might otherwise not have any idea of, and to be able to highlight people who are on the ground doing the work?”

– Profile begins on P. 108

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County’s mission is to assure a safe,

permanent, and nurturing home for all abused and/or neglected children by providing a highly-trained volunteer to advocate for them in the court system �� P. 150

Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA) empowers people through healing and social change

to eliminate all forms of sexual violence. STESA is committed to transforming lives by providing services and education to meet the needs of our diverse community �� P. 148

The Fund for Santa Barbara

advances progressive change by strengthening movements for social, political, economic, and environmental justice ��P. 146

Profile – Edgar Villanueva draws on his Native American roots to help heal philanthropy by using money as medicine ��P.142

126

Environment Community Environmental Council builds on-theground momentum to reverse the threat of the climate crisis ��P. 138

Environmental Defense Center works to protect and enhance the local environment through education, advocacy, and legal action ��P. 136

White Buffalo Land Trust

builds healthier soils, sequesters carbon, increases biodiversity, improves the health of our water cycle, reaches our climate goals, and builds resiliency ��P. 134

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Profile – Kevin Brine discusses the importance of untangling self-interest from true compassion ��P. 128

118 Food

Santa Barbara County Food Action Network

connects, aligns, and activates food system changemakers to develop a robust local food economy, a healthy and just community, and a wellstewarded, resilient foodshed ��P. 124

Organic Soup Kitchen’s mission is to deliver organic, richly nutritious food with the intent to nourish bodies and spirits ��P. 122

Unity Shoppe is dedicated to providing residents impacted by temporary conditions of poverty, natural disaster, or health crisis with resources, including groceries, clothing, and other essentials as well as job training, which reinforces human dignity and encourage selfsufficiency and independence �� P. 120

114

Reaching Beyond Ourselves

Ginger Salazar

Special Olympics’ mission is to provide year-round sports training

“We don’t live in silos, we don’t live on islands, we live in communities, and your community is only as strong as its weakest link.” – Profile begins on P. 32

and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community. ��P. 116

Plastic Pollution Coalition is a growing global alliance of

organizations, businesses, and thought leaders working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, and the environment ��P. 132

Clean Coalition is a nonprofit organization whose mission

is to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern grid through technical, policy, and project development expertise ��P. 130

106

Housing PATH’s

mission is to assist homeless individuals achieve selfsufficiency, by helping as many as possible access the services they need to transition to stable employment and housing �� P. 112

Hillside House’s mission is to provide a home that supports its

residents’ efforts to maximize their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional

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abilities so that they can attain their highest level of independence in an environment where people are treated with dignity and respect ��P. 110

Profile – Lisa Ling asks, “What good is a platform if you don’t

use it for good?” �� P. 108

Mental Wellness and Family Ties Sanctuary Centers’ mission is to provide its clients with

powerful, comprehensive, and transformative mental health care ��P. 104

Family Service Agency’s

mission is to strengthen and advocate for families and individuals of all ages and diversities, helping to create and preserve a healthy community �� P. 102

Community Counseling and Education Center’s mission is to provide low-cost counseling to the Santa

Barbara community by matching incoming clients to highly skilled trainee and associate therapists in its Clinical Training Program ��P. 100

New Beginnings’ mission is to provide its clients with the ability to lead healthy and productive lives through its Counseling Clinic, Life Skills Parenting and Education Program, Safe Parking and Rapid ReHousing Program, and the Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program. ��P. 98

Mental Wellness Center’s

mission is to advance mental wellness in Santa Barbara. Through mental health education, essential community services, and safe, affordable housing, the Mental Wellness Center serves individuals and families impacted by mental illness ��P. 96

Kevin Brine “My personal feeling is I like to give to things where I believe in their long-term impact.” – Profile begins on P. 128

Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara’s mission is to

ensure superior cancer care for all citizens of Santa Barbara County regardless of means ��P. 88

The Alzheimer’s Association Central Coast Chapter provides

California

philanthropy is a family business ��P.94

free educational programs, support services, and care consultations across Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties while also supporting critical research toward a cure ��P. 86

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute is dedicated to

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics’

Profile – For Charlie Casey,

Specialty Health

To Your Health

improving the lives of people impacted by diabetes through research, education, and clinical care �� P. 90

mission is to provide high quality, comprehensive, affordable healthcare to all people, regardless of their ability to pay, in an environment that fosters

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College Access and Higher Education Mentors 4 College’s

mission is to help students and parents find and attend the ideal post-secondary educational program, help school counselors extend their college counseling reach, and build college-savvy communities – with services free to all! �� P. 72

Santa Barbara City College Foundation fuels the

excellence of Santa Barbara City College by engaging the community, building relationships, and inviting the generosity of donors ��P. 70

California State University Channel Islands

provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives ��P. 68

Endowment For Youth Community unlocks the full

potential of African American students and community members by providing opportunities that maximize shared community, prosperity, and personal growth goals and objectives ��P. 66

Kai Tepper

Profile – Katya Armistead is on a mission to build a more

“I really believe the arts have the ability to transform lives and can be used as a tool for social change.”

equitable U.C. Santa Barbara ��P. 64

Teach Our Children Well

– Profile begins on P. 210

McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic is a respect, compassion, and dignity ��P. 82

state-of-the-art research and teaching institute located within the University of California, Santa Barbara ��P. 60

Cottage Health’s

mission is to provide superior healthcare for and improve the health of the area’s communities through a commitment to its core values of excellence, integrity, and compassion �� P. 80

The Key Class strives to deliver a comprehensive yet simple

Sansum Clinic’s mission is to provide an excellent healthcare

The Riviera Ridge School

Profile – Geoff Green shines a light on the power and promise

Santa Barbara Education Foundation

experience, recognizing its first priority is the patients it serves ��P. 78

of community college ��P. 76

guide to social and business skills, the key to ensuring that all students (elementary to college), regardless of where they live, are prepared for career and life ��P. 58

provides student-centered, individualized learning in a joyful and nurturing community, inspiring academic excellence and valuing difference ��P. 56 provides and supports programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and

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personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District �� P. 54

Storyteller Children’s Center

helps Santa Barbara’s homeless, at-risk toddlers and preschoolers achieve Kindergarten Readiness by providing therapeutic preschool services for their families ��P. 52

To learn more about joining The Giving List Community, please contact: partnerships@thegivinglist.com

Profile – Guy Walker is uplifting Santa Barbara’s Black

community ��P. 50

CEO & Founder Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net

Social Sector Leader – El Encanto: A Historic Mainstay, El Encanto’s Unbreakable Bond with Community Grows ��P. 46

President & Founder Tim Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net

Executive Editor Daniel Heimpel dheimpel@thegivinglist.com

Youth Empowerment

Art Director Trent Watanabe

Nature Track fosters a lifelong fascination with nature through outdoor field trips ��P. 44

Director of Partnerships Alexandra Stabler astabler@thegivinglist.com

Explore Ecology

promotes a greater understanding of the connections between people and their environment and to encourage creative thinking through hands-on environmental education and artistic expression ��P. 42

VP of Community Partnerships Judi Weisbart Copy Editor Lily Buckley Harbin

Freedom 4 Youth’s mission is to uplift and empower youth to

build safe and compassionate communities �� P. 40

Photography Edward Clynes

Wilderness Youth Project’s mission is to foster confidence, health, and a lifelong love of learning for young people and families through active outdoor experiences and mentoring ��P. 38

strong, smart, and bold ��P. 36

AHA!’s

mission is to develop character, social and emotional intelligence, imagination, and social conscience in teenagers ��P. 34

Profile – Ginger Salazar lives up to a strong family tradition of giving back ��P. 32

Giving List Feature

– Will Santa Barbara’s legendary philanthropic spirit be compromised by the changed landscape caused by the pandemic, or will it rise to meet the new challenges? ��P. 24

Philanthropic Partner – The Santa Barbara Foundation ��P. 20 Anchor Partner – Montecito Bank & Trust:

Behind Every Great Community is a Great Bank ��P. 14

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Contributors: Michael Bowker, Guillaume Doane, Les Firestein, Jonathan Karp, Nick Masuda, Brian Rinker, Nick Schou

the giving list is published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC. Corporate Offices located at: 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G Montecito, CA 93108 For inquiries: phone (805) 565-1860 email tim@thegivinglist.com

JOURNAL

Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s mission is to inspire all girls to be

Administration & Billing: Christine Merrick frontdesk@montecitojournal.net

ontecito media.group

Janet Garufis and George Leis pose with the 2020 Community Dividends check

Montecito Bank & Trust: A Bank that Embodies the Community Spirit By Michael Bowker

anks don’t usually spring to mind when one writes about beacons of community trust, good deeds, and hope. But even as politics, pandemics, and polarization cast long shadows across our landscape, one community bank is illuminating the path toward a more hopeful future. Montecito Bank & Trust, bursting with optimism that is a natural outgrowth of the remarkable legacy left by its founder, the late Michael Towbes, continues to evolve every day through its programs, attitude, and remarkable leadership. Montecito Bank & Trust is at once old-fashioned and futuristic – serving the community faithfully like an old-style

town doctor who knows everybody and still makes house calls, while also engaging in forward-thinking, home-grown initiatives like the Financial Literacy and Community Dividends programs. It was there for the community after the 2017 Thomas Fire and the subsequent catastrophic debris flow, and then stepped-up full force in multiple ways during the pandemic. It has helped lead the community in implementing the critical financial elements of the COVID-19 pandemic’s CARES Act and in the arts, food banks, housing, school programs, and multiple other vital efforts – from which the Central Coast area has benefitted greatly. The bank, which first opened in 1975, has 14 branches and is the largest locally owned and managed community bank on

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programs were deputized to get federal money to help struggling businesses. A big part of that was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). When the PPP became available in the spring of 2020, many banks were too confused – or were simply reluctant to get involved with something that didn’t promise much profit – and ended up being of little help to the community. Montecito Bank & Trust, though, lived up to its name and stepped up to support, and in some cases save, many of the community’s businesses and residents. Through 2021, bank associates put in more than 20,000 hours servicing area PPP loans for local businesses, which translated into more than $320 million, keeping many small businesses alive. An estimated 22,000 regional jobs have been saved by the bank’s actions through the CARES Act.

Michael Towbes, 2011

the Central Coast. Beyond the $17 million that the bank has granted out to local communities, its more than 250 associates typically donate in excess of 5,500 volunteer hours every year. “We are motivated by a simple, yet aspirational vision,” says Janet Garufis, Chairperson and CEO of the bank. “We want to provide a world-class experience for our customers, the community, and for our own associates.” The bank was founded in 1975 by a group that included one of Santa Barbara’s most famous and effective philanthropists, Michael Towbes, who made his fortune as a California housing developer. As successful as Towbes was as a businessman, his real artistry was in constructing organizations as vehicles for channeling profits back to the community. Towbes, whose dynamic efforts of yesterday continue to define Santa Barbara in many ways, passed away in 2017, but the bank’s leadership has pledged to keep his vision evolving into the future. “Michael’s vision was what attracted me here,” says Garufis. “It was inspiring to see how totally delighted he was to find he had such a capacity for giving back to the community. It gave him joy every day. That vision and feeling of joy are why I came here, and why I stay. Michael passed that on to us and gave this bank a purpose.” The bank’s immediate response to the pandemic sharply defines its unique role in the community. After Congress passed the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act), banks with Small Business Administration (SBA)

“We are motivated by a simple, yet aspirational vision,” says Janet Garufis, Chairperson and CEO of the bank. “We want to provide a world-class experience for our customers, the community, and for our own associates.”

That incredible service – which overwhelmed the bank’s online system, requiring employees to work around the clock to keep up with the demand – was an example of its legendary status as a pillar of community support. But that was only one of a multitude of ways Montecito Bank & Trust works to fortify the community. One of the more imaginative ongoing efforts by the bank is its Financial Literacy Program. “We teach mostly young students (as well as adults) about everyday finances – how to save, how to balance an account, how credit works, how to buy a car, and other practical things,” says Megan Orloff, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President. “We didn’t let the pandemic stop us; we immediately began to develop virtual programs so teachers can share these presentations with their students online. We also added our services with students online in real-time so they can us ask questions. We actively work with the United Way and local school districts, and have expanded this program to adults and more recently college students.” It

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MB&T Associates gather virtually to attend bi-annual corporate meetings

has gained increasing popularity throughout the area. Orloff was hired not only as a communications expert, but to help increase the bank’s “brand identity.” She continues to do that by helping expand how it serves the community, which includes supporting efforts by many of the area’s nonprofits. “I’ve watched these nonprofits who provide critical services stay incredibly resilient during these times,” says bank President and Chief Operating Officer George Leis. “For example, the YMCA shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, but moved quickly to reopen their gymnasium for childcare. They saw it as an acute need because parents going to work needed a place to drop off their children when schools were shut down. We publicly recognize, support, and applaud these incredible efforts.” The bank also maintains an internal financial abuse team that keeps an eye out for suspicious financial activity that might denote someone is attempting to defraud customers, especially among their older clientele. This team sponsors and takes to the radio waves monthly on “Scam Squad,” a segment on the Young at Heart local podcast, to share real world examples of current scams along with tips and tricks to avoid them. Teams from the bank also go to retirement homes and teach people how to avoid the ever-present fraud efforts against seniors, which includes offering cyber security classes. “We try to in-

As successful as Towbes was as a businessman, his real artistry was in constructing organizations as vehicles for channeling profits back to the community. Towbes, whose dynamic efforts of yesterday continue to define Santa Barbara in many ways, passed away in 2017, but the bank’s leadership has pledged to keep his vision evolving into the future. volve entire families in these as much as possible,” Orloff says. Another program inspired by Towbes and later refined and carried out by the entire bank staff is Community Dividends. It is this project that perhaps best symbolizes the bank’s close partnership with the community. “It’s a form of philanthropy based on Michael’s belief that as a commercial bank, we have a responsibility to invest in the community, making it a better place to live and work,” Garufis says. Just before Thanksgiving each year, an event is planned by the bank to bring together often more than 200 represen-

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2021 Anniversary Grant winner, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

2021 Anniversary Grant winner, Solid Foundations

2019 Anniversary Grant winner, Angels Foster Care

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MB&T Associate, Brianna Agular, teaches financial literacy at local schools

“Throughout the year we promote each of the ten recipients across our associate network, our branches, and the community,” Orloff says. “It allows some of the smaller charities, which might not otherwise be known, to be seen and talked about. That helps us learn and it generates more awareness and ideally donations for them.”

tatives of different nonprofits in the region to celebrate their work. The organizations are awarded funds ranging on average from $2,500 to $10,000. It gives everyone a chance to network and learn about what other organizations are offering in the community, and share lessons learned about challenges these organizations may be experiencing. “The program and the annual celebration were started as a way of giving back and saying, ‘thank you’ to these organizations,” says Garufis. “Michael always said the celebration was his favorite day of the year.” This year, the luncheon is planned at the Hilton Hotel on November 22nd. The most heartfelt event of the year for bank employees is called Anniversary Grants. The program was started as a way for bank associates to have an active voice in the giving of the organization. Every year associates nominate an organization of their choice, and they are encouraged to campaign for votes among their bank colleagues and then vote on each organization that has applied. The top 10 vote earners receive grants of about $2,200. The event creates good-natured interactions between bank associates, as they barter for their favorite chari-

ty. “Throughout the year we promote each of the ten recipients across our associate network, our branches, and the community,” Orloff says. “It allows some of the smaller charities, which might not otherwise be known, to be seen and talked about. That helps us learn and it generates more awareness and ideally donations for them.” For bank President George Leis, the grants program is part of a work culture that prioritizes volunteering and civic engagement. “Anniversary Grants is about our associates; they love getting involved and seeing their favorite charities get chosen,” Leis says. “Nobody is ‘required’ to volunteer; it isn’t part of their job description or anything like that, we just love to do it. The feeling you get from being able to help the community is priceless. “We hire for culture. Our associates want to be part of the community and make a difference. It’s not just volunteerism; they really care and, in that way, they reflect our community.” That is the spirit with which today’s leadership at Montecito Bank & Trust continues to illuminate the community’s giving path.

MONTECITO BANK & TRUST https://montecito.bank (805) 963-7511

MB&T Associate, Marissa Alvarado, teaches financial literacy at local schools

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At the MB&T Downtown Branch, Janet Garufis and George Leis welcome the 2019 Anniversary Grants recipients and guests

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Santa Barbara Foundation Leads Our Philanthropic Community Through Thick and Thin by Michael Bowker

Santa Barbara Foundation Staff (left to right) Jordan Killebrew, Stephanie Roberson, Jackie Carrera, Kara Shoemaker, and Sam Waterstone

here are an estimated 1,900 nonprofit organizations in Santa Barbara County, each dedicated to helping the community in some way. Perhaps the most complex, comprehensive, and inclusive of them all, though, is the multifaceted Santa Barbara Foundation (SBF), which lies at the heart of the region’s philanthropic efforts. Last year, the Foundation, through the generosity of its donors, provided more than $31 million to the community. While this metric is important, it by no means paints a complete picture of what SBF does. “We have the ability – beyond the dollars – to show up in a variety of ways to improve and enhance the quality of life for people in Santa Barbara County,” says Jackie Carrera, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “For example, last year

when COVID-19 first hit our region, we realized right away there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders. So, we contacted and partnered with organizations that had 3D printers or volunteers, entities like MOXI Wolf Museum, UCSB, and Bucket Brigade, to develop the PPE Project whereby over 11,000 pieces of PPE were distributed countywide. Whether we make grants, organize, convene, advocate, produce reports or share resources, our aim is to mobilize our collective brainpower, passion, and philanthropic capital to solve problems.” The Foundation, formed in the late 1920s as the Great Depression created immense need throughout the community, has always been defined by its responsive and timely actions, most recently including its wide-ranging COVID-19 efforts and its critical

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SBF President & CEO Jackie Carrera with 78th People of the Year, John Daly and Judy Stapelmann

support of “safety-net” services for vulnerable populations and working families. These currently include healthcare and behavioral health services, food, shelter and housing, workforce development, childcare, and disaster relief (COVID-19). Additionally, the Foundation provides philanthropic banking and advising services to donors and nonprofit organizations and actively raises funds to connect donors to priority issue areas. At the end of 2020, the Foundation held assets of $512 million for Santa Barbara County. The healthy financial footing means the Santa Barbara Foundation is poised to be a philanthropic leader for years to come, but its commitment to the health of the nonprofit sector as a whole is also vitally important. To that end, the Santa Barbara Foundation works to strengthen the social sector by ensuring its organizations and leaders have the knowledge, skills, and resources to fulfill their mission. Strong nonprofits lead to a strong community, and the Foundation’s Collaboration for Social Impact works to fortify nonprofits by facilitating workshops, seminars, and coaching and mentoring, while also supporting capacity-building in the areas of leadership development, technical assistance, financial management, technology, cross-organizational collaboration, and personal health and wellness. The Foundation has also fostered special initiatives, such as the Community Caregiving Initiative, the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, Santa Barbara County Conservation Blueprint, and the Santa Barbara County Veterans Collaborative, which was officially launched in June.

Partner with the Santa Barbara Foundation

any effective nonprofits are devoted to a single issue, such as protecting a watershed, supporting a school, or providing healthcare for the homeless. SBF supports these efforts through discretionary and non-discretionary investments, but it also has the capacity to serve nonprofits and donors in a variety of other ways. One way is by building substantive collaborative relationships with key community organizations. This takes time, but also understanding – to learn the needs of nonprofits and the constituents they serve, and to then be responsive to those needs. For example, when a nonprofit organization applies for one of the Foundation’s Community Grant Programs, staff provide educational webinars and talk directly with organizations to improve each application’s chance of success. The Foundation takes extra care vetting all grants through a Community Grants Committee made up of community experts, philanthropists, Foundation Trustees, and staff before awarding discretionary dollars. And once awarded, the conversation continues, and staff check in on the nonprofit’s progress and challenges, and when

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The Santa Barbara County Veterans Collaborative Organizers and Leadership Team. (Left to right, clockwise) Marcee Davis, Ben Johnson, Lt. Col. Alvin A. Salge, Joe Fletcher, Michael St. Denis, President & CEO of SBF Jackie Carrera, Calvin Angel of CalVet, Victor Virgen, and Kathy Simas, former North County Director of SBF.

needed, make connections for additional support. In addition, SBF staff presents funding opportunities to donors that might be interested in funding. As a learning organization, Foundation employees convene directors of these nonprofits and others, even those that were not awarded grants, to discuss trends and challenges and share data and systems, with the goal of encouraging collaborations that benefit our region. The Foundation also works on the grassroots level with community members looking to donate. For them, the Foundation provides a portfolio of giving vehicles that align with donors’ philanthropic interests. They aid in investing funds for nonprofits and advise donors as to what each nonprofit offers. “We want to work with you. We work to help donors find organizations that align with their philanthropic areas of interests and passions,” says Jessica Sanchez, Director of Donor Relations at SBF. “Donors can call us or contact us on our website at any time with questions and we will be there to help. The Foundation has supported many Santa Barbara County nonprofit organizations and essential community projects, so we are a great resource for donors who want to learn more about their community and align their passions.” SBF’s charitable vehicles provide opportunities for potential donors to give to their “areas of interests and passions.” Whether

a Planned Gift, Donor Advised Fund, Donor Designated Fund, Field of Interest Fund, or Unrestricted Fund, or something else – the staff at the Foundation is ready to help you create your philanthropic giving plan.

The Foundation Works in Times of Disaster

he Foundation has learned from prior disasters that working together is essential to supporting those most affected. When disaster strikes, such as a global pandemic, the Foundation launches the Community Disaster Relief Fund and coordinates with local funders to share information, rapidly deploy grants to nonprofits, and provide support. They provide grants to small businesses as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation has so far provided COVID-19 Response Grants to 245 nonprofits and over 280 small and microbusinesses. In an exciting new partnership, SBF worked with Deckers Brands to establish Santa Barbara Better Together Fund (SBBT), a charitable fund of the Santa Barbara Foundation. With an initial gift of $500,000 and in partnership with local municipalities, SBBT built a fund that has given over a million dollars to help 210 small businesses from Santa Maria to Carpinteria affected by COVID-19. Additionally, the Elaine Stepanek Foundation

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SBF granted Marian Regional Medical Center (MRMC) $250,000 in 2013 to support the launch of their Family Medicine Residency Program, which prepared MRMC with a workforce of residents (pictured here) to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

behavioral-health organizations working to support those in need. This and the 91-organization strong Latinx & Indigenous Migrant COVID-19 Response Task Force and the PPE Project, are just a few efforts the Foundation proudly supports. “The pandemic has brought us closer,” says Carrera. “We are seeing a high level of collaboration between nonprofits, donors, government, and everyone countywide. The Foundation will continue to encourage cooperation and we are fortunate to have community members and a social sector that will also continue to do so. “At the core of the Foundation are caring people who love the community. We believe that together we can be better.” The work of the Santa Barbara Foundation is deeply rooted in a spirit of philanthropy that is guided by the mission to uplift our community and make it better for generations to come.

Give to the Strategic Priorities Fund

Columbia Children’s Center (CCC) in Santa Maria is a recipient of the Santa Barbara Better Together (SBBT) Fund, a committee-advised field of interest fund at SBF, that granted to small businesses affected by COVID-19. Since 1992, CCC has provided quality childcare to Santa Maria families, allowing parents to work while being confident that their children are receiving quality early care and education services and the SBBT grant helped to keep the doors open.

t’s been a tough couple of years, especially for our vulnerable populations and working families, who are becoming more vulnerable every day. The need for behavioral health care has skyrocketed, health disparities are becoming even more prevalent, and thousands in our county are choosing between feeding their families and staying in their homes. Your gift to the Strategic Priorities fund will be strategically leveraged by SBF to create maximum impact in these issue areas.

Restaurant Fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation provided $500,000 to more than 70 small, independently owned, dine-in restaurants in Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley. In addition, the Foundation continues to award grants to small and microbusinesses through the Emergency Business Assistance Grant Program in partnership with the County of Santa Barbara later this year. The Foundation continues to participate in community collaborations that came together as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Staff meets with groups like the Community Wellness Team, which includes 13

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION AND LEARN MORE ABOUT

SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION

Contact:

Jessica Sanchez Director of Donor Relations (805) 880-9366 www.SBFoundation.org

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The Santa Barbara

anta Barbara has been defined, all at once, as an enclave of the wealthy, a surf-bum beach town, and a somewhat relaxed, working paradise for all those in between. But, if you live here long enough, you know the real heart and soul of the region – the real defining characteristic – is something deeper. It lies in the giving nature of the people. The desire to give back to the community with a generosity of treasure, time, and talent. It is this spirit that regulates this city’s pulse. And always has. It stretches back to the days of the early Mission and then to the mid-1850s, when the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul opened the first organization to help mothers and their children. The growth of nonprofits and philanthropy in general went into hyper-drive after that. The city attracted a host

of wealthy and philanthropic residents, including Dwight Murphy, Mary Ashley, Frederick Peabody, Ida Cordero, Max Fleischmann, and George Knapp. With other tycoons and activists, they helped start and fund Cottage Hospital, many of the area schools and parks, the Museum of Natural History, and a host of other pieces of the current mosaic that is Santa Barbara. In the decades to come, volunteers gave hundreds of thousands of hours to area charities – backed by champion donors and activists like Pearl Chase, Michael Towbes, Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree, and many others. Today, the area ranks among the top giving regions in the nation. Yet despite this rich history of giving, the region faces many new challenges, which include the pandemic, a call for greater diversity, inclusion, equity, and access for communities of color,

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Philanthropy Pivot by Michael Bowker

Philanthropy has been a staple of Santa Barbara’s DNA for decades, leading to the construction and remodeling of Cottage Hospital

a changing local population, and untested new generations of donors. Such profound contemporaneous change will undoubtedly test whether Santa Barbara’s legendary philanthropic spirit will be compromised by these events, or will it rise to meet the new challenges? The shutdowns caused by COVID-19 have had two major impacts on the philanthropic world. Perhaps most visibly, nonprofits have had to scramble to create fundraising activity alternatives to the dinners, concerts, parties, and other in-person events that have traditionally and literally been nonprofits’ bread and butter. Many nonprofits are making creative efforts to replace these events, and some are having success. But remote substitutes don’t always engender the passion generated by in-person events, which so often opens wallets and check-

books. People here are highly social and see their philanthropic involvements as a key part of their social calendar. The pandemic has taken a toll on this spirit of engagement. In this changed landscape, nonprofits have had to reinvent the way they fundraise. “Not only are the social events greatly reduced, but even the face-to-face meetings with big donors have been curtailed,” says Megan Orloff, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of the Montecito Bank & Trust. “Personal pitches were so important in the past. Yet, it is appar-

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ent that changes have to be made and those often involve an increased online presence for the organizations.” The pandemic, as well as our national reckoning on race, has also changed the course of philanthropic giving in a less visible, but still critically important way. Philanthropy has always been divided in two different categories of giving, though there certainly is overlap. There are those who lean toward supporting the arts and the intellectual side of things, and those who prioritize contributing to causes that help people in need of food, shelter, or other basic necessities including educational support and/or charitable organizations focused on health and medicine. Both types of giving directly benefit the community, but presently there is a funding emphasis on the social safety net. Finding shelter and food for those who lost their jobs in the pandemic has taken precedence over things like theater and arts organizations. Likewise, there has been an increase in support for organizations dedicated to social justice issues, and in some cases, there has been increased funding to BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) nonprofits and those serving communities of color. One notable example is the work being done by the Santa Barbara Foundation (SBF). Following the horrific events of 2020, including the killing of Breonna Taylor and murder of George Floyd, SBF Board of Trustees and staff engaged in

“We have a sacred responsibility to reach out to new residents and to younger people to share with them the powerful and positive effects philanthropy plays in both the donors’ lives and in the community. We are working hard to do that.” – George Leis what it described as “a heartfelt discussion about systemic racism in our communities.” “While DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access) work is not new to SBF, it was agreed that we should reflect further on how it plays out in our efforts to meet our mission,” says Jordan Killebrew, the Foundation’s director of communications. “We are examining our current programmatic and operational work to see where implicit biases may be present and to identify opportunities to proactively combat racism and other inequities. We are putting together a game plan for how we can implement better practices to uplift and further sup-

The Dance Theatre of Harlem welcomed local students up on stage, providing an up-close-and-personal experience, while throngs more looked on in the crowd.

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Over recent years, there has been a shift in programming by UCSB Arts & Lectures, including bringing the Dance Theatre of Harlem to the Granada Theatre

port our work to increase DEIA to members of our diverse community and social sector.” This is perhaps part of an historic ebb and flow among these and other nonprofit pathways, but right now supplying immediate physical needs to vulnerable community members, as well as leveling the playing field for communities of color and other issues involving DEIA, seem to be at the forefront of giving. Still, the overwhelming sentiment is that arts and cultural aspects of the philanthropic community are not at odds with this and will never be diminished. And it is worth noting that even arts organizations have recognized the importance of DEIA in their missions and are working to improve on that front. UCSB Arts & Lectures’ “Race to Justice Series”, co-sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation, is a prime example of how an organization immediately shifted their programming. Another example can be seen in the Granada Theatre bringing the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Santa Barbara. “Equitable access to the arts is essential in order for our community to grow and reach its fullest potential,” says Sara Miller McCune, founder of Sage Publishing and the McCune Foundation, and a major funder of the arts in Santa Barbara. “All individuals deserve to experience the magic of the arts. Now more than ever, we need to lean on the arts to boost emotional

well-being and build resiliency in an ever-changing and complicated world.” Also on the radar of area nonprofits is the changing demographics of Santa Barbara, created, in part, by an influx of new residents fleeing larger cities during the pandemic, and how this might impact local giving. The hope is that the new residents will catch the Santa Barbara giving bug and support local nonprofits. But that giving is not a “given,” nor will it be automatic. “Much of that will be up to those of us already involved in the community,” says George Leis, president and chief operating officer of the Montecito Bank & Trust. “We have a sacred responsibility to reach out to new residents and to younger people to share with them the powerful and positive effects philanthropy plays in both the donors’ lives and in the community. We are working hard to do that.” One of the more intriguing questions is whether the next two generations – the children of Baby Boomers and the Mil-

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lennials – will step up when it is their turn to seize the donors’ roles. Who will be the modern-day equivalents to Michael Towbes and Pearl Chase? “That’s a great question, but to me it is a little less generational and more about means,” says Lisa Rivas, one of the top nonprofit publicists and strategists in the region. “If their children are out of college and they are doing well financially, you’ll see the Boomers supporting the nonprofits. It’s a giving generation, there is no doubt about that.” Another looming test lies in the next generation donors’ concern over how their nonprofit dollars are spent. “That’s becoming a serious issue with nonprofits,” says Rivas. “For example, today’s donors want food banks to provide not just food, but healthy food. People also want their donations to go directly to programs and not spent on staff or other expenses. This creates a significant dilemma because a good staff is critical to the success of any organization. Santa Barbara has the added problem of a higher cost of living, making it even more difficult to attract and keep good employees. These are serious challenges.” Matthew Spellberg, 34, who was just chosen by Santa Barbara’s Nuclear Age Peace Foundation as its new president, has

“We’re in a time when people often tell you what they are against – there aren’t a lot of proposals out there to build things people can be ‘for.’ That’s what we want to do.” – Matthew Spellberg some insights on how his generation thinks about giving. “We’re in a time when people often tell you what they are against – there aren’t a lot of proposals out there to build things people can be ‘for.’ That’s what we want to do. We want to create something positive beyond the cynicism of today. That is what it will take to attract this generation.” According to Spellberg, organizations will have to increase their presence online even after the pandemic ebbs, but he said that is only the first step in engaging the next generation of philanthropists. “To keep the community’s trust, we must stay

Fundraising during the pandemic has taken on a new look, with smaller groups getting together like the Alzheimer’s Association did with an event that featured mahjong, while others have hosted virtual get-togethers to keep their message alive in the community

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During the pandemic, UCSB Arts & Lectures launched its Race to Justice Series, a mainly virtual venture, with the exception of a final showing of We Are the Dream at the West Wind Drive-In Movie Theater

true to our ethical mission and not just compete to reach people at any cost. Our challenge is to harness technology in a way that keeps people feeling like they have a personal stake in what we are doing. We have to keep the idea of ‘community’ in mind at all times.” Both Spellberg and Rivas have seen a big upside to utilizing online video technology such as Zoom. “Sometimes live events can go long and through editing and videotaping, you can keep it short and interesting and share it with those who couldn’t attend in person,” says Rivas. “A lot of people in this area are bi-coastal and sharing videos is a relatively cost-effective way of keeping everyone involved to maintain support.” Spellberg, who has a passion for preserving Native American languages and traditions, found that in the past few years he was able to stay closely connected with Native American groups in Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and on both U.S. coasts through Zoom calls. “We kept it ‘local’ by doing that,” he says. “We be-

came friends and shared ideas all the time. Using technology in the right way will not only make us more efficient, it can also extend the special intimate nature of nonprofits into the future.” George Leis, who works with nonprofits every day, believes that while the “one-on-one” personal connection with potential donors remains critical, change is coming fast. Like most in the community, he remains optimistic. “I believe the nonprofits that will thrive in the future will be the ones that are the most resilient and imaginative,” he says. “I feel confident the Santa Barbara area philanthropic community is up to the challenges. The desire and talent to adapt and succeed is already here in a big way.”

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Youth Empowerment “Wilderness Youth Project presents the world to young people in a format they cannot find anywhere else. They open the door to the outdoors and say, ‘Explore!’” – Judith Lugo Program Director, Wilderness Youth Project

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A Strong Family Tradition of Giving Back by Gwyn Lurie

hen Ginger Salazar, along with her husband and four children, moved back to Santa Barbara 16 years ago, she was blown away by the strong tradition of philanthropy and giving in this community. She was not, however, surprised by it. After all, it was this community’s willingness to invest in her once upon a time that gave Salazar a critical boost to pursue her own personal dreams. By her own description, Salazar had a middle-class upbringing in Lompoc, California, where her dad served as mayor and coached her brother’s baseball team. “My parents carried from their parents a strong tradition of giving back to the community. And I think that impressed upon me the importance and the ability of all of us to be philanthropists. Because if you want to create social impact, it’s just about making the world a better place; and the world can be your school, your church community, your town, and expand from there.” Salazar’s mother also came from a robust tradition of community service, dating back to her childhood in New Mexico where her dad not only cooked for the Santa Fe Railroad, but also for his own family as well as multiple neighbors who didn’t have food security. “I observed my grandparents continue to give back until the day they died,” Salazar says. “They weren’t writing checks to endow this or that. They just gave of themselves, they gave of their time, they gave what they had, they gave their talents, and to me that’s the basis of philanthropy. It’s just giving to make a positive difference.” The modelling of giving back continued in Salazar’s own family where she says dinner table conversations and car rides were the scene of many family conversations about the world’s challenges. A place to brainstorm with their kids on ways to fix some of the world’s many problems. “We’ve had lots of those conversations, based on what we read in the news or what’s going on at school, and I think that our kids saw that they can have an impact by just being creative and then going out and making it happen, and we’ve always supported them in that, and encouraged them.” According to Salazar, many of those dinner table conversations focused on the mental health crisis and on criminal justice reform. She says that her family’s close work with former Santa Barbara Fire Chief Pat McElroy has heightened their awareness of the trauma our first responders face daily in their work.

Salazar points to her daughter Grace’s recent internship with 911 At Ease International during her gap year (prior to entering Stanford this fall) as an example of where these conversations lead. 911 At Ease is a local nonprofit founded by Mike McGrew that is now expanding nationally; their focus is providing mental health support to first responders. Salazar says she chooses where to put her time based mostly on areas of personal interest and where she can have real impact. For her, education is one of those areas – not surprising since it was in part through a scholarship from the Santa Barbara Foundation, in collaboration with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, that Salazar was able to piece together her own tuition to attend Stanford University. A gift that came full circle when Salazar served on the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara Board and then joined the SB Foundation Board in January 2021.

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“Santa Barbara invested in me when I went off to college. That check I got from the Santa Barbara Foundation was critical to helping me be able to go on and pursue my dreams. A bunch of people that I didn’t know, that didn’t know me, saw something in me and invested in me. And that’s a pretty powerful thing; that motivated me to want to be able to do that for someone else, if I had the capacity.” And now that she does, she is doing just that. “I know our education system is somewhat broken; I can’t fix that. But what I can do is give a scholarship to a student who’s working really hard and help them go on to get a higher education. And then they will be in a place to be a stronger contributing member of our community.”

“The government can’t do it alone. But when you bring all the parties to the table, you can accomplish things that you could never accomplish on your own.” – Ginger Salazar

Another area in which Salazar’s interest has deepened as her understanding and awareness has increased is the crisis in mental health. In 2020, in the early days of COVID-19, she joined the Cottage Hospital Board of Trustees, where she sits on the Population Health Committee, which focuses on understanding and addressing community health issues. She also sits on the Towbes Foundation Board, which likewise focuses a great deal on issues around mental health. “Cottage is one of the best run organizations I have been associated with, in both the not for profit and the private sector worlds. They create public/private/nonprofit collaborations regularly for the benefit of our community bringing together their team, private donors, and local government to advance better health outcomes for Santa Barbara County,” Salazar says. Public/private partnerships are something that Salazar not only appreciates but knows quite a bit about. Shortly after graduating Stanford and a stint as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, Salazar, along with her husband, Brett Matthews, founded Imagitas, a forward-thinking marketing firm that partnered with the U.S. Postal Service. They created a booklet and online service for people who were moving, triggered by “change of address” forms they submitted. The booklets had coupons on moving related goods and services and they shared revenue with the Postal Service. According to Salazar, the venture not only saved the Postal Service millions of dollars, but generated hundreds of millions of dollars in shared advertising revenue. Imagitas’ work was awarded the Hammer Award

by Vice President Al Gore for reinventing government. The company’s success allowed Salazar and Matthews to sell the company 16 years ago, making it possible for Salazar to spend more time supporting the kind of nonprofit work that helped launch her in the first place. “Diversity of thinking is a good thing. At Imagitas we witnessed the power of merging the distinct thinking, problem solving styles, capacity, assets, and experience sets of the public and private sectors. By partnering, we were able to create better products and services for citizens, save the Postal Service millions of dollars on top of generating revenue for them, and build a healthy company where our employees shared in our business success. It was a win-win-win.” Understanding the power of public/private partnerships has greatly impacted Salazar’s philanthropic work. “The government can’t do it alone. But when you bring all the parties to the table, you can accomplish things that you could never accomplish on your own,” she says. According to Salazar, the Santa Barbara Foundation is trending toward doing more with the public/private partnership model to tremendous community benefit. They worked with the city and private donors to award much needed COVID business grants and are engaging in many other collaborations. Salazar points to the building of the Lompoc Community Track and Field, one of her major philanthropic endeavors over the past five years where she put in “time, treasure, and talent,” as a shining example of a public/private partnership that went well beyond board work. For Salazar this was a true passion project that aligned her interests in health and giving back to the community that gave her so much. “Our country has a lot of problems. We have so many underlying strengths, but we have a lot of challenges that the government cannot fix by themselves. And so, if people with resources, time, talent, treasure, don’t engage, things can’t get better. We don’t live in silos, we don’t live on islands, we live in communities, and your community is only as strong as its weakest link. So, it’s in all of our interests to figure out how we can strengthen our communities.” In the most positive sense of the expression “what goes around comes around,” the philanthropic work Ginger Salazar does today is evidence of the multiplicative effect when a community strategically invests in itself.

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AHA!

AHA! Means Epiphany

or the organization known as AHA! (which stands for “Attitude, Harmony, Achievement”), 22 years is long enough to have had a lot of epiphanies on how to improve the social and emotional intelligence of thousands of teenagers, teachers, and parents who benefit from their programs. AHA!’s in-school programs bring social-emotional learning (SEL) into classrooms, helping students learn to listen deeply, communicate clearly, and appreciate — even celebrate — differences. (Anyone who doubts that SEL can make school campuses safer and happier and improve academics should be reassured by this: at one struggling high school that received AHA!’s in-school programming, suspensions dropped 70 percent and standardized test scores rose by 11 points.) AHA! groups for adults have radically enhanced the social and emotional wellness of parents and guardians. These programs are the combined legacy of an organization that has helped more than 25,000 middle and high school students (and adults too!) become more mindful, aware, connected, empathetic, and resilient. In June, the nonprofit launched the AHA! Digital Cleanse, taking a group of nearly 40 teenagers and facilitators on a five-day retreat at El Capitan Canyon. Screen-free adventures included horseback riding, kayaking, creative arts projects, music, and theater/movement improvisation. “All devices went into a lockbox, and we did a deep dive into connecting with nature and each other,” says AHA! Senior Director of Development Molly Green. “We hoped to not only wean teens from being constantly attached to their devices, but also to discover and enjoy what is possible when they put them away.” A growing body of research continues to establish a link be-

“I

believe the most important thing we can give our children is a sense of well-being. The world our kids live in today is filled with tremendous challenges whether those challenges arise from a difficult home life, bullying, homophobia, racism, economic hardship, and random acts of aggression. “AHA! programs teach social and emotional skills that enable our children to better handle these challenges. I’ve had the opportunity to see it firsthand — to experience the value of various AHA! programs in school, after school, and summer activities. It’s amazing. I cannot think of a better opportunity to help our teens grow into healthy and productive adult lives.”

– Rand Rosenberg

tween teen addiction to electronic devices and their risk of anxiety and depression. The Digital Cleanse addresses this issue through the proven health-promoting power of nature and through socially and emotionally intelligent activities that build self-awareness, self-confidence, listening and communication skills, and sense of belonging. More Digital Cleanse retreats are being planned for 2022. The importance of AHA!’s work has only grown over the year and a half of the ongoing COVID pandemic. “Kids are really struggling,” says Green. “Our community has seen an increase in instances of self-harm and multiple suicide attempts.” In all its programs, AHA! works to help teenagers remember what it’s like to connect in person, human to human, deeply and vulnerably — the most important antidote to the distress of separateness and fear.

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Fostering Safety and Emotional Connections

“I

sent my daughter to AHA!’s Digital Cleanse to give her a sense of self beyond her digital devices. Not only was that achieved, but a greater sense of self in relation to others was nourished. As one participant shared in the closing circle, ‘We came here looking for friends and we are leaving as family!’ To lay the foundation and create this shift in young people in a week’s time takes dedicated, skilled, attentive staff... The pandemic has taken a toll on our youth that will resonate for years. We owe it to our young people to offer them alternatives to electronic socialization and relationships.”

he best part of giving to AHA! is that all donations go to direct services thanks to one longtime supporter who covers operational expenses! • $5,000 provides AHA! after-school and summer groups for five youth for one year, averaging 6-8 hours per week/youth with experienced mentors and facilitators. • $10,000 provides three months of Littlest Little Farm programming for 24 youth. • $20,000 provides 15 Hero Assemblies to schools (1,500+ students served), inspiring positive attitudes, safe communities, and brave contributions. • $25,000+ enables AHA! to offer one school a customized Peace Builders curriculum emphasizing empathy, agency, and kindness and serving up to 40 students for the full school year. • $30,000+ enables AHA! to offer one school in-school freshman programming to develop social-emotional skills and social responsibility, serving 150+ students over the full school year. • $40,000 covers the AHA! Digital Cleanse summer program for 20 teens — providing a refuge from devices with a focus on appreciating nature, bonding with one another, exploring creative expression, and connecting vulnerably.

– Mitch Torina

KEY SUPPORTERS SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT AHA!

AHA!

www.ahasb.org 1209 De La Vina, Suite A Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Contact:

Molly Green, Senior Director of Development molly@ahasb.org (805) 770-7200 x 2

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Lisa and Bryan Babcock Susan Budinger Jennifer & Peter Buffett Graham Duncan & Courtney Smith Lucy and Mary Firestone Lisa Foley Kerrilee & Martin Gore Nancy Grinstein & Neal Rabin Karen & Bayard Hollins Kristin Kirby Beryl & Neil Kreisel Jill Martin Nora McNeely Hurley & Michael Hurley Natalie Orfalea & Lou Buglioli Marla McNally Phillips & Lee Phillips Stacy & Ron Pulice Justine Roddick & Tina Schlieske Rand Rosenberg Susan & Bobby Shand Norm Waitt

GIRLS INC. OF CARPINTERIA:

Inspiring a Future Generation of Leaders

t Girls Inc. Carpinteria, the work of empowering girls to ensure they have the tools to reach their full potential has a long-standing tradition. Girls Inc. serves girls ages 5-18 through after-school, summer, and enrichment programs that inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Girls Inc. outreach programs in partnership with the Carpinteria Unified School District provide literacy intervention to girls in K-3rd grade, ensuring girls are on track to read at grade level. Their work continues into middle and high school, where the nonprofit’s paid staff provides comprehensive sexual education to young women and men. Another pillar is Eureka!, an intensive, fiveyear STEM-based education program in which Carpinteria girls receive hands-on support in science, technology, engineering, and math starting in the eighth grade and seeing them through the end of high school. Combining college and career preparation, the program exposes girls to diverse career paths and a continual support system as they navigate the high school years, begin to establish life goals, and look ahead to higher education. The Carpinteria nonprofit also hosts multiple community workshops in partnership with public, private, and nonprofit institutions to connect the community and families to local

resources and provide education on topics such as scholarship assistance, substance-abuse prevention, and parent workshops. “The unique thing about Carpinteria is that we are small enough that we are really able to build a resource hub around our families,” says Executive Director Jamie Collins. The focus on early developmental support is crucial, Collins says, providing more than 1,000 youth each year in the Carpinteria Valley and Ventura County with the foundation they need to grow up healthy, educated, and independent by encouraging girls to discover and develop their inherent strengths. Collins tells the story of a single father who in 2021 put his young daughter into the Girls Inc. Summer Program. The family received a one hundred percent scholarship to the program, preparing the young girl for kindergarten while the father searched for a job to get back on his feet. By the end of the summer, the father sent a thank-you card that remains in the Girls Inc. Carpinteria office today. “My accident-prone, constant complainer, never prepared, always late child is now ready for kindergarten,” the card reads. “Without each one of you, I truly would have had a different summer and I’ll be forever thankful.”

| Santa Barbara |

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o make a difference for a few girls, you need great programming. To make a difference for girls across a community, you need a lot more than that. You need vision, partnership, systems, and a culture of commitment. Girls Inc. of Carpinteria has all of those, and more, and their results make that very clear.”

– Jon Clark

James S. Bower Foundation

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A Once-In-a-Generation Opportunity

ore than three-quarters of girls served by Girls Inc. Carpinteria are on some type of scholarship assistance. In 2021-22, the nonprofit plans to give around $125,000 worth of scholarships. Executive Director Jamie Collins shares her vision that every girl in Carpinteria between kindergarten and the 12th grade has the opportunity to attend at least one Girls Inc. program. Financial support, Collins says, is even more crucial today as families recover from the economic loss caused by COVID-19. “It’s going to take years and in some cases generations for families to recover,” Collins says. “The more that we can support our families with scholarship assistance, the more we can help shape future generations and help families recover from the pandemic.” When you support Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, you invest in creating a positive, transformational experience for local girls. The Girls Inc. experience equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Your support will help us expand our reach and cultivate the next generation of female leaders.

he Girls Inc. Eureka! program took my cohorts on a trip to Washington, D.C. On this trip, we had the opportunity not only to go sightseeing, but also to speak with office staff of then-Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Congressman Salud Carbajal. As I walked up the steps to the Capitol Building, I had the moment of realization that Girls Inc. had prepared me for. This trip was a culmination of everything that I had ever learned about democracy and advocacy through Girls Inc. They taught me that my voice is powerful and my experiences matter.”

– Laura Flores

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Class of 21 Eureka! program

KEY SUPPORTERS

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

Girls Inc. Carpinteria

Jamie Collins, Executive Director (805) 684-6364 www.girlsinc-carp.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Avantor Sciences Foundation Audacious Foundation Brand Families James S. Bower Foundation Betty Brown Beth & Grant Cox City of Carpinteria Gail Persoon Ann Jackson Family Foundation Linked Foundation Lori Pearce Mericos Foundation Mithun Foundation Montecito Bank & Trust Orfalea Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Seaman Family Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation Whale Beach Foundation Van Wingerden Families

WILDERNESS YOUTH PROJECT:

The Stress Busters

“M

hen California’s Surgeon General announced in January that the state was adding “access to nature” to its list of seven Stress Busters, Gloria Sánchez-Arreola was thrilled. For Sánchez-Arreola, who lives locally but grew up in the rich and diverse cultural epicenter of Los Angeles, the state was at last recognizing the power of nature to protect kids from adverse childhood experiences. “There’s evidence that proves that kids who are facing challenges will do better if they have one of these seven resources in their lives,” Sánchez-Arreola says. “So yes, that’s a pretty big shift to recognize access to nature.” For Sánchez-Arreola, who is passionate about working with youth, families and communities for equity, access and justice, busting stress is a full-time preoccupation throughout her role as Associate Program Director of Wilderness Youth Project (WYP). Established in 1999, the organization has multiple programs that every year introduce as many as 1,000 children of all ages to the outdoors. By working toward three of the seven stress busters – access to nature, physical activity and building supportive relationships – WYP attempts to make kids “happier, healthier and smarter.” Through hallmark programs like Bridge to Nature, the organization serves our community’s low-income students and meets them where they already are, at partner organization sites and at schools. From preschool through high school, WYP meets at community centers, low-income housing and schools and youth service agencies. Bridge to Nature programs, paired with the opportunities to attend WYP summer camps on scholarship, allow participants to maintain consistent and reliable connections with WYP mentors. “Santa Barbara is often misperceived as predominantly white and wealthy,” Sánchez-Arreola says. “In fact, the Santa Barbara Unified

y son, Oscar, is full of life and now, thanks to Wilderness Youth Project, full of information about nature. He is constantly teaching me things I didn’t know about creatures. Our favorite time together is in the ocean. WYP helped my son grow into the 10 year old compassionate person he is today. It is an amazing program and we are so grateful to have it in Santa Barbara.”

– Laura Capps

Board Member, Santa Barbara Unified School District

School District serves a majority of Latinx students and Santa Barbara has the third highest poverty rate amongst counties in California, with high depression, suicide rates and poor health outcomes that put many children at greater risk of having adverse childhood experiences.” A strong case study for the impact of nature on a young person’s life is Judie Lugo. Seventeen years ago, Lugo was attending La Cuesta Continuation School when she participated in WYP programs for the first time. She openly shares that her life was turned around in part by an experience with WYP. Today, she is the Director at the Santa Barbara Police Activities League, which continues to partner with WYP today. “Wilderness Youth Project presents the world to young people in a format they cannot find anywhere else,” Lugo writes in a letter recalling her nature experience. “They open the door to the outdoors and say, ‘Explore!’”

| Santa Barbara |

“A

s a child of suburbia, I had almost no wilderness experiences, and none that were positive, until I was in my late 20s. And, my deep connection to wilderness did not really take root until my 30s. I have tried to make up for lost time since then, but I strongly believe in giving as many children as possible an early and positive introduction to the outdoors. It is a great source of renewal, introspection and delight in our fast-moving, modern world.”

– Nick Schneider

Building Bridges

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t Montecito Bank & Trust, we know that our children are the future of our communities. That is one of the reasons we dedicate our time and financial resources to give back to local programs that benefit our community’s youth. Nonprofit organizations like Wilderness Youth Project provide experiential learning opportunities in nature which encourage their adventurous spirits and enrich their appreciation of the great outdoors. Aren’t we all happier and healthier when we make the time to get outside and explore the world around us?”

– Michael Macioce

Adelante Charter School teacher

– Janet Garufis

ilderness Youth Project’s Bridge to Nature program is entirely reliant on donations from individuals and organizations. The nonprofit works with youth service agencies, shelters, housing groups and local schools who refer participants. Frequent partners are schools like Franklin Elementary, where 91% of students are Latinx and 85% of families are low-income. Over the next 12 months, Sánchez-Arreola anticipates record demand for the Bridge to Nature SCAN TO MAKE program and hopes donations match that increase. “We’re going to have the most parents, schools and A DONATION... community partners saying, ‘Hey, can you come take our kids? They need you,’” Sánchez-Arreola says. “And I really want to tell all of them yes.” With your support, we will go where the families are. With your support, we go to where the vulnerable children are. Whether they’re at school, identified by teachers as students in need of extra attention, in a low-income housing space, attending programs at a partner youth-serving agency, or meeting us at a neighborhood park, your support provides the scholarships so the kids who need connection can get it. MATCHING

CHALLENGE!

(805) 964-8096 wyp.org 5386 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93111

ne reason I believe Adelante is an excellent school is because of our commitment to equity and experiential education especially in STEAM subjects. Wilderness Youth Project helps us to provide a regular, deep connection with the natural world, facilitated by caring guides who support the students’ well-being and boost their capacity for learning.”

Montecito Bank & Trust Chairman and CEO

Wilderness Youth Project

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Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation Contact: Michelle Howard, Co-Development Director michelle@wyp.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

“I

look out and see the ocean, the town, the world. This is one place where I can just be who I am: I can run, jump, sit, hide and explore. I am amazed by this place and wonder what extraordinary animals live here.”

– Fourth grade student

Franklin Elementary School

KEY SUPPORTERS Audacious Foundation and Jane & Paul Orfalea Monica & Timothy Babich Terry Cunningham & Randi Miller Graham Duncan & Courtney Smith Colleen & Ted Friedel Adam Graham & Katie Szopa Carrie Kappel & Carl Palmer Bob & Betsy Manger Jillian & Pete Muller Ryan & Sarah Muzzy Natalie Orfalea Foundation Stacy & William Pulice Allan Rogers & Marianne Sprague Jean Rogers Dr. Tony & Kyra Rogers Michel Saint-Sulpice & Mary Staton Amber & Ben Sprague David & Rachael Stein Dana White Carlene & Scott Wilson

FREEDOM 4 YOUTH:

True to Its Grassroots

Freedom 4 Youth Advocacy Trip to the State Capitol at the office of the California Endowment

any nonprofits like to throw around the word grassroots to describe their organizations, but few do the term justice as much as Freedom 4 Youth does. In 2008, Billi Jo Starr, a Santa Barbara High School alumna who has since earned her PhD in Education from UCSB, brought a Toastmasters curriculum to Los Prietos Boys Camp, a juvenile detention facility in Santa Barbara. Starr partnered with the youths themselves, tapping into their innate leadership abilities. They learned to speak in public; they overcame their fears of sharing personal stories. The Toastmasters initiative blossomed and eventually culminated in 2011 with the creation of Freedom 4 Youth as an official nonprofit organization. Shortly after, in 2012, the F4Y Advocates were formed, a campus organization where UCSB students mentor youth who have been incarcerated or impacted by the criminal justice system. For nearly a decade, Freedom 4 Youth was kept alive by volunteer support. It didn’t even have a real facility until 2019 and it took until 2020, 12 years since the first Toastmasters sessions, for Dr. Starr to even earn an official salary. “We have been as youthled and as grassroots as any nonprofit can get, running entirely on volunteer work,” says Development Director Dylan Griffith. The nonprofit’s persistence has more than paid off. Their leadership program, an evolved and custom curated form of the Toastmasters curriculum, still runs every Tuesday and remains the core of the organization’s work. Today, Freedom 4 Youth counts more than 2,000 alumni who were previously incarcerated who have benefited from its leadership and education programs. This year, it is quickly outgrowing its current facility located across Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. “2021 has really been a breakout year for us in terms of our capacity,” Griffith says.

Deputy Director, LaVell Baylor, the Freedom 4 Youth Advocates, and Kent Mendoza with Rapper YG at WE RISE, an event for Mental Health Awareness with Anti-Recidivism Coalition in Los Angeles

One of the reasons for the organization’s effectiveness is that 100 percent of its staff has been impacted or directly involved in the justice system themselves in some way. Further, they empower the alumni of their program to mentor the youth who are currently entrenched in the system. Collectively, they call themselves “credible messengers.” “There’s an immediate connection,” says Griffith, who himself was involved for several years in the justice system as a youth. “You’re on an immediate form of shared ground with that person that you can then use as a stepping stone to continue building depth in a relationship. We always operate from a relationship framework.”

| Santa Barbara |

“Plant the Seed” Mural painted by David Flores and the youth in the Freedom 4 Youth Leadership Program at Los Prietos Boys Camp during the 2nd Annual Freedom 4 Youth Leadership Conference

Co-Founder Yaskin Solano & Chaplain Eddie Perez at a special event in Montecito hosted by the Board Chair Susan Washing and her husband, Tom

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ur foundation supports the frontline work of Freedom 4 Youth because our community is stronger when all youth have the opportunity to engage in healthy, meaningful relationships. They are adept at collaborating with a myriad of organizations in the community to maximize support and resources for the youth they serve, resulting in meaningful connections and partnerships that support our youth and their families.”

– Elisabeth Fowler

The Freedom to Grow

KEY SUPPORTERS

s Development Director Dylan Griffith says, Freedom 4 Youth has grown “by leaps and bounds,” and the organization has already outgrown its current building on South Patterson Avenue. Now Freedom 4 Youth is looking to raise up to $500,000 to expand their existing facility or relocate, which will increase its capacity by three and SCAN TO MAKE a half times. Freedom 4 Youth once depended on foundation grants A DONATION... for up to 90 percent of its funding and has worked to diversify revenue streams in recent years. Notably, the organization seeks individual donations and advertisers for its new quarterly magazine, Freedom Philosophies. Freedom Philosophies is a youth-led justice magazine created by youth in the Tuesday Leadership program at Los Prietos Boys Camp ...AND LEARN that chronicles the stories, art, and MORE ABOUT other talents of people impacted by FREEDOM 4 YOUTH the criminal justice system.

Freedom 4 Youth

7th Annual Freedom 4 Youth Leadership Conference at University of California, Santa Barbara

Dylan Griffith, Development Director freedom4youth.org (805) 708-1292

Stacy Pulice Susan & Tom Washing Casey Rogers Dr. Richard Beswick James Joyce III Lis Leader & John Ledlie Victor and Susan Schaff Elizabeth Calvin Stephen MacIntosh CeCe Hendriks Santa Barbara County Probation Todd Rubenstein Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Candice Pipersburg Workforce Development Board Willie Poindexter of Santa Barbara County Dr. Mario Galicia GO Campaign Shannon Miller G.A. Fowler Family Foundation Roger Perry Fund for Santa Barbara Barbara Lizzet Sanchez McCune Foundation Melissa Cohen Tides Foundation Yaskin Solano Hutton Parker Foundation The Guzman Family Santa Barbara City College Nate Contreras Foundation Manny Garcia Santa Barbara Foundation Angel Sanchez California Endowment Jordan Warren 2G Charitable Foundation Graydon Damron Peter and Laura Smith The Ortiz Family Charitable Fund The Kall Family UCSB, The Blum Center, UCSB First, the Associated Students Community Volunteer Foundation, Community Affairs Board, Finance & Business, the Executive Office of Statewide Affairs, the Student Initiated Recruitment and Retention Committee, the Student Initiated Outreach Program, and Smart Media Solutions

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EXPLORE ECOLOGY:

Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards

n 1990, a group of parents excited about the potential of creative reuse and worried about the lack of funding for arts programs at local schools came together to create Art From Scrap. Beginning in a garage and then operating out of a warehouse under the umbrella of the Santa Barbara County Education Office, Art From Scrap taught kids about waste reduction and provided the community with its first Creative Reuse Store. From this humble beginning, seeds were planted for one of Santa Barbara’s leading environmental education nonprofits: Explore Ecology. Thirty-one years later, the Art From Scrap program is still thriving, diverting thousands of pounds of reusable material from Santa Barbara’s landfill. The environmental protection legacy Art From Scrap established has since evolved into the nonprofit Explore Ecology, whose mission is to “empower the community to protect and preserve the environment.” As Executive Director Lindsay Johnson says, “Art From Scrap is still one of our most popular programs. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Underneath the surface exists a deep and diverse set of programs that reinforce Explore Ecology’s reputation as one of San-

ta Barbara’s most impactful environmental nonprofits reaching 48,000 students annually. Highlights include Flows to the Ocean, a program that teaches fourth to sixth graders about watersheds, water quality, and the actions they can take to prevent ocean pollution. Explore Ecology also manages Santa Barbara County’s annual Coastal Cleanup Day, which results in nearly 5,000 pounds of trash being removed from local beaches and waterways. The School Gardens Program connects children to nature and teaches them how to grow their own organic food using the garden as an outdoor classroom. Each year, 14,000 students at 33 Santa Barbara schools learn about planting, cultivating, harvesting, composting and nutrition. By spending time in school gardens, eating delicious produce, and getting their hands dirty, children learn that environmental stewardship can be experiential and fun. “With organic gardening, we are teaching students the best practices for sustainability,” Johnson says. “They’re learning to garden and at the same time are connecting with nature! This inspires children from across our community to appreciate and protect the environment that surrounds them.”

| Santa Barbara |

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ver the last decade, the Johnson Ohana Foundation has been proud to support Explore Ecology and their multi-faceted approach to environmental education. I appreciate how they weave together exploration of the arts with creative reuse and ecology. They provide opportunities for youth to explore local watersheds, while promoting important values of stewardship through cleanups, citizen science, and student-led action projects. The School Gardens Program has given thousands of students the chance to plant seeds, watch them grow, harvest and taste – sharing lessons of inter-connection within a living garden classroom. Through all of these programs, Explore Ecology shares hands-on experiences for learning and discovery.”

– Jessica Scheeter

Executive Director, Johnson Ohana Foundation

“I

have been volunteering with Explore Ecology for the past three years. I participate in their regular beach cleanups and have joined the last three Coastal Cleanup Days. At the Earth Day celebration in 2018, I was recognized by Explore Ecology as an Environmental Steward.

“I surf and walk on the beach with my family and dog almost every day and like to be part of the solution of keeping our beaches clean.”

Sustainable Fundraising

xplore Ecology’s fundraising normally relies on its signature event, Sustainable Table, which in combination with local grants and contracts with government agencies has historically helped make ends meet on its budgetary needs. Sustainable Table was cancelled for the last two years, but the organization has embarked on a new campaign to raise $40,000 to cover the budgetary shortfall of their School Gardens Program and another $40,000 in growth fundraising that will, in part, enable the organization to improve staff retention and ensure the organization continues to train new generations of environmental stewards.

– Pyp Pratt

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation Explore Ecology

(805) 884-0459 www.exploreecology.org 302 East Cota Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Contact:

Lindsay Johnson, Executive Director (805) 884-0459 x4 lindsay@exploreecology.org

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Santa Barbara Middle School student

KEY SUPPORTERS NOAA Garden Club of Santa Barbara Johnson Ohana Foundation Towbes Foundation Deckers Brands AH Juice SB County Office of Arts and Culture/City of Santa Barbara UCSB Coastal Fund SoCalGas California Arts Council Union Bank Bragg Live Food Products, LLC Gail Cooley Tracy Mongold Christine Green Janet Loughlin Susan Tompkins and Paul Kafadar Southern California Edison American Riviera Bank Tisha Weber-Ford

NATURETRACK:

Access to Nature for ALL

NewTracks – connecting all ages to nature. Above – Wilma, 98 years young using Freedom Trax.

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n the ten years that NatureTrack has been taking Santa Barbara County’s school-age kids on outdoor field trips, Steve Schulz has volunteered as a docent for nine of them, sharing his extensive knowledge of local flora. Yet in that time, Schulz has never been able to enjoy the beautiful trails of the Arroyo Hondo Preserve, a single beach field trip or numerous other field trip locales. That’s because Schulz has been a wheelchair user since 1999. This year, NatureTrack expanded its field trip program to include NewTracks. Using Freedom Trax, a device which quickly transforms a manual wheelchair into a battery-powered, all-terrain vehicle which can easily traverse sand and trails, NewTracks provides field trips for wheelchair users and others with physical disabilities. Now, Schultz can enjoy many beaches and trails that have been inaccessible to him for 20+ years. NatureTrack has received funding to buy nine Freedom Trax. Their goal is to acquire and maintain a total of 10 Freedom Trax to provide outdoor field trips to wheelchair users of all ages. NatureTrack also lends their Freedom Trax to other nonprofit organizations so that they too can include wheelchair users in their events and programs. “We’re thrilled that we’re able to remove the barrier between wheelchair users and nature, allowing them to have the same experience as other students, teachers, and volunteers. It’s wonderful that we can ALL be out on the beaches and trails together,” says Sue Eisaguirre, NatureTrack’s founder and executive director. NewTracks fulfills an essential part of NatureTrack’s mission: to connect as many people as possible to the natural world. Eisaguirre founded the organization after heading up the docent and K-12 programs for the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve. It was then that she realized she could impact more schools and students with a countywide organization. A decade later, NatureTrack has taken more than 25,000 school-age students on outdoor field trips. The organization relies on the support of 100 enthusiastic volunteer docents to lead the trips. The program is entirely free, including transportation. “We find every way possible to make sure everyone has the same opportunity to connect with and experience nature,” Eisaguirre says.

he miracle of a student experiencing the wonders of nature, often for the first time, is a life-changing gift that NatureTrack gives a child every time they hit the trail. We’ve repeatedly witnessed the delight and transformation that occur with students and that’s why we continue to support NatureTrack and its critical mission.”

– Lisa and Steve Palmer

Aedan, 10 years old

| Santa Barbara |

“I

have been teaching for 25 years. Your docents are the best I have encountered. They seem to really enjoy children and children’s mindsets and thought processes. It is not often that children feel honored for what they know and can do. Your docents ask questions, further discussion, and build upon what the students already know or have experience with.”

– E. Craviotto Peabody School

“T

Nature for Everyone

elp NatureTrack continue our mission of making nature accessible to all! NatureTrack’s ability to connect students – including wheelchair users and others with physical disabilities – to the natural world is directly linked to our ability to fund program costs and equipment which make that access possible. To continue providing more wheelchair users with Freedom Trax so they can participate in outdoor field trips, we need your help. For the first ten years of our existence, students, teachers, and volunteers who use wheelchairs could not participate because most of our field trip locations were inaccessible to wheelchairs. Now, with your help, these students and teachers can join classmates and colleagues on our county’s beautiful beaches and trails, enjoying those same connections with nature. In addition to students and teachers, volunteers who are wheelchair users or have other physical disabilities will also be able to participate and share SCAN TO MAKE their passion for the outdoors with local students.

his is going to give me opportunities I haven’t had before.”

– Michelle Kristoffersen

A DONATION!

Connecting to Nature Through Film

KEY SUPPORTERS

eld every year for the past four years, the NatureTrack Film Festival has become the organization’s go-to fundraising platform. The 2021 installment was a hybrid event with a one-day in-person festival followed by a twoweek virtual format that featured 76 worldclass nature films and participants from more than 20 countries. The festival, which offers multiple sponsorships, is a natural extension of NatureTrack’s mission to connect people to the natural world.

Fostering a lifelong fascina�on with nature

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation NatureTrack

Sue Eisaguirre, Executive Director www.naturetrack.org (805) 886-2047

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Adams Legacy Foundation Audacious Foundation and Jane and Paul Orfalea B.P. Moser Trust California Coastal Conservancy Coastal Ranches Conservancy Coastal Resources Enhancement Fund (CREF) deLaski Family Foundation Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation Herbert and Gertrude Latkin Charitable Foundation Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation Henry and Lola Monroe Foundation Hutton Parker Foundation John S. Kiewit Memorial Foundation Natalie Orfalea Foundation Raintree Foundation Santa Ynez Valley Foundation Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation Towbes Foundation UCSB Coastal Fund UCSB CoVo

A Historic Mainstay, El Encanto’s Unbreakable Bond with Community Grows

BY NICK MASUDA

“It’s humbling. These kinds of initiatives not only bond us with the local community, but bond us with one another. It’s a reaffirmation of the culture that we believe we have – one where we know the importance of giving back.”

fter 103 years, El Encanto Hotel, a Belmond Hotel is well-known for its majestic and breathtaking views of the South Coast, an escape from the hustle and bustle and a much-needed taste of the simpleness of yesteryear. And a reputation such as that comes via the heartfelt dedication of its 230 employees that fortify a one-of-a-kind experience through tireless effort, greeting guests – and one another – with a smile and willingness to go the extra mile. It’s simply a part of the company’s DNA – with long-time employees and new hires alike expected to give back to a community that prioritizes philanthropy, through unique and lasting partnerships, as well as an innovative spirit that pushes the status quo of what it means to give back. It goes as far as the new hire packet, where the company’s mission to give back to the

– CHINNA NAHABEDIAN

| Santa Barbara |

Santa Barbara community is front and center, requiring a signature to even move forward. And El Encanto walks the walk, so to speak, donating time, money, and services to more than 25 different community events in recent months. “This is what we’re about. This is part of our culture,” says El Encanto’s Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Chinna Nahabedian. “We want to know if they buy into this, if it’s how they feel as well. So, even before they are hired, we already know they are likeminded people.” The projects that El Encanto is involved with range from donating shampoos, body wash, and lotion to the Rescue Mission – which provides more than 150 daily showers – to restoration work at the Channel Islands National Park, where a contingent of employees make their way out to the island to aid in the natural ecosystem.

And while the venue donates event and meeting space throughout the year, it also hosts a summer camp for young girls from Girls Inc., a local nonprofit that provides needed educational opportunities for local underprivileged youth. In addition to providing Thanksgiving meals prepared by the hotel’s chef, El Encanto invites 25 youngsters to the facility, where they are paired with the property’s female leaders, opening their eyes to the endless possibilities that are in front of them, either in management, culinary, customer service, or human resources. The girls rotate through different departments, learning how their mentor attained their position, and the training and knowledge necessary. A big part of the lesson plan is to educate them on sustainability methods, as well as the impact each one of them can have on the planet. El Encanto is already considered a “zero waste” facility, and it is 89% of the way toward receiving a Green Business Certification – a rarity among hotels, particularly in Santa Barbara. “They really are learning things from a different viewpoint,” says Nahabedian. “We are so incredibly fortunate to have so many strong female leaders here that it allows us to pay it forward; to help educate the next round of leaders.” For General Manager Janis Clapoff, she points to the corporate mandate from Belmond that wholeheartedly supports community relations in any market that it has a hotel. “It feels very right to be a prominent property that realizes the community is just as important as the overnight guest,” Clapoff said. “It’s part and parcel of being a leader in the community and the hotel world. It’s not really something that we have to ponder on; it is a given.” Both Clapoff and Nahabedian continue to be impressed by the involvement of its employees, with lofty goals set by the organization when it comes to toy and food

“O

ur community is as important to us as our overnight guests are. We have all been through some very hard times lately. Santa Barbara has not been spared from its share of hardship and strife over the past several years. We must embrace our beloved town and care for our community as though they are family. It’s part and parcel of being leaders both in the community as well as the hotel industry. It must become second nature to us all.”

– JANIS CLAPOFF

El Encanto’s outreach includes habitat restoration work on the Channel Islands

drives that are exceeded year in and year out. Nahabedian points to the dishwashers and room attendants that are hourly wage workers yet are normally the first ones to bring in donations, either goods or with their time. “It’s humbling. These kinds of initiatives not only bond us with the local community, but bond us with one another,” Nahabedian said. “It’s a reaffirmation of the culture that we believe we have – one where we know the importance of giving back.” And the commitment continues to grow, as Clapoff says she is now requiring her leaders to champion nonprofit causes internally, allowing the organization to branch further out to help with new causes or projects.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EL ENCANTO & BELMOND HOTELS

reservations.ele@belmond.com (805) 845-5800

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When Clapoff thinks of the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, El Encanto will undoubtedly be there to support. Same goes for the Breast Cancer Resource Center. It’s all about adding, not subtracting. And now the hotel will be looking into how it can help the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Cottage Hospital, as well as the area’s universities, including Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, and UCSB, among many others. Over her 30 years locally, Clapoff has learned that time is a most valuable currency. Admittedly, the staff is stretched, managing personal lives, demanding work lives, and just putting one foot in front of the other. So, carving time out of already tight schedules will be tough, which is one of the many challenges in today’s world. But Clapoff believes that even so, El Encanto’s team is committed to helping wherever need be. “This is a partnership with the community, without a doubt.”

| Santa Barbara |

Teach Our Children Well “It is critical that we support our families in addressing the stressors in their lives. If we intervene early and assist them in navigating appropriate resources, we can help to prevent these issues from amplifying and having a much larger impact on the child and the family as a whole.” – Susan Cass Executive Director, Storyteller Children’s Center

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From the Heart of Compton to the Soul of Santa Barbara by Nick Schou

e grew up in Compton, but Guy Walker has deep roots in Santa Barbara County going back to the 1970s, when he attended Dunn School in Los Olivos. “I was part of the ‘inclusion revolution’ when I became among the first of a handful of students of color to attend Dunn during that era,” recalls Walker. “I would become the fourth Black student to graduate from Dunn.” A permanent resident of Santa Barbara County since 1984, the veteran financial advisor and founder of the privately owned Santa Ynez-based firm Wealth Management Strategies Insurance & Financial Solutions has provided vital leadership in Santa Barbara County’s nonprofit community by serving on various boards. In 2015, he joined the board of directors for the Endowment for Youth Community (EYC), an organization that focuses on providing resources for underserved and underrepresented communities in Santa Barbara County, with a special emphasis on helping create educational and career opportunities for African American youth. Walker’s wealth management business model is reflected in his philosophy on nonprofit leadership. He defines true sustainable wealth as comprising the “Three Pillars of Wealth” – cultural wealth, community wealth, and, lastly, capital wealth. As he explains it, when operating in concert, these three pillars have the power to produce fulfillment, purpose, and a type of generational wealth that cannot be measured simply based on tangible assets. It’s an overall vision for personal and community development that he’s created and honed over decades of professional work and volunteer experience. This concept of the “Three Pillars” plays out in EYC’s strategic plan, which was created in 2015. The first pillar is reflected in the organization’s mission statement: Function as a model to maximize the academic, economic, and social outcomes of young African American scholars and underserved and underrepresented students on the Central Coast. Walker says, “For EYC, cultural wealth means that everything we do with students, ultimately focuses on helping them embrace their sense of self, family, principles, and values. Cultural wealth speaks to how well a person embraces who they are.”

The second pillar is reflected in one of the strategic initiatives of the organization, and according to Walker, is a continued dedication to community engagement. “We have taken on the role of ensuring that Santa Barbara County is aware of and engaged in the various social economic political issues that young African American students face not only here but in the entire country. It also is helping our young people understand the importance of community engagement – everything from

| Santa Barbara |

how they personally interact with other agencies in the community to how they comport themselves not only with educational institutions but with potential employers.” Pillar three – which involves the development of capital wealth – means building community resources for the next generation of young African American leaders. “We want to be the premier resource for all things related to the African American community in Santa Barbara County,” says Walker. “Therefore, growing our endowment is essential. In terms of employment and education, we are trying to develop a database that holds all those data points. If our young people want internships, we have a database of potential internships and future jobs. The concept of capital wealth is also manifested in how we financially support young African American students – first and foremost by providing funding for them to go to college or whatever post-secondary education they need. We also fund other programs related to education, focusing on academic and cultural enrichment.”

“In 2022, we are hoping to develop an African American leadership academy that focuses on helping individuals gain positions on nonprofit boards. It’s an achievement not just for the African American community but for the broader community that wants to have diversity.”

we have an impact on younger students also in the sense that if we have a sixth grader with a younger sibling who is in third grade, that younger person is also seeing a benefit as well.” EYC’s focus on Santa Barbara’s African American community aims to provide a broader positive impact on the entire county. “We are creating opportunities early on for young people to come back and serve in the community,” Walker says. “In 2022, we are hoping to develop an African American leadership academy that focuses on helping individuals gain positions on nonprofit boards. It’s an achievement not just for the African American community but for the broader community that wants to have diversity.” Walker believes that great progress is already being made. In May 2021, EYC helped organize an inaugural event for an initiative titled EYC Presents. Because of COVID-19, this first EYC Presents took place on Zoom, but also included a small live audience at the Lobero Theatre. “That happened to be the first live event the Lobero held since COVID began,” Walker says. The event helped EYC in its task of identifying executive-level African Americans who were new to Santa Barbara County. “One of the goals of EYC Presents is to ensure that when executive-level African Americans move into the community, they are introduced to other community leaders in the county to make sure they are introduced to the county’s political, business, and nonprofit leadership,” Walker concludes. “When it comes to working with both the educational and business community in terms of building leadership, we all want the same things, and this work has already created a tremendous positive ripple effect for the community.”

While EYC places a high priority on helping its scholars attend and complete college, “We recognize that college is merely one pathway to having a fulfilled life. We want to support our scholars on whatever path that they choose – as long as it leads to a purposeful and meaningful life.” Walker also believes that starting early is crucial. “We directly talk about this effort beginning in grade six – from elementary school all the way through the undergraduate years,” he says. “I would say that

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STORYTELLER CHILDREN’S CENTER:

Empowering Preschoolers and Their Parents

rystle could have gotten worried when she lost her job due to COVID, as so many others had, and found herself facing an uncertain future. She had been in this place before, enduring the anxiety of searching for a stable job while fearing she might not be able to afford childcare for her son Logan. Only this time, paying for childcare was no longer a concern. Krystle and Logan had Storyteller Children’s Center, a therapeutic preschool that provides early childhood education to children from homeless or lowincome families. “It wasn’t until we found Storyteller that I was actually able to breathe and explore possibilities for my career,” Krystle says. “Storyteller provided peace of mind and security at a time when I didn’t feel secure with everything else going on in the world.” Before she came to Storyteller Children’s Center, Krystle’s situation was like that of many people served by the preschool: a single parent struggling to make ends meet. Sixty-seven percent of children enrolled at Storyteller come from single parent homes, and 60% identify as homeless. To meet these challenges, Storyteller, which enrolls 52 children at two preschool locations in Santa Barbara, applies a three-pronged approach bringing together the teachers, the parents/guardians, and their children. Children receive highquality early education that prepares them for kindergarten, while receiving three nutritious meals a day and access to behavioral health support in partnership with CALM, FSA, and Communify. For families facing homelessness or domestic abuse, Storyteller works with partner agencies like Transition House to ensure they receive transitional housing or emergency shelter. In order to effectively serve the entire family unit, Storyteller collaborates with a number of other community partners to meet the ongoing needs of the children and families enrolled. “It is critical that we support our families in addressing the stressors in their lives,” says Executive Director Susan Cass. “If we intervene early and assist them in navigating appropriate resources, we can help to prevent these issues from amplifying and having a much larger impact on the child and the family as a whole.” Thanks to the support of Storyteller, Krystle has found a career at an eye care facility. Last summer, Logan graduated from the preschool and his mother proudly filmed him walking onto the stage wearing his cap and gown. For a moment, she imagined playing the video for Logan when he graduates from high school. “Storyteller is going to be with us forever,” Krystle says. “When I asked my son what he thought of Storyteller he said, ‘Storyteller is special and love, that’s all.’”

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“W

e can’t change the world, but we can impact our little corner. Our teachers, our leadership team, and our Board are positively impacting children and their families’ lives every day.”

– Michael Wasserman Board Chair

“A

s a single father, everything falls on me. If I didn’t have Storyteller in my life, I wouldn’t know where to turn. Now that my daughter is enrolled in their program, I can focus on doing what I need to do to provide and care for my child. Storyteller has truly been a blessing for us both.”

A Lasting Impact on Children and Families

– Corey

Single father of a two-year-old daughter

f the last year has shown us anything, it is that we need to lean on each other for support and strength when challenges arise. At Storyteller, teachers and staff have seen first-hand the increased levels of stress and trauma their families are experiencing as a result of the pandemic. From grieving the loss of loved ones to trying to obtain stable housing or employment, the families of Storyteller have experienced more than many of us could imagine. In response to this growing need for support and resources, Storyteller recently introduced a Family Advocacy Program to focus directly on the needs of the parents and guardians. The program provides early intervention for families before challenges become too complex or debilitating to overcome. With the support of community donors, this pilot program will become a permanent part of Storyteller’s service offering and have a lasting impact for years to come.

Storyteller Children’s Center Adrienne De Guevara, Director of Development (805) 730-0155 www.storytellercenter.org

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MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

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KEY SUPPORTERS Terri Allison Jon Clark Peggy Dodds Jennifer Gillon Duffy Gretchen Horn Sharon Kayser Anna Kokotovic Erinn Lynch Patricia Madrigal Danna McGrew Daisy Estrada Ochoa Ann Pieramici Ken Radtkey Kyra Rogers Molly Seguel Kenny Slaught Rachael Stein Carrie Towbes Michael Wasserman Craig Zimmerman

SANTA BARBARA EDUCATION FOUNDATION:

‘When We Get the Word Out, They Respond’ Invest in Public Education

reat schools don’t just happen! Support from community members like you creates equitable access to highquality programs for over 13,000 students attending Santa Barbara Unified School District schools. When you give to the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, your support ensures students who need scholarships can explore engineering and arts during the summer. Your donated used instruments go directly into the hands of young musicians after some necessary maintenance and cleaning. Your gift provides much-needed classroom supplies and innovative teaching tools for our students. There are so many needs for today’s students, and we need your help! Would you consider investing in public education today to provide the building blocks for a stronger Santa Barbara in the future?

t took a while for anyone to realize that there was something strange about so many cars filling the parking lots of Santa Barbara’s public schools every night. It turned out that many parents whose households lacked access to the internet were driving their kids to school so they could pick up the Wi-Fi and do their homework – in their cars. And when local schools shifted to distance learning, which was entirely dependent on internet connectivity, the Santa Barbara Education Foundation did what it does best: mobilize. In 2020, the nonprofit, whose mission is to create and support “programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of all students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District,” launched a program to help low-income families gain access to the internet and academic resources, including art and physical education supplies and even musical instruments. The community responded in a big way, raising $267,000 in individual donations ranging from $5 to five figures and attracting 200 first-time donors in less than a year. By the end of the year, the program helped more than 2,000 students and their families. And if Executive Director Margie Yahyavi had her way, access to the internet would be permanent and universal. “I really think that this is an issue much bigger than the Santa Barbara Unified School District,” Yahyavi says. “We should be supporting and making sure that there’s Wi-Fi access for everyone.” The internet access program represents the Santa Barbara Education Foundation’s ethos: substance over style, less talk and more

action. Whether it’s mentoring students at risk of dropping out of school, helping kids struggling with reading learn to read, or providing jackets to underprivileged students to keep warm during the winter, the foundation strives to rapidly marshal resources toward worthy causes. “People trust us to have our finger on the pulse,” Yahyavi says. “We have relationships with a lot of people in the community who understand the importance of investing in public education. When we get the word out, they respond.”

| Santa Barbara |

“S

BEF has been an incredible resource for the music educators in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Through their yearly instrument drive, we have been able to put more instruments in the hands of our students. This year, funds from Keep the Beat allowed us to purchase the necessary supplies to provide each elementary student with a take-home music kit for remote learning. Students have been very excited to explore music via Zoom with their egg shakers, rhythm sticks, recorders, and drumsticks!”

– Karen Dutton

Adams Elementary School Music Teacher

“T

he programs provided to students and teachers through the SBEF are essential components in helping our youths succeed in today’s most challenging climate. We are continually impressed by the achievements of SBEF in the important work they do. They are deserving of our support and the support of other community members.”

An Opportunity to Advance Literacy

ith less than half of students reading at or above grade level, according to test scores, the Santa Barbara Unified School District has identified literacy as one of its top three priorities. As part of its wide efforts to improve literacy, the Santa Barbara Education Foundation has launched the Fisher & Frey Professional Development Program that utilizes methods championed by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey, two experts in literacy instruction. The Fisher & Frey method has had great success nationwide with students from low-income families and English as a second language. The foundation has undertaken a fundraising campaign to attract $200,000 per year for a program that will last three years.

Santa Barbara Education Foundation

sbefoundation.org 1330 State Street, Suite 201 Santa Barbara, CA 93101

– Jack Mithun and Mercedes Millington

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Contact:

Margie Yahyavi, Executive Director margie@santabarbaraeducation.org (805) 284-9125

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KEY SUPPORTERS Arnesen Family Foundation Timothy and Louise Casey Andrew and Mary Jane Cooper Daniel and Mandy Hochman Elaine F. Stepanek Foundation James S. Bower Foundation John L. Carleton Foundation Senator Monique Limón JM Lind Superintendent Hilda Maldonado Sara Miller McCune Mithun Family Foundation Mosher Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Nick Rail April Thede Towbes Foundation Walter J. & Holly O. Thomson Foundation Wood-Claeyssens Foundation Zegar Family Foundation

THE RIVIERA RIDGE SCHOOL:

The Home of Social and Academic Excellence Since 1938

The Riviera Ridge School focuses on the different ways children learn; on what knowledge, skills, and experiences they gain; on how they feel about themselves and others; and on how to act as responsible young people concerned not just about their own growth, but about the well-being of others

he esteemed independent educational institution marked its 80-plus year dedication to growth, improvement, and future-forward thinking with a name change in 2021, from Marymount of Santa Barbara to The Riviera Ridge School. Another turning point in the evolution of the school was 1972, when an enthusiastic group of parent volunteers purchased the school from the nuns who had founded it as Marymount School three decades before. Marymount began to integrate the teaching of other faiths into its curriculum. In 2007, the faculty partnered with the UCSB Department of Religious Studies to create the Kaleidoscope Program, which studies all world religions through the prism of moral, ethical, and spiritual systems. “We’ve brought with us everything that we loved from the past 83 years of history into the current day so that nothing gets left behind,” says Head of School Christina Broderick. “What I love the most is that the students realize how much we have in common rather than how different we might be.” The Kaleidoscope Program remains a signature component of a curriculum that teaches an enrollment of 225 students, ages three to 14, through the lens of different faiths and cultures. It’s all part of an academic approach that strives to promote social and emotional intelligence and ethical responsibility. One of the priorities of The Riviera Ridge School is increasing the socioeconomic diversity of its enrollment to better reflect the demographics of the Santa Barbara community. Broderick says the school is committed to significantly growing its endowment to ensure that any student needing financial assistance has access to the school. One alumnus who benefitted from this educational experience was AV Bennett. Bennett thrived as a scholar athlete, and recently

The Riviera Ridge School is a place where every opportunity is realized, every dream has potential, and every student matters

Using a handson approach, students are able to learn by doing, playing, and experiencing each unit of study.

graduated from UCLA. His nephew is also now enrolled at Riviera Ridge, following in his uncle’s footsteps. “Mason is at such a pivotal point in his life, and I couldn’t think of a better environment than The Riviera Ridge School for him to attend,” Bennett says. “I want Mason to experience the inclusiveness that I felt. I want Mason to be a part of the family, just like I was.”

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Riviera Ridge fosters a progressive educational model with an emphasis on the development of a child’s talents and capitalizes on emerging technologies to create learning experiences that connect students to each other and the global community

“T

he Riviera Ridge School is more than academics. It is love, safety, friendship, and family.”

– Monica Eiler

Grandparent of Hope ‘14 and West ‘19

A day in the life of a Riviera Ridge student means explorations through technology, simulations, discussions, drama, and speech encouraging interest in our world

Growing the Endowment

uilding the endowment, Head of School Christina Broderick says, will ensure that The Riviera Ridge School can continue to welcome students who would not normally be able to attend private school. “The bottom line is we want students to have better access to our school and our unique signature programs,” Broderick says. “We are deeply committed to the current and future students of our community,” Broderick pledges as she explains her long-term commitment to growing The Riviera Ridge School’s endowment by more than $20 million.

The School provides a balanced and inclusive educational opportunity for the whole child, in an open, respectful, and supportive environment that gives rise to informed, compassionate, and intellectually curious students prepared to face the next phase of their journey with a uniquely diverse and global perspective

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The Riviera Ridge School

Andrea McFarling, Director of Development (805) 569-1811 ext. 234 Molly Rapp Seguel, Director of Admission (805) 569-1811 ext. 131 www.rivieraridge.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RIVIERA RIDGE SCHOOL

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES Alexis Weaver, President Steve Welton, Vice President Paloma Arnold, Secretary Nicholas Thacher, Treasurer Theresa Borgatello-Carlson Daniel Emmett Mike Groeninger Megan Sharma Beth Skidmore Lori Weathers Tina Wood Jessica Stovall, Riviera Ridge Family Association President

THE KEY CLASS:

Etiquette Unlocking Life Potential T he Key Class founder John Daly was 64 when he realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Daly had spent a successful, 44-year career in corporate events and he had already created six companies. But it took a teenager named Alex to change everything. Daly met Alex, who was in foster care, while working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and one night, he took him out for dinner in Oxnard to celebrate his fifteenth birthday. Alex ordered chili and Daly immediately realized the boy didn’t know how to use an eating utensil. There was chili everywhere. Daly cleaned up the mess on the table and taught him how to use a spoon properly. When they left the restaurant, Alex put his arm around Daly’s shoulder and thanked him, saying no one had ever bothered before to show him how to do it. “I was totally choked up and I thought I’d been living in a bubble where I just think that people know these things,” Daly recalls. “I cried all the way to Santa Barbara and said, ‘I’ve got to do something about this.’” When he got home, he woke up his wife and told her his idea for an organization that would mentor at-risk kids and teach them important life skills like social etiquette. He called it The Key Class. Daly wanted to provide young people with “the keys to success” and soon after, his classes were adopted by all high schools in Santa Barbara County. Eleven years later, The Key Class has taught 8,000 students skills as diverse as conflict resolution, how to behave in professional situations, or how to make a good first impression. Daly customizes the curriculum based on the individual needs and age of the students. He even teaches people beyond the college level, as part of a contract with the State of California Workforce Development Board.

“O

f the many challenges facing today’s student, the matter of how to become the best version of self is key to success. Answering such questions as how to politely interact with others, understand vital social skills, and how to recognize the importance of respectful behavior, The Key Class, founded and guided by John Daly, now numbers some 8,000 students enrolled in schools throughout Santa Barbara County. Designed to educate students in all of the social and etiquette skills, I know of no more important program in opening doors for success in today’s world. And therefore, we have been proud to support The Key Class through donations for the past seven years.”

– Edward Birch

President, Mosher Foundation

“I work with people that maybe have had a job for 25 years and never looked for a job and got laid off,” Daly says. “And all of a sudden they don’t know how to write a résumé or anything.” His proudest moment was helping a boy named Junior who had been mixed up in gangs. Junior entered Daly’s class by court mandate and resisted at first, dismissing Daly as a rich Montecito man who couldn’t possibly understand his circumstances. Daly got through to the young man and helped him get a job where Junior thrived. Two years later, Daly received a phone call from Junior. He had just enlisted in the Navy. “I just called to tell you, thank you,” Junior told him. “You saved my life.”

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Supersizing the Social

t the start of The Key Class, Daly bankrolled the whole thing; he eventually established a 501(c)(3) to cover expenses. He holds a formal tea and ice cream social every year attended by up to 75 people with an initial ask of around $5,000 that would attract contribution from a few corporations and local residents. Daly is always looking to attract more participants to the event to underwrite more of his courses and mentor additional students.

“T

he Key Class teaches essential communication skills for students. Their lessons educate youth on critically needed life skills such as how to introduce themselves, the importance of showing respect, and how to respectfully disagree. Students walk away from the classes understanding kindness and empathy, the importance of first impressions, and how to best present themselves in a classroom, job interview, or conversations with peers and family. These are foundational communication skills needed throughout life. We wish The Key Class was integrated into every classroom throughout Santa Barbara County.”

– Jane & Paul Orfalea

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The Key Class

John Daly, President (805) 452-2747 johnkeyclass@gmail.com www.thekeyclass.com | www.thegivinglist.com |

THE KEY CLASS PARTNERS The Mosher Foundation The Audacious Foundation The Towbes Group The Santa Barbara Foundation The Turner Foundation – Since 1958 The William Weiss Foundation Dr. Robert and Christine Emmons Foundation Chris Toomey Judie Jacquemin Shelly and Christine Schwab Jerry and Joan Rocco Marcia and Jamie Constance United Way First Republic Bank The McCarthy Company DD Ford Construction Bob and Shauna Hirsch Workforce Development Board

MCENROE READING & LANGUAGE ARTS CLINIC:

Blazing A Needed Trail for Reading Success W hen she talks about education, Tina Hansen McEnroe likes to invoke Irish poet W. B. Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” Those words were instructive for McEnroe and her husband, Paul, in 2011, when they founded the McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic, a leading research and teaching institute located on UCSB’s campus. It’s here that children in first through eighth grades receive world-class and research-based instruction that hones in on reading comprehension and fluency as well as writing – all through interdisciplinary contexts including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The clinic is designed to serve our most vulnerable youth by supporting our local schools who are facing multiple, overlapping pandemic and climate-related issues. The clinic’s instructional framework also aligns with both current and new standards (e.g., the California-adopted Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and the new national reading assessment standards), which collectively inform K-12 education for post-secondary preparation. Literacy (reading, writing, thinking, and doing) is a key thread running through all such standards. The clinic’s overarching framework (Community Based Literacies, cbleducation.org) addresses these standards by providing young students with opportunities to practice in-depth discussions about challenging texts and including hands-on, authentic experiences that support language and literacy development such as the creation of a book publication (see the CBL website for examples of student-authored work). And the need for literacy support is growing. Through the additional philanthropic support it has received, the clinic is now serving five times more local youth compared to just a decade ago – showcasing the significant need for community support. “As a special education teacher and reading specialist, I believe there is a tremendous need in Santa Barbara County to support our local children to prepare for an ever-challenging future,” Tina McEnroe says. “The crux of all education is reading. Prior to the pandemic, more than 60 percent of K-6 children have been identified as reading below grade level, and that’s just in Santa Barbara. Education experts expect an even greater decline in child literacy as a consequence of the pandemic.” Over the last five years, the McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic has given more than 500 children the instruction necessary to strengthen their literacy and reading comprehension. The teachers at the clinic adopt a team-based approach that reflects current understanding of literacy as a multidisciplinary (including STEM) set of practices; the framework is best known as New Literacies Studies. As such, students are positioned to actively engage in the practices of literacy for authentic, real-world purposes (e.g., given a video PSA on the importance of and tips for recycling within our community). “Our approach is based on research; [it also] highlights the importance of community engagement as part of the literacy

Tina Hansen McEnroe is the founder and associate director of the McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic, which has served more than 500 children over the past five years

development process,” says McEnroe. “We celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity.” Indeed, community partnerships are as crucial to the clinic’s success as its programs. In addition to serving students in grades 4-6 at the Harding University Partnership School, the clinic has partnered with Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara as well as the Goleta Boys & Girls Club. The clinic’s leadership also works closely with partnering leaders who oversee the various units within the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Unified School District. “[The McEnroe Clinic] has been a game changer at Harding. For the past two years, students that have been part of the program have blossomed in their desire to read and to read widely,” says Veronica Binkley, the principal at Harding. “Our current fourthgrade class scored higher than any former cohort when tested on reading – at or above grade level.” This year, the core of the clinic’s fundraising effort is trying to secure scholarships for students of lower-income families. McEnroe says more than 90 percent of local elementary students come from Spanish-speaking households that live below the poverty line. “My dream is to eventually expand the program for high school students and even adults,” she says. “With a firm foundation of support for our younger students, our clinic will undoubtedly attract additional support for older populations that have been equally impacted by the COVID-related pandemic.”

| Santa Barbara |

“I

The McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic serves first through eighth grade, focused on literacy through a multidisciplinary lens (e.g., STEM, historical texts, art and design, etc.)

am immensely impressed with the program from start to finish. The professional assessments, the friendly staff, strategic instruction and progress updates make this an experience parents can understand and is fun for the student… This has been the most positive experience for our family, and we are seeing a truly confident, happy child that has developed a love for reading in a very short amount of time.”

Mission

– Parent of a 2nd-grade student

o provide literacy support for children in grades 1-8 with intensive, research-based instruction through our clinical services and partnerships with community organizations.

Help Fund Student Scholarships to Improve Literacy

rior to the pandemic, more than 60 percent of K-6 students in the Santa Barbara area read below grade level. Literacy experts and school leaders are expecting greater decline due to consequences of the pandemic. The vast majority of youth in our community will need literacy support. The McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic is a state-of-the-art research and teaching institute housed within the Gevirtz School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Students receiving support from the Clinic are showing unrivaled measurable growth in literacy. The research-based programming at the clinic has been recognized as a model and a resource for improving literacy instruction at the state and national levels. To continue and expand our services, we look to our community and philanthropic supporters to fund student scholarships. If you can donate at any level, please contact Tina McEnroe at (805) 350-2588 or tinamcenroe@ education.ucsb.edu.

McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic

Tina Hansen McEnroe, Founder and Associate Director (805) 893-7905 tinamcenroe@education.ucsb.edu www.education.ucsb.edu/reading-clinic

“T

he McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic continues to provide children with intensive instruction to develop fluency, reading comprehension, and writing, with an interdisciplinary (particularly STEM) focus. UC Santa Barbara is proud to offer innovative and effective literacy support and critical outreach programs to children in our community. The McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic sustains our commitment to pioneering educational programs and helps prepare the next generation of leaders and innovators. The McEnroes’ long-standing involvement and support helps to sustain our leadership in education, research, and public service. Thank you, Tina and Paul, for your tremendous vision, passion, and dedication.”

– Henry Yang

UCSB Chancellor

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KEY SUPPORTERS Tina and Paul McEnroe The Stepanek Foundation The Douglas Foundation The Hausman EDU Endowment Anne Smith Towbes The DiPaola Foundation The Towbes Foundation The Rord Foundation Christie and John Glanville Joni Meisel Leslie White Junior League of Santa Barbara Maryan Schall Montecito Bank & Trust Naturipe Berry Growers Inc.

| Santa Barbara |

College Access and Higher Education “It’s about creating a campus community that not only provides access, but a sense of connection with culture, curriculum, and relevant programming that honors their life stories and narratives. It’s about embracing students’ life experiences and the challenges that they have overcome as strengths and celebrating that as part of our institutional identity.” – Richard Yao, President, California State University Channel Islands | www.thegivinglist.com |

Building a More Equitable UC Santa Barbara by Nick Schou

ther than a brief stint in New York City in 1989, Katya Armistead has spent almost her entire adult life in Santa Barbara, dedicated to broadening educational opportunities for marginalized students. Through empowering these youth, Armistead sees the path to a brighter future. “I spent a short stint in New York working at an advertising agency,” the Pasadena-born UC Santa Barbara graduate and longtime administrator says “But that experience instilled in me that being of service was something more important, so I returned to California and decided I wanted to work at UCSB.” The move proved fruitful, and last October, Armistead – who started off as an assistant in the admissions department in 1990 and went on to earn a doctorate degree in educational leadership in 2012 – celebrated her 30th anniversary at the university. “When I started at UCSB, most of who was UC-eligible was admitted, but that has changed dramatically over the years,” Armistead says. “Now, due to the number of applicants and our elevated reputation, we have to be a lot more selective. UCSB and its famed departments have definitely seen a rise in popularity – academically speaking.” During her tenure, the campus has seen both the construction of many new buildings and an increasingly diverse student population – many of whom are first-generation college attendees. “We went from a sleepy surfer campus to a high-quality university,” Armistead says, adding that when she first enrolled in UCSB in 1984, she felt isolated within her identity as a first-generation student of color. “I struggled so much during my four years,” she says. “Therefore, when I started working at UCSB, I was committed to making it a better place for students of color. I had the

| Santa Barbara |

good fortune of being in the office of admissions for 17 years and seeing us really strive to become a more accessible campus to first-generation students.” Armistead’s initial main job in admissions was simply to bring as many students of color as possible to visit the campus. “My motto was, ‘This is as much your campus as anybody else’s,’” she recalls. “I invited alumnus to speak and give them tours, and I invited faculty members to meet them and really show them the possibility of attending the university.”

“We had a huge awakening last summer with the killing and subsequent protests of George Floyd. And with COVID-19, a lot of other inequities are becoming more apparent. Our environment is tied so much to access to food, housing, and basic needs, and the pandemic has exposed that lack of access to basic needs.” Armistead also served as an advisor to the Black Student Union during an era when affirmative action was a politically heated issue due to the 1996 passage of Proposition 209, which outlawed race from being considered in college. She spent much of her time personally handling the concerns of minority students on campus. “I did everything I could to acknowledge their worries,” Armistead says. “They’d come to me about the discrimination they were facing, and I would take those fears to whomever was in a position to help address them.” Aside from being an educator, Armistead is also active in

Santa Barbara’s nonprofit community. In 2006 to 2007, she participated along with other young professionals in the Santa Barbara Foundation’s 18-month-long Katherine Harvey Fellows program, which raised and distributed $50,000 to benefit the cause of their choice: education. “We created our own program – Youth Making Change,” Armistead says. “It is now housed in the fund for Santa Barbara. I still mentor youth as part of that program, and we celebrated the 10th year of Youth Making Change two years ago.” Armistead has also become involved with the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, joining that group’s steering committee, as well as spending a decade as a board member with the county’s Family Service Agency, where she remains on the group’s development and marketing committee. In recent years, with the rise of Black Lives Matter activism both on campus and in the community, Armistead has helped the county’s leadership address the growing national movement toward a greater recognition of longstanding issues of social inequity in the United States. “We had a huge awakening last summer with the killing and subsequent protests of George Floyd,” she says. “And with COVID-19, a lot of other inequities are becoming more apparent. Our environment is tied so much to access to food, housing, and basic needs, and the pandemic has exposed that lack of access to basic needs.” To Armistead, the challenge facing community leaders – be they educators, philanthropists, or nonprofit workers – is how to best create sustainability. “I think our youth has the answer, and we have to answer that by looking at our boards and how our decisions are informed,” she says. “How do we prepare our youth to take on leadership? They are smart and ready, but we need to help empower them for the future.”

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THE ENDOWMENT FOR YOUTH COMMUNITY:

* Formerly known as the Endowment for Youth Committee

A Platform for Empowerment

ndowment for Youth Community (EYC) President Guy R. Walker is well known for his politeness. Even before the interview began, he was apologizing if he sounded tired. He had been awake for many days preparing for a big event at the Lobero Theatre that would be a landmark moment in his organization’s history: the launch of “EYC Presents,” a platform that introduces high-profile African Americans to the Santa Barbara community. It was May of 2021 and the private boarding school in Santa Ynez, Dunn School, had just appointed Dr. Kalyan Balaven as its new Head of School. Community leader and Santa Barbara mayoral candidate James Joyce III was invited by Walker to engage in a public exchange via Zoom on how inclusion creates more resilient communities. Walker is an alumnus and board member of Dunn School. He was eager to make a good impression. The inaugural “EYC Presents” was a success, viewed by more than 200 participants over Zoom and a live audience of 25 people. “We want to make sure that we welcome African Americans to the community and make sure that they can be used as a resource not only where they work, but for the entire community,” Walker says. Providing African Americans with the support and resources they need to succeed is something the Endowment for Youth Community has been doing since 1986, when it was founded by Melvin “Mel” Richey and later co-founder Cliff Lambert and others to “provide educational, cultural, social, and recreational programs for young African-American students and all other underserved youth on the lower Eastside of Santa Barbara.” Today, Endowment for Youth Community primarily serves African American youth, grades six through college countywide. Community engagement platforms like EYC Presents is one of three core areas where Endowment for Youth Community aims

to make an impact. Another is financial support. The organization has a Financial Aid Program for students between the ages of six and 16. In the last five years, through various partnerships including Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Foundation, Southern California Gas Company, and others, the Endowment for Youth Community has administered $180,000 in scholarships to African American students. The final piece is connectivity. Endowment for Youth Community is building a web-based database as a depository for information about the African American community living on the Central Coast as well as a resource to connect young people to the community, whether it’s getting help for a college scholarship, scoring a letter of recommendation, or landing a job out of college. “We are not here to reinvent the wheel,” Walker says. “Everything we do is about providing young people with the support and resources they need to succeed.”

| Santa Barbara |

“T

here are a few things in life that each day capture my attention. Without a doubt, the Endowment for Youth Community is one of them. It is imperative that as an African American I be resolute in my conviction to make a difference in the community in which I live. Endowment for Youth Community of Santa Barbara County is worthy of your support due to its enduring presence of over 30 years shaping the lives of our community youth, predominantly the unheard and the unseen, which oftentimes is the underserved and the underprivileged. The great African American Architect Paul R. Williams perhaps asked the question and answered best when he said, ‘How can you, as an individual, fit into this pattern of tomorrow? First, we must be a part of the community in which we live and not apart from it.’”

– Cliff Lambert

Emeritus Director and Co-Founder of Endowment for Youth Community

“T

he creation of true Sustainable (Generational) Wealth requires the presence of three pillars; in fact, we call these The Three Pillars of Wealth. They are Cultural Wealth, which is the embracement of who you are as a person or organization; Community Wealth, which is created by the investment of time, talent, and treasure into those communities that a person or organization claims; and lastly, Capital Wealth, which is the assets and resources that have been accumulated to support the first two pillars. I would submit that having the third pillar without the first two is meaningless.”

– Guy R. Walker

Paying It Forward

President & Founder of Wealth Management Strategies

he marquee program for the Endowment for Youth Community is a massive outreach initiative known as EYC Scholars, which is the primary platform for delivering services and information to its membership in Santa Barbara County. Graduates of the EYC Scholar program are encouraged to pay it forward by supporting other young African American students. In early 2021, the organization recruited a program manager to SCAN TO MAKE support with outreach and onboarding scholars. A DONATION... Donations to the Endowment for Youth Community will help the organization reach its target of 100 students in the EYC Scholars program for 2022.

Endowment for Youth Community

Guy R. Walker, President (805) 691-9758 www.endowmentforyouth.com 606 Alamo Pintado Rd, Suite 3274, Solvang, CA 93463

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT ENDOWMENT FOR YOUTH COMMUNITY

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KEY SUPPORTERS Guy R. Walker, Board President Gloria Mantooth, Treasurer Warren B. Ritter, Secretary Dr. Christopher Johnson, Past President Jordan Killebrew, Director Charles Rogers, Director Kenneth Allen, Director Cliff Lambert, Director Emeritus/Co-Founder J. S. Bower Foundation Ann Jackson Family Foundation Hutton Parker Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara Southern California Gas Company Richard & Marguerite Berti Family Foundation Montecito Bank & Trust

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY CHANNEL ISLANDS:

All Access to a Higher Education I “A t’s a sunny August morning, just a couple days before California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) starts its 2021-22 school year, and President Richard Yao is beaming from ear to ear. It has been 18 months since students had attended classes on campus. The previous day, Yao welcomed faculty back for a convocation and students and their families were excitedly moving into their housing on the Camarillo campus. “I didn’t expect to have this visceral response. I have to admit, I got a little emotional,” Yao says. Yao has good reason: Ensuring students have access to higher education at all is core to the university’s mission. After all, CSU Channel Islands is a minority-serving institution, with more than half of its student population from historically underrepresented groups. The campus is Santa Barbara and Ventura counties’ designated CSU, with 62 percent of students who are the first in their families to attend a university, and 83 percent qualifying for financial aid. Creating a sense of belonging for these students sits at the heart of CSU Channel Island’s values. “It’s about creating a campus community that not only provides access, but a sense of connection with culture, curriculum, and relevant programming that honors their life stories and narratives,” Yao says. “It’s about embracing their life experiences and the challenges that they have overcome as strengths, and celebrating that as part of our institutional identity.” The strong credentials of CSU Channel Islands speak to this ethic. It was ranked by CollegeNET 20th out of 1,449 universities in America in the “Social Mobility Index.” U.S. News & World Report listed it as 20th among “Top Public Schools” based on graduation rates, faculty resources, admissions selectivity, financial resources,

s an immigrant and the first in my family to graduate from college, I appreciate and recognize how CSUCI transforms students’ lives, since over 60 percent of its student body demographics matches my experience. As a CSUCI Foundation Board member, I’ve witnessed first-hand innovative teaching techniques and programs that prepare students for the current workplace environment and for career paths we have not yet imagined. Our students rely on outside philanthropic support to assist in their academic success through scholarships, internships, and providing the best facilities and equipment available. CSUCI is Santa Barbara’s own California State University, and I encourage everyone interested in providing access towards the pursuit of higher education to support our efforts.”

– Zohar Ziv

Retired Corporate Executive & CSUCI Foundation Trustee

alumni giving, location and campus life. CSUCI is also renowned as a transfer university, an important distinction in California, a state where 85 percent of students in higher education are enrolled in community colleges. The university is committed to ensuring that students transition seamlessly from a community college and eventually receive their diploma. Its graduation rates among transfer students have been above 80 percent for two years in a row. “We have invested a lot of resources here at Channel Islands for our transfer students,” Yao says. “It’s been a collaborative effort with our local community colleges here in Santa Barbara and the region. That work is paying off.”

| Santa Barbara |

“I

became a Peer Mentor Ambassador to support students who got lost in the college process like myself. College is stressful and difficult to navigate. I want to reach out and help support students become the best possible version of themselves. I myself had a mentor and I am a product of what can happen. It helped me grow so much academically and personally. Creating a bridge for student success is very important and I want to see more first-generation students graduate. The stipend money reduces stress as it allows me to focus more on my studies, produce high quality work, and be more engaged on campus, serving our campus community to help those in need.”

– Adrian Uribe

Help Shape Bright Minds and Bright Futures

CSUCI Student & Peer Mentor Ambassador

SUCI’s mission is rooted in the belief that higher education transforms lives and that the advancement of knowledge enhances the common good. Students receive the criticalthinking, problem-solving, communication, and mathematical skills they need to thrive in today’s innovation economy. And it is recognized nationally: Money magazine lists CSUCI as 4th Best College for Transfer Students and 15th most transformative college; CollegeNET lists CSUCI 20th on the social mobility index; and Nursing Schools Almanac ranks CSUCI’s Nursing program 5th best in California. Channeling its potential requires private philanthropy. Donor support provides paid internships with local businesses, allows students to focus full time on their academic career, grants emergency funds to those in critical need, and ensures students from SCAN TO MAKE all disciplines have access to its Santa Rosa Island scientific A DONATION... research station. By investing in CSUCI, donors are helping to shape bright minds and bright futures.

California State University Channel Islands

Helene Schneider, Regional Director of Development helene.schneider@csuci.edu (805) 453-8550 www.csuci.edu

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY CHANNEL ISLANDS

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KEY SUPPORTERS Margo Baker Barbakow Ed Birch Vincent Caballero, Union Bank Jon Clark Cottage Health Deckers/Michelle Apodaca Elisabeth Fowler, GA Fowler Family Foundation Tipper Gore Jeff Green/TradeDesk Christine Garvey JC Henry Jonathan Johnen Neil Kreisel George Leis, Montecito Bank & Trust Lynda Nahra Jack O’Connell Kathy Odell Judith Stapelmann Jonathan Wang Yardi Systems

SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION:

Blockbuster Gifts Can Change the Game for California Community Colleges

eoff Green knows that Dan Pritzker and MacKenzie Scott are on to something. That is, Green believes that community colleges are the lifeblood of America’s higher education system, and it is high time they take center stage among philanthropists. Last year, the Pritzker Family Foundation announced a $100 million commitment to 34 of California’s community colleges, the largest donation ever pledged to the post-secondary institutions that are within reach of the greatest proportion of the population. Then, in the spring of this year, MacKenzie Scott distributed a total of $155 million across seven of the state’s community colleges. These donations caused an earthquake in philanthropy, where wealthy donors to higher ed have traditionally favored large research universities with already supersized endowments. Green is the Chief Executive Officer at the Santa Barbara City College Foundation, which for more than 45 years has helped thousands of students enroll in and succeed at one of the nation’s best community colleges. Green is also a key player in the broader effort to drive philanthropic support to community colleges, as President of the Network of California Community College Foundations and a member of the CASE National Committee for College and University Foundations. California has the largest community college system in the United States, serving 2.3 million students attending 116 institutions. More than half of all California students in higher education are

enrolled in community colleges. “Community colleges are quietly educating your friends, neighbors, and family members,” Green says. “Enrollment isn’t driven by marketing campaigns or prestige, but by stories of personal achievement, shared every day.” Community colleges open the door to students who may otherwise not have access to higher education. They provide training for a wide array of trades and serve as a reliable pipeline of students preparing to transfer to four-year universities. And community colleges do this with the lowest per-student funding of any part of California’s vast public education system – all while serving the most diverse, and often economically challenged, scholars. As vital as it is to American society, however, the community college system is facing significant obstacles. In the year after the start of the pandemic, student enrollment in America’s community colleges declined roughly 10 percent – for Santa Barbara City College it was 12 percent. “Our most vulnerable and marginalized students are the ones most affected by the pandemic,” Green says. This poses a significant threat in the near term, says Green, who notes that, historically, when students drop out of college, only a small minority of them return. Solving this “once in a generation challenge” will require new resources, new thinking, and the leadership of visionary donors. But as Green says, “There is no better investment.”

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“B

eing a part of the SBCC Promise has been a wonderful experience. It provides the materials students need, eliminating the burden of working extra hours to buy them. Those hours can then be spent completing assignments and furthering my studies.”

y offering financial support to Santa Barbara City College students, we help them dream bigger, achieve more, and go further. Our gift to the SBCC Foundation is an investment in the power of education to change lives and strengthen our community.”

– Sarhai Gastelum

– Carrie Towbes, PhD

SBCC Promise student, scholarship recipient, and Running Start Peer Mentor

President, The Towbes Foundation

KEY SUPPORTERS

Promise of a Lifetime

n 2016, the SBCC Foundation launched the SBCC Promise to ensure that all local high school graduates have the opportunity to attend our community’s college. Students who enroll full time immediately after graduation and take advantage of academic counseling can have all costs covered by the SBCC Foundation. The Promise reinforces SBCC’s commitment to increase college access. All recent graduates are welcome, regardless of high school performance. For Fall 2021, all SBCC Promise students whose academic journeys were interrupted by COVID-19 are welcomed back with full support. The SBCC Promise covers two years of tuition, books, and supplies and relies 100% on private donations. Your donation will fulfill the promise for new high school graduates to join the more than 5,000 students that have participated in the SBCC Promise so far.

SBCC Foundation

721 Cliff Drive Santa Barbara, CA 93109 www.sbccfoundation.org

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SBCC FOUNDATION

Contact:

Geoff Green, CEO (805) 730-4411 green@sbccfoundation.org

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Laurie Ashton & Lynn Sarko Amy & Glenn Bacheller Leslie & Ashish Bhutani Coleen & Ted Friedel Craig & Aira Harris Perri Harcourt Bruce Heavin & Lynda Weinman Madeleine & Peter Jacobson Irma & Morrie Jurkowitz Lillian Lovelace Kandy Luria-Budgor & Beno Budgor Sara Miller McCune John C. Mithun & Mercedes Millington Maryann Mott Maryan Schall Frank Schipper & Leslie Meadowcroft-Schipper Herbert & Bui Simon Judy & Jack Stapelmann Scott & Rachil Vincent C. Dana White Merryl & Chuck Zegar

MENTORS 4 COLLEGE:

Getting into the Ideal College: a Reality for Everyone

nne was a senior at Hollywood High School hoping to become a veterinarian. But the daughter of a single mom was overwhelmed by the college application process. She had a limited list of prospective schools, no understanding of financial aid, and needed essay guidance. So she turned to Mentors 4 College, a grassroots agency that helps students apply to college, free of charge. “Without you, I wouldn’t be accepted as an Aggie,” Anne says after being accepted at UC Davis, home of a top veterinary school. “Thank you for reaching out and making me feel less alone.” Mentors 4 College (M4C), now celebrating its 10th year, matches highlytrained volunteer mentors with high school students to help them select and apply to their ideal college. The volunteer mentors from around the country meet with students and parents multiple times a year, in-person and online, to help them navigate the daunting college application process. While professional college consultants can charge $10,000 or more per student, M4C services are offered free to every student in need. There are no academic or financial thresholds. Their services include college counseling; online workshops in essay writing, college interviewing, and career planning; monthly webinars on such topics as financial aid and building balanced college lists; and monthly text messages to remind students of key deadlines.

In the past decade, Mentors 4 College has trained 120 mentor volunteers, and has assisted more than 1,000 high school students who have been admitted to such colleges as UC Berkeley, USC, Stanford, Occidental, Harvard, and Yale. The nonprofit, which works in conjunction with local schools and counselors, is the brainchild of David and Lois Zuckerman. When their children were applying to college, they worked through the process essentially on their own, because public school counselors are absolutely stretched beyond their limits. Meanwhile, they ran into an exceptionally talented student who’d started at community college to

| Santa Barbara |

ensure a free education. After a year of not being challenged, he dropped out. “We could have helped this kid find many financially affordable, academically challenging opportunities if we’d only had the chance! He’s not the only one, there are millions like him.” With COVID, M4C offers all its services online – and demand has spiked coast to coast. “It’s just exploded,” David Zuckerman says. “A college education changes lives and improves communities. We can help more kids and more communities, but we’ve reached our limit on how we can fund this.”

Empowering Students

“I

wanted to start off by saying thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all your help throughout my entire college search – a process that continues to become more complicated each year. I want to thank you for the hours you have dedicated to helping me prepare for my future, including the time you spent meeting with me individually AND the time you have spent in training and workshops to stay updated and knowledgeable in the college selection process. “When I came to you a quarter of the way through my junior year of high school, I was overwhelmed by the college selection process and was scrambling to comprehend all the research and options I had. But you helped me (and my parents) make sense out of it and begin to narrow down the schools I was interested in and would eventually apply to. With that being said, I’m beyond appreciative of all you’ve done and I cannot imagine where I would be right now if it weren’t for Mentors 4 College.”

– Alyssa T

“I

believe that Mentors 4 College has saved my life and prevented me from becoming a statistic. I remember all too well my final semester of senior year that I had given up on myself. The weight of the loss of mom and the dream that I had always replayed in my mind that she would be in the crowd cheering me on as I crossed the stage at graduation had all come to an abrupt end and that reality was too much to bear. However, your program provided an avenue for me to follow, to not lose hope, and to not give up on myself. I hope that the Mentors 4 College program continues to find those students who need a little inspiration and guidance, who are so close to slipping between the cracks so that they can begin to see themselves in the life that they dream of.”

– Rico B, M.D.

“I

wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for your part in supporting our son during his college application process. He took the advice offered through Mentors 4 College. “In December, he was accepted with full scholarships to University of Chicago, University of Minnesota, and Washington State. In March, he was accepted to Duke, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard. “He has chosen to attend Harvard and received a full SCAN TO MAKE financial aid package. We are truly grateful to all of the colA DONATION... lege mentors.”

– Amy C

Sponsoring Students Mentors 4 College now seeks a range of sponsors so it can help more kids transform their lives, without charge:

$400 – Sponsor a student for 4 years as we help them in their quest for their ideal college $2,000 – Sponsor 5 students for 4 years as we help them in their quest for their ideal colleges $4,000 – Sponsor the training of all our new mentors for a year $8,000 – Sponsor our social media, video, and webinar efforts for a year $10,000 – Sponsor an add-on to our IT system to enhance our student-mentor communications

Mentors 4 College

(314) 434-3232 mentors@mentors4college.org mentors4college.org

Contact:

Vicki Horwits (424) 431-4122

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MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $25,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from an anonymous donor

| Santa Barbara |

To Your Health “You can’t have a healthy community if every segment of the community doesn’t have access to good healthcare. Having a healthy community impacts all of us.” – Dr. Charles Fenzi, MD CEO/CMO Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics

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Shining a Light on the Power of Community College As told to Brian Rinker

eoff Green’s mantra is “of, by, and for.” Having learned the value of both activism and philanthropy at an early age, he witnessed the power of people organizing on their own behalf. As a result, Green says it’s his “obligation to be part of the solution.” That’s what he had been doing for the last 25 years, working as a community organizer and philanthropic leader on issues of racial equity, affordable housing, and environmental justice, before becoming the top executive at Santa Barbara City College Foundation. There he took on its mission of helping people from all walks of life attend community college in Santa Barbara. For many, education is a path to personal fulfillment, a better job, and higher quality of life. Education has always been a big part of Green’s life. “I grew up in a family of teachers and there was a strong probability that I would follow suit,” he says. In fact, he went the teacher route as an outdoor educator in Yosemite National Park. But he left after a handful years to pursue community organizing in Santa Barbara. In a conversation with The Giving List, Green discusses why he left his dream job in Yosemite, and how he was able to lead the SBCC Foundation during the pandemic into a stronger position than before the virus turned the world upside down.

What made you leave your dream job to begin community organizing with Santa Barbara nonprofits and eventually the foundation? I loved education but didn’t want to be in a classroom. I love the outdoors, and still do. Yosemite was a second home for me as a kid. I always thought, “Wow, what if my job was to help people connect to one of the most spectacular places in the world; take people on hikes, talk about mountain lions, talk about Native American history, talk about geology, and help them connect?” And that’s what I did for a while. I absolutely loved it. But there wasn’t much of a future in it. At the time, the permanent jobs were being cut. So, I left. But that desire to talk with people from all walks of life and discuss important ideas has never left me.

Why did you go from social justice organizing to the SBCC Foundation? To be frank, the connection wasn’t obvious to me at first. I became interested once I could see the link between all those issues I had worked on and the role that a community college can play in moving those issues forward. Whether we’re talking about economic development, social equity, advancements of one’s own capacity to earn and support themselves and a family, I would argue the best tool we have at an institutional level is community college.

You’re in the community college world now. It faces a lot of challenges; what are your ideas for improving California’s community college system? I believe community college should be free to all. The cost of a California Community College education is low relative to other states, but it is still a barrier – especially the cost of books and supplies, not to mention basic living expenses. It should be accessible to every resident of California.

| Santa Barbara |

That’s what it was for most of our history up until 1982. Community colleges were created to open the doors to higher education. Today a four-year liberal arts degree can be debilitatingly expensive and may not be the best choice for everyone. Community colleges offer transfer pathways, training in technical fields and trades, mid-career upskilling, and more. Remember, community colleges have students of all ages, from teens to seniors.

“I’ve dedicated my career to supporting people to advocate for themselves and asking donors to trust the wisdom of those who are personally facing adversity. We all need to trust and support their leadership.” You have led SBCC during what has been a difficult time for everyone; how has it risen to meet student needs during the pandemic? In the first few weeks of the pandemic, we distributed almost $2.1 million in emergency grants to 2,335 students, well before the CARES Act or other local support was available. That’s the value of independent, nonprofit organizations. We can move quickly and creatively. Many of our students are dependent on low-wage hourly work in hospitality, tourism, service, or related industries. We had to make sure that our students could remain enrolled and complete the semester despite suddenly losing their jobs during the shutdown.

How did the pandemic disrupt fundraising? At the very beginning, a third of our operating budget revenue evaporated overnight. Much of it is raised in the spring through in-person events, a gala, and cultivation events with major donors – and suddenly that wasn’t an option. We cut back severely on our operating budget, almost 20%, without laying off any staff. We kept our team intact but cut way back on everything else. We had spent the prior five years building a reserve and ensuring we had a balanced budget. Money is a tool that buys you options. So, when the pandemic hit, we had options, and that was what kept us going. We’ve emerged in a stronger position today than we were before the pandemic. We had over $10 million in investment earnings because the markets were going through the roof; we had a decrease in distributions because the college needed less for those programs that were on hold temporarily; we had a $20 million gift that came in the spring. All of that contributed to a 50% increase in assets; we went from a $60 million foundation to a $90 million foundation.

That increase was largely due to the spring gift of $20 million from MacKenzie Scott. Do you have big plans for that $20 million? We’re still in discussions on that. $20 million can accomplish a lot, but it is not as big as many people assume. It represents just 20% of the annual operation budget of the college. And when you compare it to the endowments of most four-year institutions, it seems rather modest. Community colleges receive just 2% of private giving to higher education, despite educating nearly 50% of all students in the country. We need to be cognizant of what resulted in a gift like that in the first place. The donor was clear that the gift was made because of SBCC’s track record of effectively serving our community’s most marginalized students. The first thing we need to do is make sure those programs are fiscally stable. Many don’t realize that the most innovative outreach and support programs are primarily funded by the private gifts via the SBCC Foundation. Then we’ll look at those efforts that are ready to launch but have only been held up for lack of resources – faculty are incredibly innovative and know what is needed, but the public dollars aren’t always available.

Let’s talk about the big picture. In your opinion, how can philanthropy be improved? In our culture, we tend to patronize those in need, but the fact is that nobody knows the challenges we face better than those currently dealing with them. I’ve dedicated my career to supporting people to advocate for themselves and asking donors to trust the wisdom of those who are personally facing adversity. We all need to trust and support their leadership. I’d like to see policymakers take the nonprofit sector more seriously. Nonprofits are a powerful force for good, a major employer, a robust economic sector, and in my opinion, the most innovative organizations we have. Any time policymakers are thinking about something, it’s not uncommon for them to say, “Well, what would the Chamber of Commerce say about that?” And I’d like them to say, “Well, what would the nonprofit sector say about that?” Can you imagine how different our world would be if the people on the front lines of the struggles for affordable housing, access to healthy food, education, and racial justice were setting policy?

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SANSUM CLINIC:

100 Years of Medical Excellence F or 100 years, Sansum Clinic has been improving the overall health of its patients by providing the latest innovations in equipment, technology, procedures, and treatments. Sansum Clinic is the largest independent nonprofit healthcare organization between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Its 345 physicians and ancillary medical providers offer the full spectrum of services ranging from primary care to more than 50 specialties and service lines. Sansum Clinic serves more than 124,000 patients annually at its 23 patient care facilities in Santa Barbara County. “To have the quality of healthcare we have in a community of this size is really unusual,” says Sansum Clinic CEO Dr. Kurt Ransohoff. “Few cities our size have the array of services and sophistication of medical care we offer.” The 100th anniversary is a milestone that cements Sansum Clinic’s legacy for longevity and innovation. The list of new procedures and technologies Sansum Clinic has brought to Santa Barbara is volumes-long. One of Sansum Clinic’s founders, Dr. William David Sansum, was a pioneering researcher who launched the clinic with the intent to study and eventually conquer diabetes. He was the first American to successfully isolate, produce, and administer insulin to treat diabetes. Dr. Joseph Aragon was the first cardiologist to administer catheter-based closures of heart defects. Under the leadership of Dr. Jason Boyatt, Santa Barbara had the first echocardiography lab, underscoring Sansum Clinic’s commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease. Through its recruitment of the best and the brightest physicians, Sansum Clinic has managed to stay at the forefront of the high-tech and high-touch elements of quality healthcare. “We’ve done a tremendous job of bringing in new physicians who are the first of their kind in this community,” Dr. Ransohoff says. “Dr. Chuck Conway, for example, is our community’s first board-certified Oncological Surgeon. He performs complex surgeries that just couldn’t be done here before. Continually expanding our patients’ access to high-quality care, close to home, is central to our mission.” Sansum Clinic has played a leadership role in the community effort to administer COVID-19 vaccines to as many people as possible, and has adapted to the major challenges it has experienced due to the pandemic, while still providing the full breadth and scope of healthcare services for its patients. The cooperation and personal sacrifices of the physicians and staff since March 2020 have undoubtedly saved lives. There are hundreds of unsung heroes whose names you many never know, but whose masked faces you routinely see at Sansum Clinic and the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center.

“T

hank you to Dr. Ransohoff and to all the doctors, nurses, and entire Sansum Clinic staff, for all you do. Every time I put on my mask, I think of all you dedicated heroes. Smiling and cheering you all behind my mask.”

– Grateful patient

| Santa Barbara |

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ongratulations to all your employees for all they have done during this challenging time of COVID-19. Nobody had a road map for this process, but the excellent management of Sansum Clinic was once again on display. We thank everyone for their dedication.”

e were humbled by the outpouring of support both monetarily and with gifts in-kind during the pandemic. This level of support made clear to the team at Sansum Clinic that our patients believed in the work we do and the valuable role we play in providing healthcare to our community. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to healthcare in an era of diminishing insurance reimbursements, our commitment to providing exceptional care relies, increasingly, on the generosity of our donors. Our supporters are an important partner in our current and future success. Working together we can continue to better serve our patients and the community.”

– Kurt Ransohoff, MD and Marjorie Newman, MD

– Grateful patients, Pismo Beach

2020 MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS

Pandemic Relief Fund

he support Sansum Clinic received from donors and local businesses during the pandemic warranted the clinic to establish the Pandemic Relief Fund to help cover the cost of purchasing critical materials like PPE, performing ongoing COVID-19 testing, and providing large-scale vaccinations to the community.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

To Support Sansum Clinic:

Dru A. Hartley, Director of Philanthropy (805) 681-7726 www.sansumclinic.org P.O. Box 1200 Santa Barbara, CA 93102

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANSUM CLINIC

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Susie and Riley Bechtel Leslie and Philip Bernstein James S. Bower Foundation Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara Direct Relief Virgil Elings, PhD JL Foundation William H. Kearns Foundation Julie and Jamie Kellner The Kemmerer Family Foundation Don Logan Manitou Fund Anne Akiko Meyers and Jason Subotky Montecito Bank & Trust Julie Nadel Fran and John Nielsen Dr. Nancy O’Reilly Natalie Orfalea Foundation and Lou Buglioli Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Rusack Family Foundation Mike and Shannon Sanders Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Clinic, Inc. Maryan Schall Schwartz Family Foundation Mary Lynn and Warren Staley The Wolf Family Foundation Bill* and Jenny Wright (*deceased)

COTTAGE HEALTH:

Prepared When It Matters Most

n California’s Central Coast, Cottage Health has earned the reputation of providing premier medical care and the most comprehensive health services in the region. Cottage offers exceptional care to more than 80,000 patients each year at its three acute care hospitals, children’s medical center, rehabilitation hospital, and multiple Urgent Care centers and medical clinics. The Cottage medical staff includes nearly 700 physicians providing inpatient hospital care to over 20,000 people annually. “Cottage Health is a referral center caring for patients throughout the region, and our neighbors have this level of medical excellence close to home,” says Vice President for Advancement David Dietrich. “Cottage offers an extensive range of specialties and services including a Level 1 Trauma Center, three 24/7 emergency departments, a Heart and Vascular Center, a Center for Orthopedics, a Neurosciences Institute with certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, acute rehabilitation and therapy services, a broad array of pediatric programs, and more. To assure its commitment to quality and patient safety, Cottage continually benchmarks its programs against the best hospitals in the country.” Those benchmarks show Cottage Health has succeeded, as its hospitals routinely figure in the top 10 percent of government ratings nationwide in terms of patient care. In 2019, the research firm Great Place to Work ranked it number 10 in America as one of The Best Places to Work in healthcare. Cottage Health has maintained this same high standard of quality and safety throughout the pandemic, as its hospitals have responded to surges of COVID patients in need of acute medical support. Thanks to new construction at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, including advanced air handling systems, the hospital has been able to create COVID-19 isolation units that have proven highly effective in preventing disease transmission. “The modern design of our all-private-room hospital has

enabled us to care for COVID patients in a very safe way, while also protecting non-COVID patients and caregiving staff,” Dietrich says. “And we are so fortunate to have exceptional physician leaders in diagnostic testing and infectious disease management who work alongside executive leadership, nursing professionals, and other caregivers to keep our hospitals safe.” When the COVID vaccine arrived, Cottage created a drivethrough vaccination clinic adjacent to its Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital campus – providing 100,000 COVID vaccines to community members. A big reason why Cottage Health was ready when it mattered most is a legacy of community and donor support that dates back to 1891, when Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital ﬁrst opened. The hospital will mark 130 years of continuous service on December 8, 2021. “We are blessed to live and work in a community of caring, generous people who have helped build and sustain the strength of our hospitals,” Dietrich says.

| Santa Barbara |

“G

ood health is essential to the quality of life for everyone in our region. Offering your time as a volunteer or your resources through charitable support helps to keep our community hospitals strong and ready when our families, friends, and neighbors need care.”

– Gretchen Milligan Montecito resident, former Cottage Health Board Chair, and volunteer member of Cottage’s Reaching Higher Together campaign task force

How Philanthropic Support Makes a Difference

s of October 2021, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation had raised $110 million toward an ambitious $130 million comprehensive campaign called Reaching Higher Together, which it expects to complete by the end of 2022. The campaign has four focus areas of support: excellence and innovation; emergency, trauma, and critical care; Cottage Children’s Medical Center; and initiatives and partnerships designed to improve access to care and the health of the community. A separate campaign entitled Rebuild and Renew will help meet the costs of creating a new facility for the highly regarded Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital, moving its programs to the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital campus. This $12 million campaign has now achieved 50 percent of its funding goal. At Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Scan to make fundraising supports numerous programs for this vital a Donation... rural access hospital – including a new CT scanner.

Cottage Health Advancement

David Dietrich, Vice President for Advancement (805) 879-8980 www.cottagehealth.org

...and Learn More About Cottage Health

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ottage saved my life and I’m so thankful to everyone at the hospital. There’s no place I’d rather be in a medical emergency than here in Santa Barbara because we have Cottage.”

– Billy Mandarino Santa Barbara resident

KEY SUPPORTERS Edward S. Bentley, MD Susan Christol-Deacon Thomas J. Cusack Jelinda DeVorzon Gregory F. Faulkner Pamela B. Gann Hollye Jacobs Dorothy Largay, PhD Peter MacDougall, EdD Babji Mesipam, MD Gretchen Milligan Nancy Nielsen

Robert Nourse Steve Ortiz Ernesto Paredes Gamble T. Parks Richard S. Ponce, MD Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Ginger Salazar Mark P. Scott, MD Bhupi Singh Marshall ‘Chip’ Turner Yulun Wang, PhD Steven C. Zola

SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICS:

A Healthy Community for All

anta Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC) has been providing accessible and affordable healthcare to the community since 1998. The nonprofit’s eight facilities in Isla Vista, Goleta, and Santa Barbara cover general, dental, and behavioral health with each taking an integrated approach towards a patient’s overall health. “The body and the mind are attached and need to be treated as a whole,” says SBNC CEO/CMO, Dr. Charles Fenzi. “There’s very good data now that suggests if you have poor oral health, the risk of heart disease is much higher than if you don’t,” Dr. Fenzi says, “so having good dental hygiene promotes good physical health, just like having access to good behavioral health impacts physical health as well. So, we’re providing all of those services.” Four years ago, a community needs assessment by Cottage Hospital found that there was an outsized need for access to mental health services. Since then, SBNC began to focus on promoting and improving the accessibility of their mental health services. SBNC now has integrated behavioral health specialists in their facilities who can see the patient immediately during their visit with a medical provider. SBNC has found that accessibility to support and services is critical for getting patients treated. If a patient has to wait a month to see a doctor or take several bus rides to get to a clinic, they will often never follow up with treatment. By providing immediate assistance and connecting them to other resources that can help remove barriers – like transportation – patients are more willing to seek the help they need. In 2019, SBNC established a Bridge Clinic directly adjacent to Cottage Hospital. This facility forms a bridge between the

emergency room and a recovery experience where patients can be seen immediately upon discharge. Dr. Fenzi serves as a primary care physician there alongside four other specialists who treat substance abuse, pain, and mental health issues. “You can’t have a healthy community if every segment of the community doesn’t have access to good healthcare. That is the issue,” Dr. Fenzi says. “And having a healthy community impacts all of us.”

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s artists, the Neighborhood Clinics have made it possible to raise a family during the uncertainty of the pandemic. “Our second child was born just months into the COVID crisis and having access to affordable healthcare was a huge weight off our shoulders as new parents. “We’ll forever be grateful for the services they provide for low-income families!”

– Andrew, Miles, Max & Caro

“I

have proudly supported SBNC for over 25 years, because of their total dedication to our community. The recent pandemic has proven what I have always believed: If we don’t take care of those that work in the community, we are ALL at risk in multiple ways. Too many people are fearful to seek the help of a doctor because of the high cost of treatment or medications. “I ask myself, what happens if you aren’t able to fix a tooth? Well, you simply stop smiling! “I am grateful for the services of the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics by providing skill and compassion in treating the health, dental, and emotional needs of our fellow human beings.”

– Sybil Rosen

A New Westside Clinic

Professional Volunteer, Healthcare Hero & Good Neighbor

anta Barbara Neighborhood Clinics completed a $20 million campaign this past year. Half of the funds raised will be spread out over five years to cover the outstanding $2 million per year they need to fulfill their operating budgets after the funds they receive being a Federally Qualified Health Center. The other half will be split up with $3.25 million going towards facility upgrades and maintenance and $6.75 million being used to establish a new clinic on the Westside. This facility will expand medical exam rooms by 50% to nine rooms, provide new dental services in six operatories, and have an integrated space for a behavioral health specialist and psychiatrist. “We raised our $20 million, but during this pandemic we found that the building we designed was inadequate for the next pandemic,” says SBNC CEO/CMO Dr. Charles Fenzi. Accordingly, the SBNC team had the plans redrawn. “That raised the cost so now we are going back to raise those additional funds and we’re about halfway there.”

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD CLINICS

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics

Maria W. Long, Director of Development and Community Awareness (805) 452-5466 maria.long@sbclinics.org www.sbclinics.org 414 East Cota Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Cottage Health Brittingham Family Foundation Lewis-Towbes Family Foundation G.A. Fowler Family Foundation James S. Bower Foundation St. Francis Foundation The Cecilia Fund Montecito Bank & Trust Mosher Foundation Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree David & Anna Grotenhuis Dorothy Largay Linked Foundation Direct Relief Jack Mithun & Mercedes Millington Sybil Rosen Katina Zaninovich Peter & Gerd Jordano Lillian Lovelace Zegar Family Foundation

| Santa Barbara |

Specialty Health “We know that people who can get cancer care in their own community are much more likely to have better outcomes. We’ve always been a communitybased organization and we are very pleased and proud to be able to continue that legacy today.” – Stephanie Carlyle Director of Philanthropy, Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara

| www.thegivinglist.com |

THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION:

On the Front Lines Against One of America’s Leading Killers

t took visits to several doctors before anyone noticed that Evelyn Stone had Alzheimer’s disease. By then, it was already too late. Evelyn’s mere forgetfulness had progressed into a more serious cognitive deterioration. Her husband, Jerome, a packaging magnate from Chicago, was astounded by the lack of knowledge about Alzheimer’s, and in 1980, he brought together multiple independent groups of researchers, physicians, and caregivers to better understand the disease. His search was in vain; Evelyn died three years later. But the cadre of medical experts Jerome Stone had gathered would eventually coalesce into the world’s largest organization working to advance care, support, and research for this devastating disease – the Alzheimer’s Association. Forty-one years since Jerome Stone founded the association, Alzheimer’s has ascended into one of America’s leading killers. While deaths resulting from heart disease, stroke, and HIV continued to decline, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, between 2000 and 2018, reported deaths from Alzheimer’s jumped by 146 percent. In California, it is now the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. In the next 30 years, the havoc that Alzheimer’s wreaks on American families and the medical system will only multiply. And there is still no cure for the disease. “What’s really sad is that until we have a cure, Alzheimer’s will be much more prevalent in our lifetime,” says Lindsey Leonard, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter. “The system is overburdened with the amount of people that need care. Along the Central Coast, we project we will be helping 3,000 individuals this year.” While the search for a cure continues, the Alzheimer’s Association remains on the front lines against the disease as the leading authority of information and one of the biggest providers of support groups for patients, caregivers, and people impacted by the disease. It is also the largest nonprofit funding research into Alzheimer’s, investing more than $250 million in 750-plus projects. And it is racing to find a cure with the same passion and sense of urgency that inspired Jerome Stone to save his wife Evelyn’s life many decades ago.

| Santa Barbara |

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lzheimer’s disease is tragic and irreversible and has become a national crisis and global epidemic. Having witnessed the enormous emotional, medical, and financial challenges it has created for friends and family caring for their loved ones with dementia has caused me to be a part of finding a solution. Through my support at the Alzheimer’s Association, I feel connected to many in our community that are experiencing this tragic diagnosis. I want to be with them in finding a treatment and one day: A CURE!”

– Gerd Jordano

“I

am so grateful to have the Alzheimer’s Association here in Santa Barbara. When we first learned that my girlfriend Audrey had Alzheimer’s, I called them and made an appointment to come in and speak with someone. They were so kind and helpful; they talked with me about the disease and gave me many books and pamphlets with more information. They also had classes at Sansum about being a caregiver to someone who has Alzheimer’s. They were great classes and I got to talk with people who were going through the same thing. Audrey passed away in April of 2019. It has been an honor and a privilege to do the Walk to End Alzheimer’s every year in her honor.”

– Gerry Gabowitz

Support the Fight Against Alzheimer’s

he Alzheimer’s Association leads the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. The California Central Coast Chapter is seeking the support of its community to help make a difference in our mission to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Your support is critical in allowing our chapter to continue providing free educational programs, support services and care consultations throughout our tri-county region, while also supporting critical research toward a cure. Get Involved: To make a donation, become an event sponsor, participate in one of our fundraisers such as The Walk to End Alzheimer’s® or The Longest Day®, or learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit our website at alz.org/cacentral. For around-the-clock support and information, the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline (800.272.3900) is available to people living with dementia, caregivers, families and the public.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

rganized every year in more than 600 communities across America, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s biggest event to attract attention and funds for Alzheimer’s research, care, and support. In the Central Coast – which includes Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo – the Alzheimer’s Association has a goal of raising $750,000 in 2021 and hopes to increase its fundraising to $787,500 in 2022.

The Alzheimer’s Association

Lindsey Leonard, Executive Director, California Central Coast Chapter lmleonard@alz.org (805) 892-4259 www.alz.org/cacentral 1528 Chapala Street, Suite 204, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION

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KEY SUPPORTERS Katina Zaninovich, Board Chair Lynne Andujar Leigh Cashman John Dixon Richard Beswick, PhD Richard Mann Peter Delevett Kenneth Kosik, MD Charlie Zimmer Robert Hirsch Danna McGrew Lol Sorensen

THE CANCER FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA:

The Return on Generosity

hen Lillian Taylor Converse was diagnosed with cancer in 1948, she knew the odds of a recovery were long, but she wanted to help other patients. At the time, the closest treatment facility was in Los Angeles, a long commute for such critical care. Her physician, Dr. Henry Ullmann, dreamed that Santa Barbara would one day get a one-million-volt X-ray machine to treat patients. In 1949, a year after Converse passed, her husband, Elisha Converse, made a large gift in memory of his wife to establish what was then known as the Memorial Cancer Foundation. Today, it is called the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara, which is the largest contributor to Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, the leading outpatient cancer care facility on the Central Coast. Seventy-two years since the foundation’s establishment, the organization remains as committed as ever to ensuring cancer patients never have to leave Santa Barbara to access the most state-of-the-art cancer care and equipment. “We know that people who can get cancer care in their own community are much more likely to have better outcomes,” says Director of Philanthropy Stephanie Carlyle. “We’ve always been a community-based organization and we are very pleased and proud to be able to continue that legacy today.” While most of its funding supports the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, the Cancer Foundation makes grants to other organizations, including Cottage Health and the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation to support pediatric cancer care and research. Through the generosity of the community, the Cancer Foundation receives several million dollars in gifts each year which allows them to fund programs and services such as patient navigation, genetic counseling, social work, wellness, and nutrition at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. These programs are made available at little or no charge to all residents, regardless of means.

In line with the Foundation’s mission to support the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology, the Cancer Foundation committed to the purchase and construction costs for a new, state-of-theart PET/CT machine for the Nuclear Medicine department. The community will benefit from the upgraded equipment, which will transition from the use of analog to digital images, proving clearer and more precise information for physicians. The Cancer Foundation calls such successful results “return on generosity.”

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ancer care is often expensive and leaves many residents unable to afford potentially lifesaving treatments. Support of the AJM Fund means that world-class care offered by Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s medical team will continue to be available to everyone in our community who faces a cancer diagnosis, allowing them to focus on their recovery without the burden of the inevitable accompanying financial challenges.”

– Art Merovick

In Art’s Honor

n 2011, in order to advance its mission of providing advanced cancer care to anyone in the community regardless of financial ability, the Cancer Foundation established the AJM Endowment Fund for Patient Assistance, created in honor of Art Merovick for his many years of service to the Foundation. The AJM Fund provides financial assistance for medical treatment, procedures, and copay obligations for qualified patients. In keeping with the 72-year mission of the Foundation, it is a charitably supported endowment that ensures SCAN TO MAKE access to the excellent care of the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center for all A DONATION... patients, regardless of their financial means.

Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara

601 W. Junipero Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Contact:

Lori Willis, Executive Director lwillis@cfsb.org (805) 898-2187

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CANCER FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA

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CANCER FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES Denny Bacon Kristen Blabey – Secretary Andy Chou C. Michael Cooney – Chair Shane Cotter, MD, PhD Larry Dam Frank Foster Vicki Hazard Priscilla Higgins, PhD – Vice Chair Patty MacFarlane – Treasurer William Meeker Val Montgomery Richard Nagler Carola Nicholson Charles Petersen Amalia Priego Kimberly Schizas George Tharakan Thomas H. Weisenburger, MD Katina Zaninovich

SANSUM DIABETES RESEARCH INSTITUTE:

Diabetes Research Takes on a Greater Urgency

ansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) was established 77 years ago by Dr. William Sansum, the first U.S. physician to manufacture and administer life-saving insulin to people with type 1 diabetes. Until the discovery of insulin, a diagnosis of diabetes was a death sentence. Diabetes is a significant public health problem worldwide, and its increasing prevalence produces adverse effects on physical and emotional health and quality of life for individuals and their families. • 34.2 million Americans have diabetes; that’s about 1 in every 10 people. • More than 88 million Americans have prediabetes. • $327 billion is the annual cost of diagnosed diabetes in America. “SDRI’s priority has not changed since our founding by Dr. Sansum; improving the lives of those living with diabetes remains at the forefront of our daily efforts,” says Ellen Goodstein, executive director of SDRI. Renowned SDRI physicians have carried on Dr. Sansum’s legacy with life-changing medical breakthroughs over the decades. Dr. Lois Jovanovic, who served SDRI for over 25 years, dramatically changed the medical care of pregnant women with diabetes worldwide through diet and intensive insulin use. This regimen eliminated the warning that women with diabetes should not become pregnant; they are now having healthy babies, making the dream of parenthood a reality. SDRI investigators are leaders in developing the artificial pancreas. The algorithms developed by SDRI are used in

commercial products that allow an automated insulin delivery system that links to a continuous glucose sensor and an insulin pump to manage blood glucose automatically. These efforts lead to a marked improvement in glucose control of children and adults with type 1 diabetes. SDRI is also addressing the need to improve health outcomes in minority populations at high risk for diabetes, particularly the Latino population living in Santa Barbara. SDRI is also adding vital nutrition research, through a new initiative called Precision Nutrition. “SDRI has a rich, 77-year history of excellence in conducting clinically-relevant research that has made important contributions to improving the management of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes,” says SDRI Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Samuel Klein. Today, SDRI is an institution that is respected worldwide for its research that impacts the care of those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and diabetes in pregnancy.

| Santa Barbara |

“S

ince 1944, the work of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute has been so vital, not just in our community, but universally.”

– Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree

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hen our son was first diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D) at age three, Elisabeth and I took great comfort in learning that a world-class research and treatment facility existed right in Santa Barbara,” says Flint Ogle. “SDRI, under the passionate guidance of its researchers, staff, and leadership, remains at the forefront of technological advancements and groundbreaking research to improve the lives of those living with T1D. It’s really an honor to help support their work.”

– Flint and Elisabeth Ogle

Help Improve the Lives of People Impacted by Diabetes

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or 77 years, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute’s research has produced clinical advances that have saved countless lives and relieved the pain, both physical and emotional, of an incalculable number of people with diabetes and their families. While we are accomplishing much, there remains more to be done. We need your help. With your philanthropic investment, we can find answers to the many problems facing those with diabetes and ensure the sustainability of our Institution. Please join us. Together we will make a difference.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANSUM DIABETES RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute Ellen Goodstein, Executive Director (805) 682-7638 egoodstein@sansum.org | www.sansum.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS The Audacious Foundation Jerry Bidwell Kim and Andy Busch Timothy and Louise Casey Tom and Nancy Crawford Joan Doell Arnold Virgil Elings Hutton Parker Foundation Norman Kurland and Deborah David Michael Paskin Mosher Foundation Flint and Elisabeth Ogle Joy Redman Robert and Ruth Reingold Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Matthew and Natalie Rowe Santa Barbara Foundation Sandra Tillisch Svoboda William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation Etty Yenni

| Santa Barbara |

Mental Wellness and Family Ties “When people struggle with mental illness, their families maintain hope that they can have that breakthrough. And when they do, it’s pretty remarkable for them to achieve.” – Barry Schoer President and CEO, Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara

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Philanthropy is a Family Business As told to Brian Rinker

harlie Casey inherited the family business, Pacific Foundation Services (PFS), and turned it into a philanthropic juggernaut. After graduating from business school at Vanderbilt University in 2003, Casey assumed his career would be a corporate job in brand management for consumer products. But then, life took a twist. “My dad basically said, ‘Well, if you don’t want me to sell this business to a third party, then one of you has to take it over,’” Casey remembers his father saying. His brother is a teacher in New York and wasn’t interested. “I happened to be the one,” he says. “I kind of fell into it at first, but have found great joy in helping other families realize their philanthropic visions.” Charlie Casey might not have noticed it, but he was clearly destined for philanthropy. He is, in fact, a fifth-generation descendent of Henry Bothin, who started the Bothin Foundation in 1917, which Casey’s father also used to run. So, Casey was no slouch when he took on the role of PFS president in 2006. He grew the company from six staff and seven clients to a team of 40 that today serves roughly 40 foundations ranging from $10 million to over $1 billion in assets. In a conversation with The Giving List, Casey discusses how the business grew to where it is today and why philanthropy is more important now than it’s ever been.

What exactly does Pacific Foundation Services do? We collaborate with our clients to determine what services best meet their needs, which, of course, might change over time. We provide administrative governance, compliance, accounting, grants, management, etc. – essentially a complete back-office solution for private foundations. We also work closely with client foundations to provide programmatic support, philanthropic advice, and strategy – helping connect their values to their grantmaking and connect to strong nonprofit partners.

How have you grown the business? What was your strategy? The reality is that we provide a very specialty service. People often seek us out. Our growth has been almost entirely word of mouth. We don’t do any direct outreach today. My focus has always been internal, hiring great people, investing

in infrastructure and systems, and building a strong, enduring corporate culture. Cheesy as it sounds, if you build it, they will come. I’m really proud of the reputation we’ve built and think that has played a big part in our growth.

How do foundations find you? We benefit greatly by being able to list some of the foundations we work with on our website. Unlike a wealth management firm, as an example, we link directly to many of our client websites, primarily as a service to the nonprofit sector to get information out about the grantmaking process for our clients. But when somebody has a private foundation and needs assistance, just by going to our website, they see this list of other foundations that we work with. That gives us this baked-in credibility, which we work hard to protect and keep credible.

| Santa Barbara |

What’s your proudest accomplishment?

How has 2020 and 2021 changed giving?

Building the culture that we have at PFS. Having worked at a number of different corporations and work environments, I was really clear about what I didn’t want. I own the business, but I also go to work every day at PFS. I set clear intentions for what I wanted in terms of a work environment for myself and for my colleagues. PFS is a business based on trust and generosity. We’re very much a values-driven organization.

In addition to giving more money, there was a lot of loosening of restrictions and giving practices. Because the pandemic pushed us all into a remote work environment, foundations reduced the burden put on grantees around what a proposal or report needed to look like. We saw a real rise among our portfolio, and the sector more broadly, in trust-based philanthropy. Rather than funding a particular program within an organization, many of our clients increased unrestricted giving, asking grantees, “What money do you need? How do you need it? And how can we get it to you?” And really trusting them to deploy those assets in the way best suited to their organizations and communities. Foundations are famous for burdensome levels of requirements around every philanthropic dollar and requiring reports on how every dollar was spent. It has been refreshing to see a number of funders embrace trust-based philanthropy.

“When we had the cascading crises of the pandemic, and then the George Floyd murder and the ensuing civil unrest, and the insurrection at the Capitol, we asked our clients to step up in a meaningful way. We had a call to action with our clients. There’s a huge need right now, across the nonprofit sector, in supporting core grantees so that they can keep their people employed at food banks, housing, homeless services – really across the board.”

How has philanthropy fared through the pandemic and the rising calls for equity? Our clients by and large self-select to work with us because they want to do a very good job, they want to do something more than support only their alma mater or their kids’ schools or the local art museum. They really want to make a difference. So, when we had the cascading crises of the pandemic, and then the George Floyd murder and the ensuing civil unrest, and the insurrection at the Capitol, we asked our clients to step up in a meaningful way. We had a call to action with our clients. There’s a huge need right now, across the nonprofit sector, in supporting core grantees so that they can keep their people employed at food banks, housing, homeless services – really across the board. And I was really inspired by how much they stepped up. I mean, our payout across our client foundations went way, way up, right when the nonprofit community needed and society needed us the most.

What’s the hardest part of the work you do? Even though foundations are by definition resource-rich organizations and our clients, by and large, all have very large endowments, they still have grantmaking budgets and priorities, and therefore sometimes we have to say “no” more than we can say “yes” to prospective grantees. That’s hard. Our aim is to do it in a way that is dignified, empathetic, and kind. I would say my personal mantra is that private foundations should do no harm.

If you could work any job besides the one you have, what would it be? I’d be a writer. I was an English major in college, and I love to write, but I don’t have a lot of opportunities other than internal and external communications. Even so, I enjoy crafting those communications. I’m much more articulate in writing. I don’t like giving speeches, even to my team. I shy away from that. But I’m happy to write about what I feel. I’m a little bit of a social introvert.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

MENTAL WELLNESS CENTER:

A Place to Be (and Become) O

n any given weekday, as many as 100 community members living with mental illness enter through the blue doors and into the Fellowship Club at the Mental Wellness Center. Once inside, they’re greeted by friendly staff, many who identify as peers. The Fellowship Club is the longest running program at the Mental Wellness Center and operates as a day-use mental health and recovery program for adults living with a mental illness. The Club has more than 300 members ranging in age from late 20s to 90s, with one third or more of these individuals living in homelessness. The Club’s environment is safe and supportive of members’ individual wellness and recovery journeys, and the social connections found at the Club are an antidote to the isolation that many may otherwise feel. The Fellowship Club provides members a safe place to belong and a year-round support system. As Mental Wellness Center CEO Annmarie Cameron says, “The cornerstone of who we are is meeting someone where they’re at. We walk alongside them, supporting them along their wellness journey.” It is that commitment of care that has made the Mental Wellness Center a leader in providing vital mental health services to Santa Barbara’s most vulnerable residents for the last 75 years. Through mental health education, essential community services, and safe, affordable housing, the Mental Wellness Center serves individuals and families impacted by mental illness. Personal challenges and social isolation caused by the pandemic have increased the need for a reliable, safe environment that allows individuals to continue social connections with family, friends, medical professionals, and other community resources. Throughout the pandemic, the Fellowship Club continued to serve community members and did so thanks to dedicated peer support staff, generous

“T

his is a pivotal moment for mental health. Never before has there been such strong recognition of the value good mental health plays in the vitality of our community. The Mental Wellness Center provides a completely unique array of resources including outreach, education, advocacy, housing – and on a daily basis – meals for those who would otherwise go without.”

– Julie Kessler-Solomon

Mental Wellness Center Board Chair, Volunteer and Mental Wellness Giving Society Member Julie also serves as Vice President of NAMI Santa Barbara County

The Fellowship Club welcomes its members in to receive support, resources, and a warm meal

donors, and passionate community partners and collaborators. The Mental Wellness Center’s peer support staff bring their first-hand, live experience with mental illness, allowing them to relate to individuals actively struggling with their own mental health challenges. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts peer supporters bring to others is hope and inspiration, for they are living proof of how it’s possible to grow, learn, and live a fulfilling life while still coping with a significant and sometimes lifelong health challenge. During the pandemic, the Fellowship Club transitioned to using their outdoor patio space with lunches available to-go. They’ve also provided safe social and emotional check-ins with members, and have partnered with Doctors Without Walls to provide regular health check-ups and flu shots to members a few times a month. And thanks to generous donors like National Charity League, Inc. Santa Barbara, Deckers, Miramar Hotel, Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, and so many others, the Mental Wellness Center continues providing an immediate, positive impact on those they serve. “The approach starts from a philosophy of abundance,” Cameron says. “It’s a matter of people knowing what the needs are and knowing that their giving is not only going to be handled responsibly but will also help people.” As overwhelming as mental illness can seem, Cameron says “it is countered by a wealth of supportive community members and resources, like the Mental Wellness Center, that remain committed to our community.” Cameron shares, “We’re living in a golden era of opportunity to let people know what’s already available to them and which services need support to grow.” If mental health matters to you, donate today.

| Santa Barbara |

National Charity League, Inc., Santa Barbara Chapter donates backpacks for Fellowship Club members

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he Mental Wellness Center plays such an important role in our community by providing resources that truly support some of our most vulnerable community members. Throughout my career as an affordable-housing and social-service provider, I’ve witnessed the impacts of this issue first-hand; not only on individuals that struggle with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, but also at a broader community level.

“Mental illness knows no bounds. I am proud to lend my support to an organization that is leading the way in increasing education, awareness, and opportunities for supported recovery for those most impacted by these challenges.”

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ike many others, I have experienced the challenges and struggles of mental illness with close friends and immediate family. I understand the suffering related to poor mental health endured by the people who are living with it, as well as the families and caregivers who provide support. I am so impressed with the profound positive impact the Mental Wellness Center has on so many individuals in our community. By providing a broad range of critical services, housing, education, and support, the Mental Wellness Center is serving as a beacon of hope to the many people striving to achieve better mental wellness.”

– Alice Villarreal Redit

– Scott Lochridge

Mental Wellness Center Board Member and Donor

Mental Wellness Center Board Member

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Mental Health Matters

he vision of the Mental Wellness Center is to inspire a world where all people live their healthiest lives, and fear and misinformation of mental illness no longer exists. Please consider supporting their unwavering efforts to advance mental wellness in Santa Barbara, and consider making a taxdeductible donation online today at www.mentalwellnesscenter.org.

Mental Wellness Center

Annmarie Cameron, CEO (805) 884-8440 ext. 6319 www.mentalwellnesscenter.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT MENTAL WELLNESS CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrea Carnaghe Karel de Veer Ned Emerson Paul Erickson Edwin Feliciano Ian Filippini Eric Jackson Darcy Keep Ann Lippincott Scott Lochridge Michèle Pouget-Drum Julie Kessler-Solomon Alice Villarreal Redit

NEW BEGINNINGS:

Innovative Solutions to Complex Problems

Safe Parking client Brad smiling in his new home

Executive Director Kristine Schwarz (center) with Board President Jacqueline Kurta and Supporter Harry Weisbart

hen it comes to the rampant issue of homelessness in California, there are no miracle cures or easy fixes. New Beginnings’ Executive Director Kristine Schwarz, a former entertainment industry executive turned psychotherapist and clinician, understands this reality very well. New Beginnings, which provides psychological counseling, veteran services, and housing assistance to homeless people in Santa Barbara County, applies the necessary grit, patience, and resourcefulness to tackle such a multifaceted problem. “Finding housing for everyone is a singular undertaking, but keeping people housed is a very complex issue,” Schwarz says. “You have to look at homelessness as a systemic issue that has a lot of complexity and components that need to be addressed.” Even as homelessness continues to spread statewide, New Beginnings has been innovative and effective in creating solutions that bring comfort to thousands of families. Safe Parking, an innovative program that provides safe overnight parking to people living in their vehicles, was established in 2004 with the key insight that half of unsheltered individuals and their families live in their cars. The program manages and monitors 154 spaces in 26 parking lots through Santa Barbara, Goleta, and other parts of the county, but its influence is nationwide, inspiring similar programs in dozens of other communities. The Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, which has helped more than 1,500 military veterans find shelter, was just as perceptive. Many veterans struggle with mental health issues, substance abuse, and maintaining a stable income long after they have completed their service to their country. That person-centered philosophy of providing services based

Safe Parking client Patricia bringing home holiday gifts to her children

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rom its early inception, my late husband Jon and I have been so impressed with the growing number of different programs that New Beginnings has offered to our community at large. Kristine Schwarz and her team’s innovation and strong belief in helping the homeless, especially our forgotten veterans, is inspiring. Their professional counseling programs for those with mental illness and addiction has benefitted so many individuals who otherwise would not have been able to afford the help they need. I am proud to be a strong supporter of New Beginnings’ continuing and amazingly successful efforts.”

– Lillian Lovelace on individual needs, preferences, and values has been a calling card for New Beginnings since it began more than 50 years ago. The organization is now trying to expand the Safe Parking to other parts of the Central Coast like Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Carpinteria. It recently increased its presence at Vandenberg Village with the understanding that it takes proximity to homeless populations to have a truly effective person-centered approach. “Sometimes just having boots on the ground is the best way to help the vulnerable populations that we are working with,” says Development Director Michael Berton. “It’s really just a matter of showing up and meeting people where they are.”

| Santa Barbara |

“A

s a veteran with underlying health conditions, it has been helpful to have New Beginnings’ staff act as a liaison between my healthcare providers and me and take me to my appointments. Having a liaison I trust to coordinate care on my behalf has improved my life considerably and has helped me receive services I never knew I qualified for. I feel much more in charge of my health and have a more optimistic outlook for my future.”

– Janice Seaver

Safe Parking clients Mike and Tamara housed in their new home

Veteran client Corey housed with his daughter New Beginnings’ Safe Parking staff

Just the Beginning

he annual support that New Beginnings receives can fluctuate depending on the availability of funding it receives at the state and federal level. The organization has embarked on a dedicated campaign to expand private donations. At their Annual Gala in late September 2021, New Beginnings’ leadership continued their efforts to draw attention to their important work. The event featured an interview and discussion with New York Times bestselling author, activist, and advocate Annabelle Gurwitch, who herself became a landlord to house a young couple that had been living in their car. The gala was followed a week later by a virtual event with Annabelle Gurwitch and Julie Bowen that capped a year of continuous efforts by New Beginnings to advocate strongly for the homeless people their frontline staff helps to house.

New Beginnings’ staff members at their organizational retreat at El Capitan Canyon

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

Annabelle Gurwitch at New Beginnings’ 2020 Benefit

BOARD OF DIRECTORS New Beginnings Kristine Schwarz, Executive Director (805) 963-7777 www.sbnbcc.org

Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Zegar Family Foundation

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Jacqueline Kurta, President Dan Engel, Vice President Mark Cardona, Secretary Ziad Elkurjie, Treasurer Steve Baird Lloyd Dallett Coby W. Dillard

Stasia Huiner Kathryn Keene Karen Kelly Lindsay Morris Warren B. Ritter II Diane Pannkuk Guy Smith

COMMUNITY COUNSELING AND EDUCATION CENTER:

Stemming Santa Barbara’s Mental Health Crisis

Mariela Marin, Executive Director

ariela Marin gets anxious any time they look at the waitlist of people seeking mental health services. On a typical day, their team of 19 therapists at the Community Counseling and Education Center will provide critical counseling, support groups, workshops, and classes to as many as 45 people. But Marin, the center’s executive director, also knows that another 80 people won’t get served. “It’s so disappointing,” they say. “When folks reach out for support and you put them on the waiting list, you miss an opportunity because they were brave enough to come for support.” It wasn’t always this way. In 2017, when Marin joined the venerable organization founded 37 years ago by Patricia Cooper and Jaclyn Henretig, the Center could steadily move people into therapy. So what changed? Santa Barbara is now grappling with skyrocketing rates of mental illness that so many communities are experiencing. The Center has tried to catch up, redoubling its efforts as a vital safety net for the community’s most vulnerable. Some are people who have fallen into precarious situations like homelessness or suffered the loss of a job or of a loved one. Some are coping with substance abuse. Others suffer from serious neurological disorders like severe depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. The pandemic and its long-lasting fallout has only magnified the scale of the problem. “For some folks the pandemic put them into real, practical places of insecurity, including the loss of support networks that they thought were steady but ended up not being steady,” Marin says. Today, the Center is focused on expanding its counseling services so that no one who needs mental health support gets turned away.

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“C

CEC is at the top of our charitable list because mental health should not be a luxury. CCEC is an amazing place built by beautiful people who dedicate their every day to the well-being of others. Give big. Your support will reach far and wide.”

– Anne and Eric Phillips

The typical counseling session costs $95 for 50 minutes. Marin says that 98 percent of the Center’s clients are paying $30 or less. That means grants and donations are crucial to keep alive a counseling program that supports people who are already struggling with other issues. “Everybody deserves support and deserves to have a space to be seen and heard,” Marin says. “Folks already have enough difficult decisions to make, they shouldn’t have to make a decision between, ‘Do I eat today, do I buy my kids those shoes for school, or do I actually work on this anger that could cause more harm to my kids?’”

| Santa Barbara |

“T

herapy always seemed a luxury for someone other than me, someone that doesn’t live paycheck to paycheck, but I got lucky and found CCEC. Here, I was able to do meaningful work without the added pressure of being financially broken. Most importantly though, I found a place that accepted me for who I am. I found a therapist that cared about what happened to me, how I could heal, and genuinely walked with me on the path I was on.”

– Laura M.

One Day at a Time

n 2021 and 2022, the Community Counseling and Education Center stepped up its fundraising efforts to address Santa Barbara’s intensifying mental illness crisis. “Our priority this year is to make sure that we are not in a position to cut people off from services and to continue to expand the number of therapists that can see clients so we can address that waitlist,” says Executive Director Mariela Marin. The Center launched a capital campaign called One Day, which encourages donors to contribute just one day’s wages (the equivalent of 0.38% of an entire year). The initiative sends a resounding message that almost anyone has the ability to provide support to struggling members of the community. As Marin says, “It puts a frame around what it means to just give up one day for your community and for people that you care about and how easy that can be.”

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY COUNSELING AND EDUCATION CENTER

Community Counseling and Education Center Mariela Marin, Executive Director (805) 962-3363 www.ccecsb.org 923 Olive St. #1, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Margo and Jeff Barbakow Anne and Eric Phillips David Richo Brittingham Family Foundation Crawford Idema Family Foundation Latkin Charitable Trust Strickland Family Foundation Gayle Light Peggy Dodds and Marty Walker Rob and Vikki Hunt Vicky Blum Greg de Roulhac Hilary Mountford-Paty Lisa Moore Nancy Gunzberg Patricia Butler Leonard Cuff Christine Schlumberger Shira Musicant Lori Lewis

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FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY:

Family Ties

amily Service Agency is a Santa Barbara institution, as much a part of local history as major landmarks like the County Courthouse or the Lobero Theatre. Through thick and thin, Family Service Agency has always stood tall with Santa Barbara by adapting to the times but never altering its mission. The organization, which provides mental health counseling and basic needs support to the most vulnerable in our community, was here during the 1930s providing relief like milk and firewood and jobs programs to thousands of people whose lives were upended by the Great Depression. In the 1950s, Santa Barbara homemakers could rely on the agency for sewing and home economics classes. And when the Painted Cave Fire of 1990 ravaged the Santa Barbara hills and wiped out 500 homes, Family Service Agency was here again to find housing for the displaced and provide counseling to traumatized victims. “It’s about meeting a relevant need and being there for the community,” says Lisa Brabo, the agency’s executive director. So, it was hardly surprising that when the COVID-19 crisis struck last year, Family Service Agency was as unwavering as ever in serving Santa Barbara. It partnered with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County to provide and distribute food. It worked tirelessly with the COVID-19 Joint Response Effort to help direct funds to those needing rental assistance or direct financial support. It helped identify resources for single mothers overwhelmed by fulltime jobs and homeschooling. It provided counseling to people suffering from anxiety and depression during months in isolation. “It’s the little things and it’s the big things,” says Brabo. “We are here when people need us. Our mission hasn’t changed since the pandemic because we are nimble and we adjust to the community’s needs.”

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Indeed, in its 122 years, Santa Barbara’s oldest non-faith-based agency has learned a lot of lessons about doing good. The first is to always listen to the community. The second is that recruiting the best people is like choosing the best produce: the more local the better. “Our staff is part of the community we are serving,” says Brabo. “They are experiencing what their community is experiencing.” But when it comes to fundraising, the agency has always been old-fashioned, prioritizing service ahead of seeking donations. This year, in order to increase assistance, Family Service Agency is focusing on expanding its $14 million budget and $3 million endowment. It hired a major gifts officer to assist with private donations and it is rolling out a strategy to build stronger relationships with donors. One thing the agency has always known how to do after more than a century serving Santa Barbara is adapting to meet the needs of the community.

| Santa Barbara |

“I

love Family Service Agency because it serves so many of the needs of the entire family — all members and all generations — from the very young to the old.”

– Carole MacElhenny

“O Invest in the Lives of Children, Families, and Seniors

n the same week, Lupe learned she was losing her job and that her children could not attend school in person. Her new unpaid job became helping her children with online school three to five hours a day. “I would go into my room and cry from feeling so incapable of helping my children. SCAN TO MAKE On top of that, I was constantly worrying how I would pay for rent, food, and all our other bills.” A DONATION... Last year, Family Service Agency helped over 10,000 families struggling to meet their most basic needs. Without help, the consequences for these families can be dire — homelessness, depression, and family instability. Seniors and their caregivers have especially been impacted by isolation and stress. The waiting list for mental health counseling for seniors and caregivers continues to grow. We need your help to meet the needs of ...AND LEARN MORE these underserved residents. Together we ABOUT FAMILY can create a more resilient community. Please SERVICE AGENCY donate at FSAcares.org.

ne thing I’ve really learned is that listening is really important. Also the willingness to be flexible, to make the changes we need to make. It takes energy to do that – adapting to the needs of the community. We’ve certainly expanded our capacity to make sure we do that.”

– Lisa Brabo

Executive Director, Family Service Agency

KEY SUPPORTERS Halle Bedford-Dyer Jill & John Bishop Liz &Andrew Butcher Molly Carrillo-Walker & Guy Walker Zora & Les Charles Marni & Mike Cooney Alice & Ray Down Suzanne & Ross Duca Chana & Jim Jackson Ed Galanski Mary Harvey Carole MacElhenny Janet Nancarrow Judi Nishimori & Richard Ellis Sandy & Dave Nordahl Tricia & Craig Price Sybil Rosen Gary Simpson Jane & Fred Sweeney Terri Zuniga

Family Service Agency

Lisa Brabo, Executive Director (805) 965-1001 ext. 1267 www.fsacares.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

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SANCTUARY CENTERS:

Undaunted and Ready to Serve Those Living with Mental Illness

arry Schoer is all too familiar with the stigma surrounding mental illness. As the president and CEO of Sanctuary Centers, which has provided inpatient and outpatient care and affordable housing to more than 10,000 people suffering from mental illness, Schoer has encountered all manner of opposition since the organization opened its doors in 1976. He remembers nearby residents protesting to try and prevent construction workers from remodeling a new treatment facility during the first year of operation. And when the Sanctuary Centers was running out of space at five of its buildings a few years ago, Schoer approached a real estate agent about renting an office building across the street to house administrative staff. A few days later, the agent sent an email saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger, but the landlord doesn’t want your kind in this building.” But Schoer and his colleagues at Sanctuary Centers remain undeterred. They are steadfastly committed to fulfilling the mission set by the organization when it was founded 45 years ago: providing comprehensive mental health care and community reintegration to those living with mental illness. Today, patients with serious mental health disorders have life expectancies that are 25 years shorter than the global average, according to the World Health Organization. Santa Barbara still faces a shortage of affordable supportive housing and people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse still encounter significant barriers for receiving preventative health care and specialized counseling.

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“M

y involvement now with Sanctuary Centers is their aftercare program. I moved into an apartment complex in a studio apartment in 1998 owned by them and was living by myself once again. I continued attending the DBT group for 10 years and still see the same psychiatrist and therapist today. I am now working part time at a job I love, have a great relationship with my family and friends, and have a great sense of community here in the apartment complex. Depression is a thing of the past and I do struggle with anxiety to some extent, but I have skills and medication to manage that.”

Sanctuary Centers ensures that they receive the quality care they need, whether it’s counseling, housing, or even doctors and dentists. “There really aren’t many programs in the country that provide a continuum of care quite like what Sanctuary Centers has done in the last 45 years,” says Director of Philanthropy Laney Smith. “It’s all about giving people independence and stability.” What really sets the organization apart is the community reintegration piece. Through the Supportive Housing program, people with a mental illness are able to live in their community while continuing to receive counseling support. “When people struggle with mental illness, their families maintain hope that they can have that breakthrough,” Smith says. “And when they do, it’s pretty remarkable for them to achieve.”

| Santa Barbara |

“I

came to Sanctuary House in June of 1997 after being in another residential treatment facility for six months. I had gotten everything out of the other center that I could based on what they had to offer. I was clinically depressed, suicidal, and suffering from extreme anxiety, and I needed the care that Sanctuary House could offer to me. The house offers an amazing staff, psychiatry, groups, and the structure that I needed. The ultimate goal is for patients to balance medication, therapy, and the opportunity to become involved in the community through volunteering, school attendance, and the like. Shortly after coming to Sanctuary, my mental health started to improve slowly. I got my medications right, had an incredible therapist (who I still see today as part of my out-patient care), and joined a behavioral group called DBT. DBT was a huge part of my improvement. I also started volunteering at a local law firm as I have administrative skills to offer. Becoming active in the community was also a huge part of my healing because I was finally once again making a contribution to life. I spent 10 months at the house and it literally saved my life.”

Expanding Services to Those in Need

anctuary Centers is seeking to raise $18 million to build a five-story facility that will significantly increase its ability to serve those living with mental illness and substance use disorders. Located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, adjacent to the Sanctuary Centers’ Outpatient Mental Health and Housing campus, the new facility will nearly double its number of affordable housing apartments and significantly increase its number of individual and group therapy rooms. Until now, the fundraising SCAN TO MAKE drive has relied on major gifts from friends of Sanctuary Centers, A DONATION... including two special benefit concerts hosted by musician Jackson Browne. Today, the organization is embarking on a more ambitious fundraising campaign to ensure the long-term sustainability of its programs and services.

Sanctuary Centers

Barry Schoer, President and CEO www.sanctuarycenters.org (805) 569-2785

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANCTUARY CENTERS

| www.thegivinglist.com |

“I

never thought I would be mentally well again. I was so sick for so long that I didn’t think it would be possible. I am actually happier than I ever have been, and I attribute that both to the hard work I put into myself and the amazing support I still continue to get from Sanctuary Centers. I owe my wellness to them and would highly encourage anyone battling mental illness to look into either the residential or out-patient program. They care and treat each individual person as being unique and do what is best for them. I can’t say enough good things.”

KEY SUPPORTERS Martie Levy Mark Levine Dennis Clark, CPA Ellen Broidy, Ph.D Karin Napel Nicole De La Loza Rivera Mike Stein Marsha Marcoe Christina M. Behrman Michael Young, Ph.D. James Joyce, III Olivia Loewy Meagan Harmon Marianell Schaaf Mike & Dale Nissenson Deborah Schwartz Art Jarvis & Claire-Lise Benaud-Jarvis Richard Donner Phyllis Gilmore Denise Jarvis

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| Santa Barbara |

Housing “People with disabilities and their families count on Hillside to provide quality care, independence and integration within our community. Hillside strives to advance the potential of each resident by fostering abilities and creating community.” – Hillside House

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‘What Good Is a Platform if You Don’t Use It for Good?’ As told to Daniel Heimpel

have known CNN host Lisa Ling for nearly a decade now. I never saw her as anything but a mentor, a world-class journalist, and someone with whom I had the honor of working. Then, during the height of the heinous attacks on Asian Americans in 2020 and in 2021, I watched her on the TV being interviewed about the violence, braiding the history of racism against Asians in this country with her own experience. She spoke of the terrible things people were writing to her over social media, where she was extremely active in driving attention to victims of Asian hate and ways her 200k+ followers could support them. I was incensed by what had happened to her and what was happening to the broader Asian American community – all because of the way they look. Even as the violence seemingly subsides, Ling knows that forestalling the next eruption of racism towards any racial, ethnic, or religious group in this country requires an understanding of our fraught American history – even if it’s not taught in the history books. In this conversation, Ling and I discuss how she turned her celebrity into philanthropy, how others should engage, and what we should all learn from this dark time in our American experience.

You have been very vocal about the roots of racism directed at Asian Americans since first arriving on this country’s shores. What is consistent about that history? What does it tell you? Because Asian American history is not included in our history books, when attacks started to happen as COVID became rooted in this country, I think that people felt very dismayed and confused and hurt – Asians and non-Asians – by what was happening. But when you really stop and look back at Asian American history, Asians have been scapegoated and discriminated against since our ancestors first landed on U.S. soil. Chinese were an essential part of our workforce and built critical infrastructure, but as soon as those projects were completed, the rest of America wanted nothing to do with them. The wholesale campaign of torching Chinatowns throughout the West Coast of America was ignited, literally. And that pattern of discrimination has really never ended.

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It’s just that it became dormant at times when things seemed fine. But it’s always under the surface, and generally they’re economic triggers that incite those moments when things erupt. With the Chinese in the 1800s, it was very much about the Chinese taking away American jobs, the Chinese littering communities, not dissimilar from what we’re experiencing today, carrying this plague. When you look back, there were over a hundred documented riots throughout the West Coast in which Chinese people were killed and Chinatowns were torched. And there’s no cohesive mention of these things in our history books. Then you look at what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II. The notion that this country would round up over 120,000 Asian people because of what they look like and force them to live in camps, it’s unfathomable. We have to remember these moments because we will repeat history if we don’t know our history.

| Santa Barbara |

You are a successful media professional, constantly in the public eye. Have you felt a change in the way you are treated on social media since you became so outspoken about these issues? Yeah. I’ve been on the receiving end of some really ugly social media posts. I’ve always been teased and made fun of. I’m used to that. But the level of vitriol and hate that was communicated through these posts was on another level. It wasn’t just, go back to China. It was, I hope you die of this virus because you and your people brought it here, and it’s killing Americans. But also, in the age of social media, it’s hard to see those horrific posts and surveillance videos of elderly people getting brazenly attacked. And I’m telling you, after the massage parlor shootings in Atlanta, I was completely distracted from being able to work, being able to parent. I just couldn’t believe that this was happening to people who look like me at this time. This notion that we have become this post-racial society just became a joke. But this whole pandemic has really removed the bandage from that notion, and not just for Asian people.

You have used your Instagram account to direct attention and donations to victims of hate crimes. What has that experience been like for you? Social media has become this really effective way to communicate. And for people who might not know what is happening in the Asian community, if they happen to respond to my work and like me and follow me, I’m going to let them know because this is an all-hands-on-deck effort where the Asian American community needs everyone to stand up in our defense. And to condemn these acts of hate that are completely unfounded and unfair. Social media has been also really effective in raising money. Many of these victims of racism and Asian hate have had their lives transformed forever because of what they look like. For a while, we were all struggling, how do we get these people help, money? How do we get in touch with these people to set up a GoFundMe? And we put together GoFundMe.com/AAPI as a go-to source to find those fundraisers for victims, as well as organizations that are working to combat hate. To date, my God, it’s raised millions of dollars.

But when I heard her voice and she was screaming in Cantonese, and crying out at the same time, her voice still haunts me. So many of those images live in my head. Too many of them. And I guess that’s why we’re still doing what we’re doing.

You are an advisor to the Asian American Foundation. What is that organization trying to accomplish and how do you hope to help? Their objective is really two-fold. It’s obviously to reduce attacks on the Asian community, but ultimately the goal is to educate people about the role that Asians have played in this country. And the importance of knowing our history and embracing our community as Americans. It will also be promoting Asian-led projects and funding organizations on the ground that are working to combat hate.

You are conventionally philanthropic. You donate to nonprofits and serve on boards. But you have also used your celebrity as a form of philanthropy. What would your advice be to other public figures interested in supporting a cause? What’s a platform if you don’t use it for good? Otherwise, I just don’t understand the point. So, I hope that people who do have platforms feel encouraged to seek out organizations that are doing things that are important to them. What good is a platform, if you don’t use it for good to raise awareness about things that people might otherwise not have any idea of, and to be able to highlight people who are on the ground doing the work?

What do you think 2022 and beyond will look like for Asian Americans? Is this eruption of violence and aggression over? I think it behooves all of us, irrespective of our ethnic background, to be aware of our history. To be aware of what marginalized communities have endured, what they’ve contributed, and the roles that they play in this country. I think we can and should continue to bolster organizations and efforts to make people aware of these histories; and organizations that are trying to support these efforts, to address communities that have just been overlooked for too long.

Can you tell me a story from that work that is particularly memorable? There was a woman in San Francisco, Chinatown who spoke the same Cantonese dialect as my grandmother. She was attacked and then ended up attacking the man who attacked her, and really hurt him.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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HILLSIDE HOUSE:

Where the Fullest Lives are Lived

Barbara celebrates her 77th birthday celebration with Ricardo Martinez

Hillside resident Pilar among the reindeer of Hillside’s annual Shining Light on Abilities display that takes place during December

uring its 76-year history, Hillside House, a residential facility for people with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, has grown accustomed to multiple periods of profound change. In 1955, it outgrew its building in Ojai and moved into a state-of-the-art facility in a then-remote part of Santa Barbara known as Hidden Valley. It was a different era, when many families kept their relatives with developmental disabilities hidden away from public sight. Societal mores have evolved drastically since those bygone days. Today, Hillside House celebrates and strategically engages every one of its 59 residents in the broader community. The nonprofit works eagerly in partnerships with a wide variety of local agencies and organizations like Alpha Resource Center, Easy Lift, and Assistance League. “Hillside is an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) where local families truly appreciate the love, care, and attention their loved ones receive. They value our individualized, person-centered approach and know that each resident is treated with dignity, and provided every opportunity to live their fullest life,” says President and CEO Michael Rassler. One of those residents is Ryan, who has lived at Hillside for 20 years. Since he came to the facility, his family encouraged him to meet people. He befriended neighbors and began taking out

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Hillside resident Ingelise creating another masterpiece in collaboration with Art Walk for Kids & Adults at Hillside’s Tuesday Night Art Class

their trash. When the neighbors noticed there was no continuous sidewalk connecting the community and their home to the Hillside campus, they constructed a ramp so he could ride his electric wheelchair. “Hillside is a big family,” Rassler says. “It is an incredibly inspiring, welcoming, warm, and loving place where the residents, neighbors, and staff all look out for each other.” Today, Hillside is going through another moment of transformation as societal mores continue to evolve. New government mandates are requiring that residents with development and intellectual disabilities move out of institutional living arrangements and into integrated housing. Accordingly, Hillside is embarking on a major development initiative that will incorporate senior housing at its campus, with walkways and outdoor and indoor activities for all residents in a new integrated, mixed-abilities community. What will never change is the around-the-clock commitment to top medical and empathetic care for which Hillside House is known. Eighty-four percent of residents are non-ambulatory and most are medically fragile. “Hillside House is unique in what it offers,” says Director of Operations Gail Metzger. “It takes a lot to give people the life that they deserve, and we do everything we can to provide that.”

| Santa Barbara |

Hillside resident Sophie, Hillside QIDP Madison Rowe, and Hillside resident Richie enjoying aquatic therapy in Hillside’s indoor, heated therapy pool

Easy Lift driver Oscar Elizalde and Hillside resident Morgan, who makes use of the paratransit services offered by Easy Lift

ALWAYS APPRECIATED Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors, Annual Campaign and Event Supporters, those who have left Bequests, Endowments or included Hillside in their Estate Plans, and our Hillside Heroes (monthly donors).

KEY SUPPORTERS

Hillside resident Joey is supported by Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center staff and volunteers, participating in the Therapeutic Riding Program

Shining a Light on Fundraising

illside depends on donations to cover many medical services, adaptive equipment, and the supportive programming needed to maximize residents’ potential, and acquire the skills necessary for their greatest independence, including physical, occupational, speech, and behavioral therapies. Hillside also has a number of targeted campaign needs including power chair lifts, alternating pressure mattresses, and interior building repairs/replacement.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HILLSIDE HOUSE

Hillside House

Michael S. Rassler, President & CEO Angela De Bruyn, Associate Director of Operations (805) 687-0788 hillsidesb.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Assistance League of Santa Barbara John and Gail Campanella Joan Redmond and Susan Crossley John and Adrienne Demboski Ray and Susan Dingman St. Francis Foundation of Santa Barbara Brad and Cynthia Frohling Barry and Norris Goss David Gorham Hutton Parker Foundation Hady and Jana Izadpanah Ann Jackson Family Foundation Robert and Jan Kopf Montecito Bank & Trust Mosher Foundation Cecille Raleigh George and Marlene Riemer Barbara N. Rubin Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation Judy A. Shea Marie Williams Shipman David and Pamela Flynt Tambo Towbes Foundation Peter and Gina Troesch Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation Jon and Mary Anne Valois Russell and Nancy Werner Jim and Lisa Wilcox Williams-Corbett Foundation Erik and Dyanne Wipf Jim and Marcia Wolfe

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PATH SANTA BARBARA:

Home

Sammy, Nina, and their dog Papas recently made it home

PATH Santa Barbara’s full team of essential workers

t’s the middle of August in 2021 and the number of people experiencing homelessness across Santa Barbara County has reached 2,195. Only two years earlier, there were nearly 400 fewer people without shelter. And yet Tessa Madden Storms, PATH Santa Barbara’s regional director, remains as optimistic as ever. If Madden Storms has learned anything in her 10 years with the California-wide nonprofit, it’s that getting discouraged won’t help PATH reach its goal to end homelessness in the state. “You have to keep people moving and motivated towards the good that they can do,” she says. “What we all see on a regular basis with homelessness is so bleak. You have to look forward to those successes.” And plenty of successes does PATH have. PATH, which stands for People Assisting The Homeless, has housed nearly 12,000 people since 2013, and served nearly 20 percent of the state’s homeless popula-

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tion. An incredible feat. While PATH operates in 150 cities, its hallmark, Madden Storms says, is its individualized approach. Moving people off the streets is merely a starting point on a long path to finding them permanent homes. “We work really hard to understand where each person we serve is coming from, what caused the episode of homelessness they’re experiencing, what resources are available to them, and strategically connect each individual with the services they need,” she says. PATH combines rapid re-housing, housing navigation, interim housing, and employment programs. Through PATH Ventures, the organization’s housing development arm, the nonprofit has built 1,500 affordable housing units across California that ensure people have immediate access to high-quality, affordable, and stable homes. This provides a crucial safety net especially as eviction moratoriums start getting lifted across the state. | Santa Barbara |

PATH staff and volunteers routinely clean up the neighborhood through their Step Up Program

In Santa Barbara, PATH launched the county’s first scattered-site permanent supportive housing program to place 25 of the community’s highest-need individuals in permanent apartments. This program provides long-term financial support and wrap-around case management services to promote stability. It’s part of a multifaceted approach centered on meeting each member of the vastly diverse homeless community where they are. “The journey is not as linear as it may seem,” Madden Storms says. “What sets PATH apart is we understand that.”

A look inside PATH’s 100-bed interim housing site

Thanks to the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, PATH has a new van to pick up weekly recovered food donations from local stores

“I

f I wasn’t connected to PATH, I would still be in the riverbed. I finally had an opportunity to get a place and now I’m home. I’ve been working hard for this for a long time, I’ve been through a lot of programs. It was not easy, but it was worth it, and it makes me feel good. I have food in the refrigerator, my kids and I have clean clothing. I am very blessed. I’m still shocked that I have a place to come home to.” – Lexy, who recently moved into an apartment with her children

CHAMPIONS OF PATH

PATH staff and volunteers distribute gifts for the 2020 Holiday Gift Night

“T

he generosity of our neighbors was really exciting to see. At one point our driveway was completely filled with donations. PATH is such a great organization and it’s been a total privilege for us to be able to help there and get to know the staff and residents.”

– High school students Jordan and Jaden Lind recently helped collect over 500 donated pillows and blankets, a regular need for our residents

Flexible Funding

A PATH resident and his pet cat

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

he majority of PATH’s budget comes from federal, state, and local government funding. Government assistance comes with plenty of red tape, says Tessa Madden Storms, PATH Santa Barbara’s regional director, so the organization welcomes private donations that will provide it with the flexibility it needs to tackle homelessness in Santa Barbara. PATH recently began the first of a two-phase renovation project at its interim housing site, which will create a more welcoming, “trauma-informed environment” for its residents. “We could end homelessness in Santa Barbara,” Madden Storms says. “And that gives me a lot of hope.”

PATH Santa Barbara

www.pathsantabarbara.org 816 Cacique Street #3622, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT PATH SANTA BARBARA

Sue Adams Barbara Allen Mark Asman Denny & Bitsy Bacon David & Alice Boyd Dan & Meg Burnham Don Bushnell Nancy Fiore Ron Fox Jodi & Johnny Goldberg Robert Kemp & Melinda Goodman Robert Grayson Geoff Green The Hudson Family Don Johnson Brian McTeague Juliana Minsky David Peri Nancy Read Rochelle Rose Sonos Trader Joe’s Leslie Von Wiesenberger Victoria Ward Devon Werdlow

Contact:

Tessa Madden Storms, Santa Barbara Regional Director (805) 364-2990 TessaM@epath.org | www.thegivinglist.com |

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| Santa Barbara |

Reaching Beyond Ourselves “I love that our name is Special Olympics because our athletes are special. They really, really, really are.” – Gina Carbajal Development Director, Special Olympics Santa Barbara County

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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SPECIAL OLYMPICS:

A Legacy Comes Full Circle

Young athlete energized to be competing at La Playa Stadium

oon after taking office in 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced intellectual disabilities would become one of his administration’s priorities. His announcement came at the urging of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was instrumental throughout the 1960s in the passing of landmark legislation dealing with mental disabilities. Shriver would open a summer camp in the backyard of her home in suburban Washington, D.C., that invited dozens of young people with intellectual disabilities. Out of the “Shriver Camp” was born the Special Olympics, whose mission “is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.” In 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The weight of Shriver’s legacy is something that Southern California Development Director Gina Carbajal does not take lightly. Carbajal began her career working for Head Start, the poverty reduction program founded by Shriver’s husband, Sargent Shriver. At the Special Olympics, Carbajal now finds her career coming full circle. “I’m so blessed because these are strong programs that are still going and they’re going strong,” Carbajal says. “Here I am seven years later, and I love it.” Special Olympics Southern California works with more than 35,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities (700 of them in Santa Barbara County) and 15,000 coaches and volunteers throughout their footprint (380 in Santa Barbara County). Its events have been cancelled for the past two years, but under normal conditions, the organization hosts more than 231 competitions (seven of them in Santa Barbara County) a year. The majority of athletes have underlying health conditions so Special Olympics has invested significantly in virtual training that combines phone calls, Zoom sessions, and regular correspondence to keep athletes engaged. Carbajal says the period has been challenging for the athletes, but she credits the work of volunteers and the athletes themselves in ensuring they stay mentally resilient.

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Athletes having a ball

Nanette Clark and Jolie De Larbre give each other a hug at the Special Olympics Fired Up Dinner in 2019

Carbajal says the highlight of her experience with the organization has been the athletes and their infectious ability to be cheerful in the face of adversity. She tells the story of a young man named Ryan, a soccer and basketball player with an intellectual disability and a slight waling impairment. Ryan is admired by his teammates and his coaches commend him for his sportsmanship and leadership. Carbajal recalls running into Ryan at the supermarket in 2020. It was the height of the COVID-19 crisis and all Special Olympics competitions had been cancelled due to COVID. She greeted Ryan from afar and behind his masked face, she could tell from his shining eyes that he was smiling. Ryan later told Carbajal he loved to come to the market, because that was where he could see friends, coaches, or anyone else he might know until competitions resume. Carbajal gets teary eyed as she speaks. “I love that our name is Special Olympics because our athletes are special,” she says. “They really, really, really are.”

| Santa Barbara |

“I

have been an athlete for 32 years with Special Olympics, my favorite sports are swimming and Bocce. I became a Global Messenger for Special Olympics for seven years; this has been the highlight of my time with Special Olympics. Being a Global Messenger has given me the opportunity to be a spokesperson for Special Olympics, of which I have developed great speaking and interpersonal skills. I am looking forward to 2022 for in-person events and to see all of my friends, coaches, and staff at Special Olympics.”

Lamarcus Briggs on team USA playing against Mexico in the World Games

– Nanette Clark

Special Olympics athlete for the past 32 years

“A

s a Santa Barbara native and longtime public servant (employed by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for over 47 years), I must say that many of my most memorable and lifechanging experiences have been my involvement with the Special Olympics. I first began my affiliation with Special Olympics in the early 1980s raising money for the organization through “Tip-aCops” and the “Law Enforcement Torch Run.” My family and I have also personally donated monies to Special Olympics over the years because it is an outstanding cause that provides athletes with opportunities that they may not have had if it wasn’t for Special Olympics.”

– Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi

A Message for Donors

pecial Olympics wants donors to know that the organization does more than just sports; it is a legacy left behind by the founder of Special Olympics Southern California, Rafer Johnson. Athletes receive quality year-round sports training and competition opportunities in an inclusive culture that stresses athletic excellence, and athletes are able to see themselves for their abilities, rather than their disabilities. “Special Olympics provides a place where our athletes are able to shine and be proud of their accomplishments,” says Special Olympics Southern California Development Director Gina Carbajal.

Beverly Cooper is excited about competing at Summer Games in Long Beach

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Special Olympics Southern California Gina Carbajal, Development Director (805) 884-1516 gcarbajal@sosc.org www.sosc.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Friends looking forward to competing at La Playa Stadium

KEY SUPPORTERS Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriff’s Association Santa Barbara County Law Enforcement Agencies Santa Barbara County Firefighters Local 2046 City of Santa Barbara Firefighters Association 525 Andy Tymkiw James Petersilia Ann Jackson Foundation La Centra-Sumerlin MarBorg Industries Union Bank SEIU Local 721 Tri-Counties Regional Center Yardi Foundation Lt. Butch Arnoldi & Marla Arnoldi George B. Page Foundation Richard Latham Montecito Bank & Trust Mosher Foundation Deckers Brand

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| Santa Barbara |

Food “When we strive to improve the economic situation or sense of hopelessness experienced by our neighbors, we must never forget to show them respect and elevate their dignity at every turn.” – The late Barbara Tellefson Unity Shoppe

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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UNITY SHOPPE:

It Takes a Village to Help Our Community

n the early 1900s, Dr. Pearl Chase was a transformational figure in the beautification of Santa Barbara, founding the Community Arts Association, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Indian Defense Association. But Chase was also appalled by the wealth disparity of her hometown. In 1916, she brought together community volunteers to give presents to low-income children and seniors during the holidays. What began as an annual gift drive known as The Council of Christmas Cheer would evolve into Santa Barbara’s largest direct distributor of food, clothing, and basic necessities: Unity Shoppe. Dr. Chase passed away in 1979, but her greatest legacy was the influence she had on her successors who carried on the torch of caring for Santa Barbara’s disadvantaged. Barbara Tellefson, who succeeded Chase and led the organization for more than 50 years, said it best: “When we strive to improve the economic situation or sense of hopelessness experienced by our neighbors, we must never forget to show them respect and elevate their dignity at every turn.” Renamed, transformed, and expanded under Tellefson’s direction, today Unity Shoppe is counted on by more than 300 nonprofit agencies, schools, hospitals, counseling centers, and religious institutions. Supported by over 1,700 volunteers annually, volunteers have helped Unity expand its reach through many different programs and have led it to become one of the community’s largest distributors of handmade toys to low-income families. In fact, Santa Barbara woodworker Steve Scheftic has led a team of retirees who together have created over 25,000 wooden toys for Unity to give away. Thirty years later, he can’t think of anything more gratifying. “I think it was the tennis player Arthur Ashe who said, ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can,’” Scheftic says. “The end result is more than the sum of the parts that make up a wooden doll bed or toy truck. It’s that you used your own hands to make the world a better place, one kid at a time.”

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| Santa Barbara |

“I

Steve Scheftic, Lead woodworker

’ve been dedicated to feeding children around the world since 1983 and bringing a spotlight to the issue of childhood hunger in America as the National Spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry campaign since 2010. I was inspired to get involved by a memory from my own childhood. My father brought home a book of photographs called, The Family of Man. My father told us, ‘This is what it’s all about, we’re a family, we’re all in this together.’ That quote stuck with me and motivates me to this day. I have so much gratitude for organizations like Unity Shoppe, who are on the frontlines in Santa Barbara, supporting our community and making a difference by connecting kids and families to healthy food, every day, where they live, learn, and play.”

– Jeff Bridges

Donor and supporter

Vickie Lacks, Senior volunteer

Unwavering Commitment

he unprecedented nature of the pandemic has shone a light on the challenging circumstances faced by many of Santa Barbara’s low-income residents to feed their families and stave off food insecurity. Donations are critical to SCAN TO MAKE replenishing grocery shelves so that families can access A DONATION... the nutritious food they need throughout the year. If last year confirmed anything, it’s that nothing can hamper Unity Shoppe’s dedication to playing a pivotal role in supporting those who often feel marginalized or forgotten. That’s why Unity Shoppe commits to buying food wholesale and in bulk so ...AND LEARN MORE donations large and small can ABOUT UNITY SHOPPE be maximized.

Unity Shoppe

Pat Hitchcock, Donor Relations Director (805) 979-9511 www.unityshoppe.org

Barbara Tellefson transformed and expanded Unity Shoppe before passing away in 2020

Teen volunteer

UNITY SHOPPE CHAMPIONS OF 2020 In a year like no other, we have so much gratitude for all those who stepped up with support, encouragement, and gifts large and small. Here is but a sample from among the thousands who deserve to be recognized for their generosity during the worst of the pandemic: Patricia Bragg Cars & Coffee George & Susan Frampton Gelson’s Sheila & Richard Herman Cecia & Milt Hess Hutton Parker Foundation Donavan & Randie Judkins Foundation

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Dana Newquist Paisley Family Simon & Diana Raab Ken and Charlotte Richardson Victor & Susan Schaff Simon Family Russell Steiner

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ORGANIC SOUP KITCHEN:

Super Soup

“I

am in constant awe of Organic Soup Kitchen and their focus on nutrition for cancer patients. Having been a caretaker for my husband who was diagnosed with cancer, I understand how important nutrition is. Not only are their soups delicious (my kids LOVE them!), they focus on organic, immune-boosting ingredients. Knowing that our donations and purchases go toward helping someone else who is going through treatments is just one way we can pay it forward. We can’t thank the volunteers and staff enough for their continued support for our family and the Santa Barbara community!”

– Angel Speier Village Properties

rganic Soup Kitchen does not just make soup, it makes perfect soup: nutrient-rich, life-sustaining, and hand-delivered every week to 720 cancer patients, chronically-ill residents, and low-income seniors throughout Santa Barbara County. Not surprisingly, it is the only organization of its kind in America. “It’s taken a lot of work and a lot of time and a lot of research for us to get where we are today,” says Anthony Carroccio, the founder and executive director of the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit. It starts off with all organic vegetables and 100 percent pure coconut cream as the base and non-radiated herbs and spices to maximize each spoonful’s medicinal value. Every recipe is formulated to be anti-inflammatory, low glycemic, and strengthen the immune system. It’s a complete, balanced meal designed to nourish the body and support healing on a cellular level. When they’re not making soup, the team is doing extensive research into the connection between food and health. “Studies everywhere, from Harvard to the National Institute of Health, point to chronic inflammation as a central cause of some of the most challenging diseases of our time, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and even alzheimer’s,” Carroccio says. “It’s for this reason we purposely select antiinflammatory ingredients and use no added sugar or preservatives.” The majority of Organic Soup Kitchen’s clients are housebound and isolated. With a bag of soup and a big smile, the friendly, compassionate volunteer delivery team breaks the chain of isolation that so many residents are experiencing. “This past year and a half has been challenging for our entire community,” says Andrea Slaby, chief operating officer. “The need for our services has exploded to nearly triple what it was prior to the pandemic and that demand continues today. It’s truly an honor and privilege to touch the lives of so many residents facing cancer, chronic illness, and/or financial challenges.” Not only is Organic Soup Kitchen a lifeline to Santa Barbara’s most vulnerable and medically fragile community members, they have also become a trusted resource for anyone who wants clean, chemical-free food to support their immune system. SoupMeals are available for purchase online and every soup sale provides a soup to a cancer patient or chronically-ill resident. This buy one, give one social business model is an opportunity for the community to give back to friends and neighbors in need. Soup lovers can enjoy a bowl of homemade artisan soup knowing that their purchase supports someone battling cancer or chronic illness.

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| Santa Barbara |

“T

he Organic Soup Kitchen is a sip of heaven here in Santa Barbara. I had cancer almost two years ago when I first heard of these Angels and their ‘Cancer Soup’... The soup was just about the only thing I could eat, and it kept me off the feeding tube that so many of my other friends endured. Now, almost two years later, the radiation has claimed my teeth, all my teeth… I’m enjoying every drop of soup and I would recommend you look into the Organic Soup Kitchen and please support their efforts as a nonprofit; they are miracle workers. I would fall short of superlatives if I tried to describe these folks and the compassion they showed me and so many others.”

– Eddie Tuduri

Twelve Years Strong: Leading by Example

t the heart of Organic Soup Kitchen are the people they serve and those who make their mission possible. The best way to get to know their work is by visiting their kitchen and seeing first-hand the impact being made in the lives of the most vulnerable. Organic Soup Kitchen believes that an investment in their organization is an investment that will strengthen the entire community. Donations will help move people off their waiting list and ensure that all community members have access to the nutritional security they deserve. Call or email them to schedule a tour and get a real taste of this incredible organization.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT ORGANIC SOUP KITCHEN

Organic Soup Kitchen

www.Organicsoupkitchen.org 608 Anacapa St., Ste C Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Contact:

Andrea Slaby, Chief Operating Officer (805) 364-2790 contact@organicsoupkitchen.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS The Center for Living Peace Foundation Berkshire Hathaway Foundation Paul and Patricia Bragg Foundation Hutton Parker Foundation Bickett Family Russell Steiner Chantal Wunderlich Paul and Jane Orfalea The Corbett Family The Giefer Family Deckers Outdoor Corporation The Kirby Family John & Lacy Williams Nora McNeely Hurley Santa Barbara Foundation Sherry Maudsley Montecito Bank & Trust Mosher Foundation Angel Speier, Village Properties Thomas Sturgess Towbes Foundation

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FOOD ACTION NETWORK:

Building a Resilient Food System Working Groups

y convening, launching, and co-facilitating working groups, SBCFAN brings together individuals from across the food system to collaborate on projects that result in the activation of one or more Food Action Plan goals across four areas of investment. Current countywide working groups that have been launched or are in development include:

Our Food Economy

– Infrastructure: establishing regional processing for seed, grain, and protein to reduce carbon footprints, create new revenue streams, and increase local food access

Our Health & Wellness

oasting a year-round growing calendar, Santa Barbara County is known as a food mecca, ranking in the top one percent of counties nationwide with respect to agricultural value. Diverse microclimates, temperate weather, and warm ocean waters contribute to the rich abundance our farmers, ranchers, and fisherfolk are able to harvest. Yet, very little of this quality food makes it onto local plates. According to a 2011 white paper by UC Santa Barbara environmental studies professor Dr. David Cleveland, 99 percent of the produce grown in Santa Barbara County is exported – and 95 percent of the food consumed is imported. This revelation prompted the Community Environmental Council and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County – in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation and the Orfalea Family Foundation (which has now been sunsetted) – to create a countywide, community-driven strategic plan that assessed and provided recommendations for how we grow, distribute, consume, and dispose of food. Published in 2016, the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan was informed by more than 200 community members who helped develop this strategy-based community “blueprint” for an accessible, thriving, sustainable, and healthy food system. Over the next few years, many organizations throughout Santa Barbara County implemented projects that activated Food Action Plan goals. In 2019, these relationships were formalized through the launch of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN). SBCFAN accelerates the activation of Food Action Plan goals by connecting, aligning, and activating a network of food system changemakers – farmers, ranchers, fisherfolk, nonprofits, businesses, cooperatives, and consumers – to develop a robust local food economy, a healthy and just community, and a well-stewarded, resilient foodshed. “Ten years after Dr. Cleveland’s study, our food system is still fragile – wildfires, flooding, and a global pandemic have unmasked further inequities and gaps,” says Executive Director Shakira Miracle. “Through its membership, SBCFAN is providing a hub for local food system information, access to resources, collaboration, and activation so that together, we can build a more resilient food system that everyone can participate in and benefit from.” SBCFAN’s current priorities are:

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– Higher Education: increasing student food access, education, and security – Nutrition: addressing equitable access to education and incorporating health data and outcomes

Our Community

– Food Access Centers: deepening local impact through network support – Place-Based Food Chain and Food Sovereignty: promoting food systems by the people, for the people, featuring foods they traditionally eat

Our Foodshed

– Farm and Ranch Land Preservation: protecting existing and potential land and ecosystem services they provide – Land Stewardship: increasing regional understanding of the climate, economic, and ecological benefits of soil building and regenerative management practices

Advocacy

dentifying, proposing, and advocating for policies and innovative solutions that support an equitable and resilient food system ensures that our Network can help advance economic development, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Current priorities include: – Federal Level: access to resources and locally informed legislation – State Level: farm and ranch land preservation, affordable housing, and regional infrastructure – Local Level: addressing and changing regulatory barriers

Resource Sharing

BCFAN’s membership portal is a countywide hub for critical resources such as: – Opportunities for funding and financing, employment, land access, equipment, and materials – An innovative loan program, created in partnership with the Economic Development Collaborative (EDC), that connects food producers with trusted and vetted financial resources that break down the barriers associated with traditional loan programs – Grantmaking programs that are designed to include wraparound information, resources, and tools that food producers need to execute a successful project – Federal, state, and local grants or individual gifts that are aligned with members’ needs

| Santa Barbara |

“C

“F

onnecting residents to food grown in our region is common sense,” says Jackie Carrera, President & CEO for the Santa Barbara Foundation (SBF). “SBF invests in the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) to improve food systems and provide better access to food, especially for Santa Barbara County’s low- and middle-income residents. The work SBCFAN does today will secure a healthier, sustainable, and more food-secure Santa Barbara County (and beyond) for generations to come.”

arming can be solitary, but the solidarity our grain producer cooperative has built will have lasting impacts on our success as farmers, helping grow our small operations so they act as examples and incubators for a new diverse generation of mentored farmers. The power of an organization like SBCFAN to support the activation and sustainability of such work, thereby effecting substantive, permanent change to our local food system, cannot be overstated.”

– Melissa Sorongon

– Jackie Carrera

Baker|Miller|Owner, Piedrasassi Wine & Bread

President & CEO for the Santa Barbara Foundation

Founding Member, Central Coast Regenerative Equipment Alliance

Invest in a More Vibrant, Equitable, and Resilient Food System

BCFAN is taking steps to make our regional food system work better for everyone – and ensure the food it provides is healthy, accessible, culturally reflective, and affordable for all. We are scaling up to meet increasing demand for support to convene and launch working groups, activate advocacy efforts, and develop a robust resource ecosystem. In order to meet this need and address the causes of our unstable food system, we are seeking $500,000 – or five gifts of $100,000. Your investment would directly support: • 2 full-time staff to oversee strategy, operations, and high-level coordination • 5 part-time staff for finance, working groups, communications, website management, marketing, and events • Grant-writing funds to share countywide to support food system projects • Seed funds to launch a revolving loan program for food system projects • Regional innovation that can be iterated nationally To make a gift or to learn more, contact Executive Director Shakira Miracle at smiracle@sbcfoodaction. org or (805) 705-5452.

Santa Barbara County Food Action Network Shakira Miracle, Executive Director (805) 705-5452 www.sbcfoodaction.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge from the Giving List’s novel matching program

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| Santa Barbara |

Environment “For people who’ve been in the trenches for years like us, it feels like finally the world is really paying attention and realizing that the stuff is hitting the fan and we really need to make this a top priority. We have the technology; it’s fairly easy to do if we had the political will to just change some things.” – Michael Chiacos Energy and Climate Program Director, Community Environmental Council

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Untangling Self-Interest from True Compassion by Nick Schou

he winding path of Santa Barbara philanthropist Kevin Brine – from near-broke college student obsessed with Sanskrit studies to living on an Upstate New York hippie commune in the 1960s-era to successful Wall Street investment manager – has landed him in Santa Barbara where he spends his time in pursuit of a private passion for religious studies and a public dedication to humanitarian work. Brine grew up in a spiritually minded, literary New York family, so perhaps his path wasn’t that surprising. After all, his cousin was a Hare Krishna devotee and acolyte of Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass, the New Age philosopher and Timothy Leary colleague). After two years in at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Brine lived on a commune in upstate New York for the next three years. While her son was at the commune, his mother, Ruth Brine, the first female senior editor at Time magazine, was open-minded enough to invite him to go to India with her for a Time magazine project. “We went to India when my mother was doing a series of articles for on spiritual communities around the world,” Brine says. “I grew up in an environment that was the journalistic and literary milieu.” After the trip to India, Brine went back to college to complete his undergraduate major in South Asian studies with a minor in soil science at the Ag school, supporting himself as a blacksmith – a craft that he learned on the commune and as a soil science student in the university soil and plant lab. Returning home to New York City, he set up a blacksmith shop in Long Island City to make ornamental ironwork and forged iron sculptures. When he began wandering the streets of New York, he suddenly realized that he was broke and needed cash. “I had this epiphany on the Upper West Side,” he says, laughing. “I thought, ‘Someone owns all these buildings and I have no

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money at all.’ I had a blacksmith forge, an F100 pickup, and that was my entire wealth. So at 27, I began a night-school MBA program at NYU and went to Wall Street.” Brine’s family wasn’t exactly enamored of his line of work. “They thought I was bonkers,” he says. But it was on Wall Street, where he labored at Sanford C. Bernstein Company until 2000, that Brine developed what became a keen interest and expertise in philanthropy. “When

| Santa Barbara |

the company merged to become AllianceBernstein, a lot of my partners became serious philanthropists,” he says. Brine’s first philanthropic project came about during the 1980s AIDS crisis when he founded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. “We supported children at New York Hospital who had AIDS when they were born,” Brine says. “Almost overnight, the program went from serving no kids with AIDS to 200.” The foundation supported the children in all aspects of their life. “They had to come every week for shots.”

“The most compelling and interesting thing about both Christianity and Buddhism is the fundamental idea of compassion; but more than that – objective compassion, doing something without self-interest. That’s tricky. Why do you give to one thing as opposed to another? My personal feeling is I like to give to things where I believe in their long-term impact.” – Kevin Brine After caring for all the children, when the AIDS crisis in New York City subsided, Brine and his partners closed the foundation and sent all the money to support an AIDS clinic in Haiti. Brine also joined the boards of several nonprofits in the New York area, including Weill Cornell Medical College, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and New York University (NYU), where he simultaneously obtained a degree in English and American literature and funded the renovation of the undergraduate library at NYU’s Elmer Holmes Bobst Library on Washington Square – two floors of the library that are now known as the Brine Commons. “I served on several philanthropic campaigns in New York but then stopped doing

fundraising,” he says, chuckling. “I had asked too many people for money, so I hung up my stirrups.” Through NYU, Brine helped launch the Re:Enlightenment Project, an academic movement focused on studying the relationship of the Enlightenment period to the contemporary world. A conference at UC Santa Barbara hosted by vice-provost David Marshall – a founding member of the project – brought him to town seven years ago, which inspired Brine to settle in Montecito with his wife to raise four boys, the three oldest of whom attend the Crane Country Day School, where he currently serves on the board of trustees. When he’s not busy writing books – including a recent University of Chicago Press tome on the history of finance and a current project on Tibetan Buddhism – Brine continues his dedication to giving, an interest that he sees as an extension of his religious research. “The most compelling and interesting thing about both Christianity and Buddhism is the fundamental idea of compassion; but more than that – objective compassion, doing something without self-interest,” he explains. “That’s tricky,” he adds. “Why do you give to one thing as opposed to another? My personal feeling is I like to give to things where I believe in their long-term impact.” Brine sees philanthropy ideally as a force that – by tackling a societal problem in a small way – can ultimately show the way for the government to follow up with broader, more systematic efforts. “Philanthropy should be risk-taking,” he says. “The government shouldn’t be experimenting with tax dollars but rather do things that work.” One of Brine’s favorite examples is the White Buffalo Land Trust, which recently purchased the 1,000-acre Jalama Canyon Ranch to demonstrate how regenerative farming practices can improve the environment, support the community, and be economically viable. “I think the quality of the environment is one of the biggest issues facing our society right now,” he says. “What they are doing is local on the Gaviota Coast, but they are really doing something that can be leveraged across the country. To me that’s very inspiring.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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CLEAN COALITION:

Creating Renewables-Driven Resilience

he 70 miles of coast spanning Lake Casitas to Point Conception, and including Carpinteria, Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Goleta, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful stretches of land in the continental United States. It’s also one of the most vulnerable to catastrophic power outages. That’s because the region, known in terms of the electricity grid as the Goleta Load Pocket (GLP), lies at the northwestern end of Southern California Edison’s transmission lines. The GLP is served by a single substation in Goleta, in the foothills above Dos Pueblos High School, that receives its power from transmission lines routed through 40 miles of mountainous terrain. The two sets of lines are hung on the same towers — meaning that if one line goes down, both lines go down. That makes the GLP highly vulnerable to wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes, and other natural and manmade disasters. Montecito became acutely aware of those dangers when the Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flow threatened the transmission lines. Even now, though, most residents aren’t aware of how close the region came to being plunged into extended darkness. “The fire came really close to taking down the transmission lines for a long time,” says Craig Lewis, the Founder and Executive Director of the Clean Coalition, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization working to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern grid. “Edison has been very clear these transmission lines do go down and could be down for months at a time. And currently, our region is completely transmission grid-dependent, generating very little of its own power.”

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The Clean Coalition aims to prevent such a situation with clean local energy like solar and energy storage that is also economically advantageous when deployed widely. The 12-year-old nonprofit has already had a profound impact, particularly after combining its effective policy work with initiating clean local energy projects such as the Solar Microgrids coming to the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD), which will provide solar-driven resilience to thousands of students and their communities. Importantly, these Solar Microgrids are building blocks for a Community Microgrid that can provide resilience to the entire region. The GLP Community Microgrid, which the Clean Coalition is staging, is an example of a system that can ensure indefinite renewables-driven backup power for critical emergency response and recovery facilities during long-term outages — and all homes and businesses for significant percentages of time. Of course, clean local energy will also drastically reduce the community’s carbon footprint during normal operations. Worth noting is that the GLP Community Microgrid is the most ambitious Community Microgrid being pursued in the United States and is expected to be a showcase that many will follow. The first building blocks for the GLP Community Microgrid are already in progress in Santa Barbara and Montecito. The Clean Coalition is leading the charge on getting solar into 14 Santa Barbara Unified School District sites, including the three big public high schools (Santa Barbara, San Marcos, and Dos Pueblos), with six of the sites supported by robust Solar Microgrids. “We helped them understand the technical and economic benefits | Santa Barbara |

of providing indefinite solar-driven resilience to the most critical loads like refrigerators, freezers, communications, and emergency sheltering,” Lewis says, “while supporting the rest of the loads too for significant percentages of time.” The Clean Coalition is also working to stage a Community Microgrid in Montecito, starting by establishing individual Solar Microgrids at two critical community facilities — the headquarters of the Montecito Fire Protection District and the Montecito Union School — plus an array of additional properties in the Upper Village vicinity. The eventual goal is to supply enough flexible clean local energy, driven by 200 megawatts of solar and 400 megawatt-hours of energy storage, to fully protect the Goleta Load Pocket from grid outages. “If we can hit those magic numbers, our communities will be safe such that we can survive indefinitely without any reliance on the transmission grid,” Lewis explained. Lewis grew up in Santa Barbara, attending San Marcos High School before moving away for 35 years for college and career. Immediately following the Thomas Fire and debris flow disasters in 2018, though, he moved his family back to Santa Barbara to focus on bringing renewables-driven resilience to the region. Lewis remains in Santa Barbara and is grateful for the extensive support that the Clean Coalition has received from local philanthropists and collaborators — and he looks forward to much more, as the Clean Coalition’s work has really just begun. Ensuring that all local schools can benefit from the types of Solar Microgrids that are primed to benefit the SBUSD is just one example.

“T

ransitioning to renewable energy is critical to fighting climate change, and maximizing local renewable sources makes communities resilient. While our Santa Barbara region is incredibly special, the grid is alarmingly vulnerable to natural disasters. Our family foundation has supported the Clean Coalition for the past decade. The organization’s leadership, vision, and initiative has demonstrated that clean energy innovations can benefit our local region and also serve as a model for communities across the country.”

– Wendy Schmidt

Craig Lewis, Founder and Executive Director of the Clean Coalition, at the Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid.

Celebration for the Hunters Point Community Microgrid that will serve the entire community.

(photo by Manjari Sharma )

President and Co-Founder of The Schmidt Family Foundation

“S

Solar parking canopies like this one at UCSB provide massive solar siting opportunities.

Help Safeguard Our Communities with Solar Microgrids

ecause the Montecito and Santa Barbara communities increasingly recognize the value of renewables-driven resilience, the Clean Coalition has successfully facilitated initial Solar Microgrids to stage a robust Community Microgrid to deliver unparalleled economic, environmental, and resilience benefits to the entire Santa Barbara region. Many more Solar Microgrids are required and much work remains to realize the Community Microgrid that will safeguard our communities. The Clean Coalition has received support from several foundations and individuals in the region and is seeking $250,000 for the next two years to continue this crucial work for our communities. Your support will help make this happen.

Clean Coalition

www.clean-coalition.org 1800 Garden St Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Contact:

Craig Lewis, Executive Director (650) 796-2353 mobile craig@clean-coalition.org

chools are vital for educating our children in safe and healthy environments, and they also provide refuge to the broader communities in times of need. It has been a pleasure to work with the Clean Coalition to get Santa Barbara Unified schools primed for the indefinite resilience delivered by Solar Microgrids, along with tremendous economic and environmental benefits. The Solar Microgrids facilitated by the Clean Coalition are state of the art, and I am thrilled that these will show the way for schools throughout the region and well beyond.”

– Laura Capps

Board Member, Santa Barbara Unified School District

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLEAN COALITION

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Batteries at the Blue Lake Rancheria Community Microgrid.

CLEAN COALITION CHAMPIONS Steven Amerikaner Diane Boss Sharon Byrne Laura Capps Jackie Carrera Michael Chiacos Jon Clark Julianna & Tom Dain Katie Davis Bill Duncan Cindy Feinberg Jonathan Gartner John Glanville Stephen Honikman Dennis Houghton Vijaya Jammalamadaka Berna Kieler Greg Lowe Lance Lyon Lee Lysne Stephen Macintosh Cary Matsuoka Sara Miller McCune Stacy & Ron Pulice Rick Rockhold Jordan Sager Wendy Schmidt Jim Taylor Michael Weissman, PhD Merryl & Chuck Zegar

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PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION:

Visionary Sisters Collaborating to Create a More Just and Healthy Planet

PPC Scientific Advisor Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue, Coco Islands (photo by Kip Evans)

Freedom Island, Manila, Philippines. (photo by Dianna Cohen)

or the Cohen sisters, taking on the embodiment of the fossil fuel and climate crisis – plastic – started with brown paper bags. It was 1990, and older sister Dianna was working in Belgium. An internationally exhibited visual artist, Dianna had become fascinated with using the varying shades of brown paper bags in her art pieces. But, at a homeopathic pharmacy she was given a plastic bag with a printed image of a dandelion plant with its Latin name – Taraxacum officinale. The irony of displaying something natural on something so unnatural was not lost on her. She stitched that flower image bag into one of her works and shortly thereafter began using plastic as her primary medium. As she worked with the plastic, some of the bags deteriorated over time, and she reached out to scientists to learn more about the material. She soon found out this artificial, toxic substance was everywhere, and that it couldn’t be cleaned up. Having lost her mother to breast cancer as a teen, she began to come to terms with the impacts of plastic on human and animal health. “Once your eyes become open to that, you can’t look at it the same way,” she says. “It changes you.” While Dianna was awakening to the destructive power of plastic, sister Julia was leading a high-profile career in Washington, DC, taking leadership positions for Planned Parenthood, Rock the Vote, and Youth Vote Coalition during the 2000 election. When Dianna shared her newly discovered mission, Julia said “what you need is a coalition.” The name was key. Disturbed that some agencies refused to name plastic pollution, instead using the term “marine debris,” the sisters along with the other co-founders decided to call it what it is. They named their new organization Plastic Pollution Coalition. Since 2009, Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) has drawn from the talents and resources of many living artists, using popular music, film,

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PPC Co-Founders Julia and Dianna Cohen, Islesboro, Maine, USA, 2021

books, installations, comic books, animation, and participatory art installations to communicate to the broadest possible audience the complexities of plastic’s impact on people and the planet. PPC’s effective use of this range of the arts has influenced the national and international political agenda through support of policy and legislation around singleuse plastic packaging. But just as importantly, the aesthetic resources of art have helped PPC to address citizens where they are and to educate them on an environmental crisis hidden in plain sight. Today, Plastic Pollution Coalition has grown into a global alliance that connects more than 1,200 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders in 75 countries, working as part of a worldwide movement to realize a world free of plastic pollution. The Coalition has supported policy changes in hundreds of communities and countries, and continues to inspire action through education programs, advocacy campaigns, and art projects – even lawsuits. Dianna co-executive produced the film The Story of Plastic, which recently won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing: Documentary. The Coalition has shifted popular culture and policy, challenging the myth that single-use plastics – like plastic bottles, bags, straws, and cutlery — are acceptable. Communicating the truth is one of Plastic Pollution Coalition’s greatest strengths. “BP called the disaster in the Gulf Coast, ‘a spill,’” Dianna says. “That was very clever marketing, because a spill sounds small and insignificant, but this was actually a massive deluge of destruction.” Julia adds, “Plastic contributes to climate change at every stage of its existence. With only seven years left to redirect the Titanic of climate change’s impacts on people and the planet, the moment couldn’t be more urgent.”

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“Plastic Fantastic?” Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Honolulu, Hawaii with curator Aaron Padilla, artists Maika‘i Tubbs and Dianna Cohen, Kim and Jack Johnson Hannah Testa, PPC Youth Ambassador and Hannah4Change founder, Representative Alan Lowenthal (California), Senator Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Michael Doshi, Algalita, Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics, and Jackie Nuñez, PPC Advocacy Program Manager and The Last Plastic Straw founder, speaking at the introduction of the U.S. federal Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, Washington, DC, USA, February 2020.

“P

lastic Pollution Coalition has made a very large impact in a relatively short amount of time, overcoming huge obstacles including governments, legal systems, and corporations, and has turned the tide on plastic pollution awareness. Working tirelessly at the local, national, and global levels to effect real change for environmental justice, PPC is eliminating the use of single-use plastic, and is a dedicated and effective beacon for our local communities.”

Dianna Cohen and Jeff Bridges at the Global Green Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles

– Jeff Bridges

Ben Harper at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, Tennessee, USA. (photo by Danny Clinch)

Flipping the Script on Plastic’s Place in Our World

lastic Pollution Coalition’s list of A-List supporters includes Jeff Bridges, Jackson Browne, Fran Drescher, Ben Harper, Diana Nyad, Alice Waters, and Alfre Woodard – to name a few. When these notables speak out, millions of people wake up to the plastic pollution crisis. In 2022, the Coalition will be working with leaders within the entertainment industry to encourage the storylines of popular films SCAN TO MAKE and television to include messaging that moves the nation and the A DONATION... world away from single-use plastics towards reusables and refillables, and a plastic-free, more just, equitable, and regenerative future. The coalition seeks $100,000 to expand this campaign. And, for larger donors, Co-FounderJulia Cohen says there are opportunities to dramatically expand the organization’s lean $2 million budget. “Imagine what we could do with double that,” she says.

Plastic Pollution Coalition

Julia Cohen, Managing Director julia@plasticpollutioncoalition.org (323) 936-3010 x702 Office www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION

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KEY SUPPORTERS Annenberg Foundation Beagle Foundation Lynne and Marc Benioff Susan and Jeff Bridges Jackson Browne Mark Christy David DeRothschild Sylvia Earle Ben Harper Haas-Teichen Foundation Tammy + Kim Hughes Chris Jordan Gerry Lopez Keith + Chris Malloy Marisla Foundation Michael McDonald Mental Insight Foundation Diana Nyad Plastic Solutions Fund Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer Alice Waters Zegar Family Foundation

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WHITE BUFFALO LAND TRUST SANTA BARBARA:

“T

he white buffalo are a reminder of our responsibility to the earth, and to be in better relations with all living things.” – Lyndsey McMorrow

Lyndsey’s Legacy L

Jalama Canyon Ranch

ong before she got sick, Lyndsey McMorrow believed it was possible for people to be conscious stewards of the earth. A turning point in her understanding was a trip to Paicines Ranch in 2016, where she participated in the Lead with Land program and became inspired by the potential of a little known but growing area of study: regenerative agriculture. McMorrow returned to Santa Barbara and poured herself into this learning, exploring the complex, but intuitive, practices that can restore ecosystems, improve soil health and biodiversity, recharge water cycles, and help to balance the climate. Lyndsey never got to see the organization she inspired; she passed away in February of 2018. McMorrow’s husband, Steve Finkel, who shared her passion for the environment and conservation, started the White Buffalo Land Trust in her honor in the days after her passing. Lyndsey’s parents Bobbie and Bill, along with other close family and friends, were the founding supporters. The legacy Lyndsey left behind has quickly become a leader in regenerative agriculture and is supporting change locally, regionally, and globally. Regenerative agriculture has the potential to provide meaningful work and living wages to farmers while feeding millions of people, sequestering large amounts of atmospheric carbon into the soil, building our freshwater resources, and improving wildlife habitat. White Buffalo Land Trust is a rapidly emerging leader in the space and is delivering real impact through their four fields of focus: direct land stewardship, education and training, scientific research, and enterprise. The enterprise piece, says Steve Finkel, is “how we make regenerative agriculture the new ‘business as usual;’ where we bring all we have learned to the marketplace and we can support businesses to evolve agricultural systems and offer customers products that align with their values.”

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White Buffalo’s beginnings and proof of concept is a 12-acre farm in Summerland that has been developed into a community demonstration, learning, and teaching nexus for regenerative agriculture principles, practices, and techniques. The success at Summerland and the need for broad scale change inspired the Campaign for Jalama and the successful acquisition of the Jalama Canyon Ranch, a 1,000-acre jewel on the Gaviota coast. The Ranch is developing into a center for education and training, scientific research, and removing the barriers to rapid and broad adoption of regenerative agriculture. The Summerland and Jalama sites demonstrate how we can restore the ecosystem through agriculture and directly address the climate, biodiversity, public health, and food security challenges we face today. This is done by changing the way we grow keystone crops like beef, grapes, almonds, cotton, and avocados; by expanding other climate beneficial crops like persimmons and elderberries, and by monitoring the ecological functions of the land to ensure farming practices are creating positive outcomes and stimulating positive feedback loops. These changes can sequester significant amounts of atmospheric carbon into the soil, increase biodiversity, and rebuild our freshwater resources. White Buffalo Land Trust gives farmers the tools they need to lead this transition and also hosts public and private tours, school tours, hands-on workshops, and farmer and rancher trainings, offering the opportunity for all to engage with this type of agriculture first-hand.“What we are trying to model in our work is that we can transcend the concept of doing less harm. How we raise and grow our food has the power to change our world for the better, and we owe it to ourselves and future generations to unlock that potential. Doing less bad is no longer good enough,” Finkel says. “That’s a huge consciousness shift for us as an economy and as a society.”

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“I

think shifting our relationship with agriculture is one of the strongest levers we can pull to improve the quality of the environment. What White Buffalo Land Trust is doing in Santa Barbara and on the Gaviota Coast is making a huge impact locally, but they are really doing something that can be leveraged across the country and the planet. And that is the kind of investment we want to make with our philanthropy dollars.”

– Kevin Brine

Founder, Coyuchi Philanthropy Fund

Public Field Day at Summerland Flagship Farm

White Buffalo WBLT Team members (left to right) Steve Finkel, Ana Smith, Jesse Smith

“I

learned that I could affect and improve land at any scale. I am excited to apply the Holistic Management framework from WBLT’s Intensive in my work. Additionally, the diversity of expertise and backgrounds of the participants, as well as the instructors, made this experience incredibly rich and valuable.”

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KEY SUPPORTERS

– P. Price

Land Stewardship Training Attendee

A Beacon of Regenerative Agriculture

e’ve done some heavy lifting in the past two years – we raised $6 million from philanthropy, conservation funds, and impact investors – and now we steward 1,000 acres of pasture, forest, springs, and scrub that is representative of the land in our region, and Mediterranean regions globally. With your support, we can maximize the impact of this beacon of regenerative agriculture. Our goal now is to raise $10 million over three years to rapidly expand the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices locally, regionally, and globally. We are catalyzing the transition of our food systems for long-term health and climate stability. In this next phase, we are actively raising funds for expanded education and training programs, innovative data collection, monitoring and analysis for verification and replication, and infrastructure for classroom, research, and gathering space. We are doing the work of evolving farming practices, raising the ecological literacy of our community, training current and future farmers and ranchers, and making this the new business as usual. We invite you to join us!

School Tour at Summerland Flagship Farm

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation

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Manitou Fund Roberto Foundation J. S. Bower Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation GA Fowler Family Foundation Natalie Orfalea Foundation Coyuchi Philanthropy Fund Brownstein, Farber, Hyatt, Schreck McMorrow Family Foundation WOKA Foundation Land Trust for Santa Barbara County Gaviota Coast Conservancy Santa Barbara Food Action Network deLaski Family Foundation Helton Law Annenberg Foundation TomKat Education Foundation Cienega Capital CA Dept of Agriculture US Dept of Agriculture

White Buffalo Land Trust

Ana Smith Director of Programs and Engagement (805) 637-5497 info@whitebuffalolandtrust.org www.whitebuffalolandtrust.org

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ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER:

The Environment’s Advocate

(photo by John Calambokidis)

n 1969, a major blowout at Union Oil’s Platform A caused an estimated four million gallons of crude to pour into the sensitive Santa Barbara Channel and onto the county’s prized beaches. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters at the time. The event, which today remains the largest oil spill in California’s history, prompted numerous pieces of environmental legislation in the intervening years. It was also a catalyst for the creation of one of California’s staunchest nonprofit environmental advocacy groups, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC). Providing free and low-cost legal services to other community groups, EDC remains the only nonprofit environmental law firm between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and has represented more than 130 nonprofit and community groups over the years. In the Santa Barbara Channel, EDC has worked since 2007 to protect endangered species like blue, fin, and humpback whales from fatal ship strikes and to reduce air pollution. For nearly 40 years, it has collaborated with landowners and local and state agencies, serving as a vital community lifeline and watchdog to protect local creeks and rivers. And it has helped protect more than 100,000 acres of open space such as Ellwood Mesa, Carpinteria

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Bluffs, and the Douglas Family Preserve for public recreation, and critical habitat for species and wildlife. But the nonprofit’s most pivotal work is its fight against the oil industry. For the past decade it has been working to secure a permanent ban on fracking and acidizing in the Santa Barbara Channel. A landmark achievement came in 2002, when it won a federal lawsuit before the 9th Circuit Court to extinguish 40 offshore leases, a first in America. “When looking for EDC’s legacy, it’s really as much about what you don’t see,” says Executive Director Owen Bailey. “A short list would have to include the oil drilling, fracking, and acidizing that we have prevented, the industrial development that has not taken place, and the protected views and open spaces that will be here for people to enjoy forever.” Today, EDC not only advocates to stop oil development, it is also actively supporting the transition to offshore renewable energy production that is properly sited to minimize impacts to coastal and marine environments. EDC’s expertise in this is critical as we need to both replace fossil fuel extraction and protect marine life and the Channel waters that do so much to define this beautiful place where we live.

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“S

tanding up for our beautiful coast, open space where we recreate, and our clean air and water is a value that our whole family shares. As the effects of climate change intensify, we are proud of our generational commitment to the effective work of the Environmental Defense Center. Providing free and low-cost legal services to fellow nonprofits, EDC’s track record of success across California’s Central Coast is second to none.”

– Dan, Rae, and Daniel Emmett

Longtime donors of EDC, and Daniel is the CEO of Next Energy Technologies, Inc. and an EDC Board member

(photo by Ted Rhodes)

“T

he Environmental Defense Center has been an essential partner in our legal work – from fighting off a massive expansion in oil drilling through a critical drinking water aquifer, to defeating a polluting gas power plant in favor of battery storage, to enforcing creek setbacks. Together we are protecting our air and water, advocating for endangered species, and pushing forward solutions to the climate crisis.”

– Katie Davis

Chair, Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties

In Their Defense

ost of the Environmental Defense Center’s in-person fundraising activities were canceled during COVID-19 and went online, including its main gala, Green & Blue. EDC raises about 85 percent of its funds on its own, so individual contributions remain vital to its existence as the nonprofit aims to attract up to $1.6 million this year. Plus, the work that the EDC does also supports 40 environmental organizations in the Tri-County area. “A gift to EDC does more than help just one organization,” says Executive Director Owen Bailey. “This is because EDC provides free and low-cost legal services to so many other groups, and your gift supports all this work.”

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MATCHING CHALLENGE! Environmental Defense Center

Owen Bailey, Executive Director (805) 963-1622 x101 www.EnvironmentalDefenseCenter.org

Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Natalie Orfalea Foundation

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KEY SUPPORTERS Dennis Allen & Jennifer Cushnie Laurie Ashton & Lynn Sarko The Ruth H Brown Foundation Dave & Jean Davis Denison Family Foundation El Gato Channel Foundation The Emmett Family Lee Heller Gary & Helena Hill Lori Lewis The Looker Foundation Manitou Fund Gloria & John McManus Nora McNeely Hurley & Michael Hurley Roger S. Firestone Foundation Leanne Schlinger Joel Shefflin Suzanne & John Steed Peter Schuyler & Lisa Stratton Carolyn Cogan & Jules Zimmer

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COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL:

Community Environmental Council CEO and staff on an educational outing to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Meeting the Moment of the Climate Crisis

he time for action on climate change is now. For the Community Environmental Council (CEC), an environmental stalwart on the Central Coast for the past 50 years, that moment could not have come any sooner. “For people who’ve been in the trenches for years like us, it feels like finally the world is really paying attention and realizing that the stuff is hitting the fan and we really need to make this a top priority,” says Michael Chiacos, CEC’s Energy & Climate Program Director. “We have the technology, and it’s fairly easy to do if we had the political will to just change some things.” The Community Environmental Council doesn’t just have the will, it also has a plan. Meet CEC’s Reverse, Repair, Protect, an ambitious plan for how the local community can go all in together at this urgent moment to put a rapid, equitable halt to the climate crisis. The plan is broken into three parts. The first is Reverse, which pushes for ambitious, equitable zero emissions and zero waste goals for the energy, transportation, food, and agriculture sectors. The second is Repair, which taps into the power of nature to draw down excess carbon from the atmosphere and repair the disrupted carbon cycle. The last step, Protect, encompasses safeguarding public health and vulnerable populations from the impacts of climate change that are already underway. The goals of Reverse, Repair, Protect are ambitious. For instance, they call for our region to reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, 15 years earlier than the California timeline. The plan calls for using that clean electricity to power not only transportation – especially electric vehicles – but also buildings. “That will necessitate redesigning our cities so that it’s easier to not have to drive in traffic alone everywhere and that more people can bike, walk, take transit, and telecommute,” Chiacos says. Chiacos acknowledges that this plan will take decades to fully realize. But if the Community Environmental Council has learned anything in half a century fighting for climate change, it’s how to play the long game.

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CEC’s Energy & Climate Program Associate, Jennifer Hernández, supports community members to affordably switch to electric vehicles, like she did

CEC holds on-farm events to educate farmers and policymakers about the environmental and financial benefits of climate smart agricultural practices

| Santa Barbara |

CEC’s Solarize Nonprofit program offers an affordable, accessible pathway to owning solar, meaning organizations like Girls Inc. of Carpinteria can redirect tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in electric bill savings back into their community work

Partnering with Veggie Rescue, CEC prevents packaged and restaurant quality prepared food from going to the landfill by instead transporting it to organizations that feed people facing hunger in Santa Barbara County

“O

ur current climate is marked by year-round fire seasons, extreme heat, mass evacuations, mass blackouts, and unfathomable fire runs measured in acres per second. We need clear thinkers and leaders who can bring people together as a community to tackle the impacts of the climate crisis. This is what CEC does, and why I stand with them.”

– Pat McElroy

Former Chief, Santa Barbara City Fire Department Executive Director, The Partnership for Resilient Communities

“T

he bold and innovative climate leadership that the Community Environmental Council produces must travel throughout our region and, with your support, can serve as a template for on-the-ground climate action to communities around the world. This organization again and again demonstrates Santa Barbara’s vital role in the global climate emergency.”

CEC’s Climate Education and Leadership Director, Kathi King, works to engage local youth like the Adams Elementary Ocean Guardians in policy advocacy (like talking to City Council about ditching plastic bags) and waste reduction (like helping a local program upcycle film plastic)

– Michael Smith

Ramping Up Donations

epairing and protecting the environment will require donations for CEC to marshal the resources needed to lower emissions, reduce waste, pull excess carbon out of our atmosphere, and safeguard local populations. Donations will fund the hiring of new staff and expansions to the Reverse, Repair, Protect programs and initiatives. Ultimately, every donation large or small helps ensure a climate-safe future for the Central Coast. For more information, visit cecsb.org

Community Environmental Council

Nicole Eads Director of Development nicole.eads@cecmail.org (805) 730-0768 www.cecsb.org/donate

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Regeneration.VC

CEC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sigrid Wright, CEO Executive Board Barbara S. Lindemann, President Catherine Brozowski, Vice President Charles Newman, Vice President Kathy Yeung, Treasurer David N. Pellow, Secretary

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Zegar Family Foundation

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Board Members at Large Jon Clark Christine DeVries Nadra Ehrman Carolyn Fitzgerald Laura Francis David Jackson Elliott MacDougall Pat McElroy Ivette Peralta Peter Schuyler

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| Santa Barbara |

Working For Our Most Vulnerable “#MeToo was a time and place in the history of our work. We can’t continue to rely on that particular hashtag. We have to move forward with our work in whatever way comes up presently.” – Elsa Granados Executive Director, Standing Together to End Sexual Assault

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Money as Medicine As told to Daniel Heimpel

n 2018, a Native American philanthropy professional dropped a bomb on the industry. In his book, Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar Villanueva laid bare the inequities rife throughout philanthropy and the financial system. Now in its second edition, Decolonizing Wealth is the central text for what Villanueva simply describes as “modern philanthropy,” one in which capital is used for reconciliation and reparations through wealth redistribution. To move that effort forward, Villanueva launched Liberated Capital, a donor community and intermediary that is working with more than 350 individual donors and charitable foundations to support nonprofits across the country that serve or are led by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. In this conversation, Villanueva and I discuss topics ranging from using charitable foundations’ corpora for public benefit, the likelihood that legislation will be required to ensure that donor-advised funds are used for charity, and whether the philanthropic changes following the murder of George Floyd will be lasting.

Why did you feel compelled to write Decolonizing Wealth? I really felt called to do it. I never really saw myself as an author or a writer before, but I felt like I had a story inside that I just had to get out. It almost felt like it wasn’t a choice, but mine was a story that really needed to be told. As a Native American person from the South with multiple, intersecting identities that are not seen in the space of philanthropy, I faced a lot of challenges in working to move money to communities and remain my authentic self. I began to see there were contradictions and challenges that we were uncomfortable discussing in the space. I also wrote the book because I love this sector, and I wanted to call us into a deep and honest conversation. I got exhausted from hearing about diversity, equity, and inclusion all the time and not really seeing the numbers change in terms of what leadership in the field looked like or where dollars are going. Finally, writing the book was a part of my own healing. Being a person that did not come from wealth and working in such a privileged space and dealing with microaggressions, I faced a forced assimilation to be and represent something that I wasn’t – that was really hard. And I began to see this

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was an experience I shared with a lot of people who were from marginalized backgrounds, including women, LGBTQ folks, other people of color. I became consumed with the idea and practice of healing and thinking about how I can bring that Indigenous worldview, experience, and wisdom about healing to this sector to repair what was broken.

A through line in the book is this concept of healing. What does philanthropy need to heal from? What I’ve come to understand through this Indigenous worldview is that the trauma of inequality or the trauma of white supremacy has hurt all of us in this country. We all need healing: Indigenous, Black, and white people. And the only way to get there is to do that through a collective process.

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We all have to take ownership of this country’s history, have truth and reconciliation around it, and understand what must be repaired to support collective healing.

Through the donor circle you established, Liberated Capital, you have invited funders to support Black-, Indigenous-, and people of color-led nonprofits. You said this could help them find healing and liberation. What does that mean? Using money as medicine is really about understanding that the hurt is the most in communities of color. It’s about prioritizing and moving money to Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the form of reparations or reparative giving.  That is what our fund, Liberated Capital, is all about. We move untethered capital to Indigenous and Black and POCled organizations. And we only accept money from folks who want to give it freely without any type of strings attached or forced assimilation on our part. It is a place where you’re giving through a reparative justice or reparations lens, where we’re trusting communities to take that money and to use it as they see fit. Money is energy, and we are liberating that energy to communities because it’s the right thing to do. And we see that the act of giving is in and of itself a step toward healing and repair: Using money as medicine is not a charitable act of altruism.

Despite your clarion call, the concept of impact investing – or at least mission-focused investing – has been slow to gain significant traction across philanthropy. You still have foundations that may fund environmental activism, which have investments coming out of their endowments wormed up with fossil fuels. What is the opportunity for change here? I love this question because this is so much more transformative than just talking about grantmaking. Because you’re right, the majority of philanthropic capital is sitting in banks or invested in Wall Street. The truth is the incentives in this industry are currently structured to favor the hoarding of wealth versus giving away money. And the 5% minimum payout rule that was put in place in 1976 is, I think, a blemish on the history of philanthropy. It’s a sad thing that there had to be an act of Congress to force foundations to actually give money to the community. Donors do a little bit of good with that 5% that goes to the community, but the vast majority of the wealth is often not aligned with the mission. And in fact, we know from data, most of it is invested in harmful and extractive industries. For example, funders who support criminal justice reform through

“ If we are to escape the insidious hold racism has on our society, we must be intentional about truth and reconciliation. In Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar lays a foundation that not only explains the history of wealth and racism but also provides a pathway to healing that we all need.” – Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

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grantmaking while they’re invested in private prisons in their endowments. My work is not about shaming or calling people out necessarily, but it is about being honest. It is what it is. There’s a lot of contradictions. Philanthropy exists because it is a byproduct of a system of inequality that has favored the wealthy, a capitalistic system that allows for so few people to build wealth and create foundations. If we can be honest about it, then we just might be able to have some reforms that are people- and communitycentered, shifting things away from hoarding wealth and those scarcity mindsets that come from fear, which are byproducts of colonization. Money as medicine is helping us understand that something is broken and that we can shift this paradigm towards using all our resources, including endowments, towards healing people and the planet. Let’s own up to that and apologize for how we’ve harmed others. Let’s step up to the plate to do things differently, especially for communities of color, who have played such a critical role in building wealth in this country and have been marginalized.

OK, but there are also vast sums of capital locked up in donor-advised funds. There have been rumblings around legislation that would make that money move out of private markets and into the social sector, like the 5% rule in institutional philanthropy. Do you think that policy change is needed? Regrettably, I will say yes. Philanthropy has been an industry that prefers to be selfregulated and to be self-reliant on implementing best practices.

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“ Due to years of detrimental federal Indian policy and discriminatory economic systems, Native American communities have been marginalized and left out of the economic opportunity experienced by other Americans. Edgar Villanueva offers a new vision and an Indigenous perspective that can put us on a better path. Everyone should read Decolonizing Wealth, especially those who control the flow of resources in government, philanthropy, and finance.” – LaDonna Harris (Comanche), politician, activist, and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity

We’ve known for decades that giving general operating, unrestricted support to nonprofits is both what they ask for and want and is best-practice philanthropy. Yet so few foundations are doing it, and there is actually a decline in general operating support from funders. My work has ushered in an era of truth telling and reckoning about what’s going on. And there’s an invitation for philanthropy to adhere to the moral imperative to do the right thing. But unfortunately, power is not often ceded. It has to be taken.

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External pressure may be considered, including legislation, to force philanthropy to adhere to the moral imperative to do the right thing. It’s really hard for me to reconcile that you can get a charitable deduction off of money that is then put into private markets and has zero public benefit. On behalf of the American public, folks are just asking for fairness – if you’re getting that tax break, there should be some demonstrated public benefit.

“ By anchoring the solutions to America’s ills in the wisdom and knowledge of its original people, Edgar challenges all of us working in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors to analyze how our nation’s history of racism and disenfranchisement has infected its financial and giving institutions. I strongly recommend this book as a key resource for funders and advocates to ensure their investments are truly equitable and benefiting the lives of people and communities of color.” – Heather McGhee, author, political commentator, and former president of Demos, a progressive think tank

While it can be argued that philanthropy is prone to follow news cycles, it feels like there will be some lasting change from the double blow of the pandemic and George Floyd. What should the field take away from these painful years? Some of the progress that I see funders making is not just coming from the radical left. I’m seeing middle of the road, regular foundations step up and do what some may have considered to be radical. It’s not radical, it’s modern philanthropy. It’s just how we do our work now. So, I am inspired. I think that folks like MacKenzie Scott are changing the weather on this. And she in her writing has acknowledged that it’s the right thing to do because she benefits from a system of privilege and accumulated benefits. We’re at a place where there’s a movement. I’m not the only one saying these things. There’s an army of folks, including donors and philanthropists and white folks who are demanding that we not go back to business as usual. This is the new way we’re going to do our work. We’re going to continue to bend the arc towards

justice and reparations, because that is the opportunity. This way will not only help communities and support closing this racial wealth gap, but it’s the only way to freedom for all of us because our systems are broken. Our communities are broken and torn apart. There’s so much pain and trauma everywhere, especially after 2020, the only way out of this is healing, and the only way that we will all thrive and heal is if we come together and accept the collective responsibility of our history and future.

“ Edgar Villanueva has broken through the tired jargon of philanthropy-speak and written a fresh, honest, painful, and hopeful book, grounded in his own truths and Native traditions, about his experiences in foundations, a powerful sector with too many vestiges of colonialism and white supremacy. He offers some radical thinking about what it would take to bring about a world where power and accountability shifted and communities controlled the resources vital to their strength and futures.” – Gara LaMarche, former president, Democracy Alliance; former president, Atlantic Philanthropies; and former vice president and director of U.S. programs, Open Society Foundations You now have your second edition out. What is next for Edgar? I don’t want to sit in this sad place forever and dwell on these things forever. I want to get to the other side of this, but I know the only way to do so is to step into the truth of it all. And that’s why we’re really going to continue to elevate the work around reparations. We will keep supporting groups on the front lines and using the power of storytelling to bring us all into the conversation and to inspire us to join this movement for truth reconciliation and healing.

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THE FUND FOR SANTA BARBARA:

A Trusted Table of Community Activists and Visionaries

2021 Spring Grantees

common thread connects all those on The Fund for Santa Barbara’s team – if they weren’t professionally involved with The FUND, as it is affectionately known, they’d be steeped in social justice work in their personal lives. Those drawn to the organization feel the responsibility of giving back to the collective, of building a future that is more equitable, just, and inclusive for generations to come. When Alina Rey Keswani joined The Fund for Santa Barbara two years ago as the organization’s development and communications manager, she immediately found herself surrounded by individuals with a shared vision. “I’ve always wanted to work in something that builds community in a meaningful and sustainable way,” Keswani says. Founded 41 years ago by community organizer Nancy Alexander to help fund local activist groups, The FUND issues grants and helps build the capacity of local organizations and coalitions committed to progressive change around social, political, racial, economic, and environmental justice. What makes the organization such a potent force is its unique philanthropic model – it allocates funds for social change, not charity. All grant dollars are determined by a grantmaking committee made up of community organizers, volunteers, and activists with a finger on the pulse of a diverse set of social issues. The FUND believes that social conditions improve most dramatically

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when people organize on their own behalf, form alliances with other like-minded people and organizations, and build coalitions to confront and change the conditions that have denied them access, equity, and justice. “The FUND serves as a trusted table that brings folks into the fold to build intersectional coalitions to support movements for justice in all of its forms,” Keswani says. In all, The Fund for Santa Barbara has made over 1,000 grants totaling more than $8 million to diverse causes ranging from housing rights to disability justice and food security across Santa Barbara County. Among the projects funded in 2021, Healing Justice Santa Barbara received $10,000 to support a commission that advocates for accountability and transparency in local policing. Freedom 4 Youth’s Freedom Philosophies received $9,000 to support a magazine that chronicles and humanizes the experiences of people impacted by the criminal justice system. The track record of funding reflects a commitment to tackling issues at more than a just skin-deep level. “At so many charitable organizations there’s a kind of band-aid approach to a problem,” Keswani says, “but we’re really looking to get at the core of solutions, and we understand that those solutions are best determined by a constituency of people who really know the community.”

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Fund for Santa Barbara staff Grantees from Freedom 4 Youth with their youth-led Justice Magazine, Freedom Philosophies (magazine pictured)

Car rally participant, International Workers Day (May 1) in Santa Barbara

Executive Director Marcos Vargas and Board President Rev. Julia Hamilton

“B

y supporting The Fund for Santa Barbara, I support the community where I live and where I’m raising my children. It’s important to me to reinvest locally, and I love that The FUND empowers grassroots organizations looking to make a difference. Knowing that I am helping fuel progressive change where I live is powerful, and The FUND targets the people and organizations that are most in need, and most ready to make an impact.”

– Alexis Weaver

KEY SUPPORTERS

Everyone’s Cause

he Fund for Santa Barbara takes pride in cultivating a vibrant ecosystem of people committed to progressive change in a holistic and intersectional manner. Development and Communications Manager Alina Rey Keswani says the onus falls on all of us – individual donors, foundations, corporations, and businesses to play our role in ensuring progress to a wide variety of social problems and inequities. “We are asking people to come and join us in this effort to create a more inclusive and equitable county and region by extension.”

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The Fund for Santa Barbara www.fundforsantabarbara.org PO Box 90710 Santa Barbara, CA 93190-0710

Sign holder from International Workers Day (May 1) car rally in Santa Maria

Contact:

Marcos Vargas, Executive Director (805) 962-9164 mvargas@fundforsantabarbara.org

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Rev. Julia Hamilton Jean Kaplan David Landecker John & Gloria McManus Sara Miller McCune Maryanne Mott Natalie Orfalea Gail Osherenko & Oran Young Pedro & Whitney Paz Ted Rhodes & Joni Pascal Hon. Susan Rose Geoff Slaff & Dale Zurawski Dana White Alexis & Mike Weaver Atterbury Foundation Glikbarg Family Foundation Hutton Parker Foundation James Bower Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Wood-Claeyssens Foundation

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STANDING TOGETHER TO END SEXUAL ASSAULT:

‘Me Too’ Means Sexual Assault is Everyone’s Cause

n her 36 years of public service, Elsa Granados has learned a lot about what it takes to end sexual assault. For starters, the executive director of Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA) will tell you that sexual violence is a widespread problem riddled with persistent myths. One of the worst myths, she says, is that women are the only victims. But men are also affected, as survivors themselves or as the significant others of female victims. Since the revelations of abuses by clergy members of the Catholic and Mormon churches and by scout leaders at the Boy Scouts of America, Granados says men have increasingly been more willing to disclose their experiences and confront their assailants. “We’re not looking closely enough at the experience of men,” Granados says. “Up until now many have too often seen men as perpetrators. I don’t; I see them as survivors, significant others, and as advocates to end sexual assault.” That ability to broadly confront sexual assault as a society-wide issue is what has made STESA such a vital resource since it was established in 1974 as Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. STESA’s full-time staff of four hotline responders and case managers along with about 40 volunteers can support both women and men with services that include medical/legal advocacy, reporting options, mental health counseling, and information and referral. “We need to have meaningful dialogue about each person’s role in ending sexual violence,” Granados says. “All of us regardless of demographics are at risk in some way. So then we all have a stake in ending sexual violence. To do that we have to challenge mindsets.” The #MeToo movement, says Granados, was pivotal in thrusting the rampant problem of sexual assault into the international spotlight and changing misconceptions. But the work is far from over. “#MeToo was a time and place in the history of our work,” Granados says. “We can’t continue to rely on that particular hashtag. We have to move forward with our work in whatever way comes up presently.”

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“A

s a sexual assault survivor, I know firsthand the importance of STESA’s work. I remember how alone I felt following my assault, and it’s something I’d never wish for another survivor to experience. STESA plays an essential role in providing expert crisis and long-term supportive services to survivors in our community. STESA staff members are compassionate and dedicated to healing and empowering survivors, preventing sexual violence, and creating social change through education. By giving my time and financial support to STESA, I know that I am supporting other survivors and transforming lives.”

– Melissa Guillen

Empower Survivors Through Healing and Social Change

he nightly news is filled with appalling damage caused by sexual assault to the individuals it touches and to our community’s well-being. Through the #MeToo movement, we have made important strides in support of survivors of sexual assault. Through this work, we hope that all perpetrators of sexual violence are held accountable for their crimes and that survivors receive the support and justice they deserve. For this purpose, please consider making a gift. Your donation ensures that the women and men who have experienced the trauma of sexual assault have a place where they can receive the counseling, advocacy, and other support services that are crucial to the healing process. Your contribution assists us in supporting our communitywide education programs that create awareness and intolerance for sexual violence. With these educational programs, we can create significant social change, which will lead to the elimination of this brutal crime.

Standing Together to End Sexual Assault Elsa Granados, Executive Director elsa@sbstesa.org | (805) 963-6832 x15 www.sbstesa.org

KEY SUPPORTERS

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT STANDING TOGETHER TO END SEXUAL ASSAULT

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Ethan Bertrand Margaret Connell Harriet Eckstein & Alan Irwin Fund for Santa Barbara Debra P. Geiger & Eliot Crowley Devon Geiger Nielsen Ed Graper Cheri Gurse & Carol Keator The Manger Scout Fund Montecito Bank & Trust New Day Marketing Stacey Risotti Linda Sanders & One On One Fitness Santa Barbara Foundation Kate Silsbury Tomchin Family Foundation The Towbes Foundation Nancy Weiss & Marc Chytilo Wood-Claeyssens Foundation Yardi Systems Inc.

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CASA OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY:

Right at Home

stefany Can was eight years old when social workers removed her and her brothers from their home. Her mother was in a dangerous relationship with her stepfather, and drugs and domestic violence were an everyday part of life. When social workers removed the children for their safety, they entered a scary world of court proceedings and uncertain domestic situations. Children like Can who enter the child welfare system are appointed an attorney. Still, those lawyers contend with enormous caseloads, making it nearly impossible for them to see their clients more than a few times each year. They have a social worker, but they are lucky to see them more than once a month, and social workers are working with many families at a time, with large caseloads and complicated case plans. Estefany Can, though, had Linda Curtiss. A fiery Bostonian with a thick accent, Curtiss was a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County, which recruits, trains, and supports volunteer advocates for children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Curtiss took her role as Can’s advocate seriously, and she made sure Can had adequate clothing and school supplies and got her into camp. When Can needed medical or dental care, Curtiss made sure the follow-through happened. Curtiss followed Can through many foster home placements, and when Can was placed in a home in Palmdale, Curtiss drove three hours from Santa Barbara once a month to visit her. “She was always there for me,” Can says. The kids that CASA serves are victims of abuse and neglect. Too often, domestic violence brings children into the system, and far too many have experienced sexual abuse. In recent years, it’s been drug addiction – 80 percent of the 544 children that CASA served last year were victims of the opioid epidemic, says Executive Director Kim Colby Davis.

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“M

y CASA volunteer was like my very own Fairy Godmother. But even better because all these years later, she’s become a lifelong friend!”

– Estefany Can

“The most innocent victims of the drug epidemic are the kids,” Davis says. “It’s truly a crisis at this point. If not for the serious nature of methamphetamine and Fentanyl addiction, we would have so many fewer kids in the foster care system.” Davis takes some comfort in knowing that the court will work to reunite the majority of the children with their families once the parents have become healthy and have proven they can provide a safe home for their children. This was the case for Estefany Can, who is 28 years old and working at Ergomotion, a company that makes adjustable bed bases. She’s close with her mother now, and thanks in part to CASA, she never allowed the challenges of her childhood circumstances to dictate the outcomes in her life.

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A Place To Work

KEY SUPPORTERS

ASA is in urgent need of adequate office space in Santa Barbara or Goleta! Currently, its Santa Barbara-based staff work in a building provided by the county, but the building needs extensive repairs, and the county plans to demolish it when they build a new courthouse. The CASA office is ideally a comfortable place for volunteer advocates to meet with their CASA supervisor and a space to connect with donors and community members. If you can provide private office space of at least 800 square feet, CASA will provide an in-kind donation receipt for the SCAN TO MAKE tax-deductible value of your generous donation.

A DONATION...

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County Kim Colby Davis, Executive Director (805) 357-2595 kim@sbcasa.org www.sbcasa.org

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Heather Ames Patricia and Evan Aptaker Jim and Julie Burge Kim and Andy Busch Marcy Carsey Andrew and Terri Dowen Rick DuBreuil Frank and Alida Freda Ted and Coleen Friedel Martin and Kerrilee Gore Niall and Julie Henley McNamara Christine and Michael Holland Deborah and Marty Lynch Tony and Sabrina Papa Justine Roddick and Tina Schlieske Veronica Sandoval Elan Shpigel Lindsay Soleimani Prudence and Robert Sternin Virginia Benson Wigle Laura and Geof Wyatt

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LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY:

Tipping the Scales of Justice

alifornia’s rental assistance program is designed to pay 100 percent of past-due rent, providing sorely needed relief to income-eligible renters and landlords. In practice, though, very little of that aid has reached the people it is meant to help, with less than 10 percent of rental assistance requests paid, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. This puts thousands of people at risk of eviction. And while they might have legal recourse to prevent themselves from ending up on the street, they might not have the resources to assert a real defense. Enter the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, the county’s only organization providing free legal services to low-income residents. The nonprofit has a team of 12 lawyers plus a support staff that provides a full breadth of civil legal services for the county’s most unmet needs, including unlawful evictions, housing discrimination, domestic violence, and immigration assistance for victims of crimes. Depending on the circumstance, a private attorney might run

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for as much as $600 per hour, a prohibitive cost for a person in a low-income bracket. By guaranteeing anyone gets access to quality legal services at no cost, the Legal Aid Foundation is doing its part to tip the scales of justice in favor of people who might otherwise not be able to defend themselves. “Our justice system presumes that all parties will be represented when they go to court, but our system doesn’t function as well as it’s supposed to,” says Executive Director Jennifer Smith. “We need individuals to be represented and to have an advocate when they go to court for our system to work properly.” Smith, though, is careful to say that the foundation should not be interpreted as a traditional charity. They operate like a professional law firm, with attorneys who are deeply passionate about defending people who need representation most. “Your rights are meaningless unless they’re enforced,” she says. “We are there to make sure your rights are asserted. By providing legal representation, we are changing lives.”

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“I

am proud to support the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County. As an attorney, I know our system works best when everyone has legal representation. Through my work, I see how seniors may become victims of unscrupulous business practices or be taken advantage of by family members. Equal access to justice means that everyone – regardless of age, income, or physical ability – deserves to receive high-quality legal advice and representation. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve and to make a difference in my community.”

– Julianna Malis

Santa Barbara Estate Planning & Elder Law, Board Secretary

“I

would like to thank the attorney for helping save my home. Because of her, my kids and I are not homeless.”

“M

y attorney was unquestionably superior in handling the facts and helping me to make informed decisions.”

“T

his year has been extremely stressful. Thank you for helping to lighten the load and for making such a positive impact in our lives.”

Competing With the Big Firms

s a small nonprofit, the Legal Aid Foundation often finds itself on the other side of the same private law firms its clients cannot afford. One of the organization’s greatest challenges is recruiting top-notch attorneys in a high-cost region to do nonprofit legal aid work. The foundation has historically leaned on its annual Chowder Fest fundraiser, which is postponed due to the pandemic, and is seeking private donations to complement other grants it receives. Donations won’t just cover personnel costs but also enable it to remain competitive in terms of salaries and benefits. The organization is trying to raise $70,000 to keep up with the big law firms.

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Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County

Jennifer Smith, Executive Director jsmith@lafsb.org (805) 963-6754 x103 www.lafsbc.org 301 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101

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KEY SUPPORTERS The Hon. Susan Rose, in memory of Allan Ghitterman Becky Steiger, Attorney, Board President Rachel Wilson, Wilson & Pettine LLP, Board Vice President Susan Thompson, Community West Bank, Board Treasurer Julianna M. Malis, Santa Barbara Estate Planning & Elder Law, Board Secretary Jena Shoaf Acos Alan & Carol Blakeboro William L. F. Felstiner Saji Dias Gunawardane Alexander Saunders Garry Tetalman Bill & Susan Wagner Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis Hollister & Brace Montecito Bank & Trust Santa Barbara County Bar Association Santa Barbara Foundation The State Bar of California, Office of Access & Inclusion U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women Yardi Systems Inc.

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International “Everything we do circles back to our commitment to justice, dignity, compassion, and equality.” – Human Rights Watch

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DIRECT RELIEF:

Confronting Crises When They Hit Home

urricane Katrina was a major turning point in the history of Direct Relief. Until then, the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief had primarily been responding to international crises. That changed with the 2005 hurricane that killed more than 1,800 people and wreaked $125 billion in damage to New Orleans and the surrounding region. Since then, natural disasters have struck the United States with increasing frequency. So much so that in 2010, Direct Relief removed “international” from its name. “It no longer made sense to be called Direct Relief International because the country that we were supporting the most was the United States,” says Vice President of Communications Tony Morain. “And that’s still true, even more so today.” Sixteen years since Katrina, Direct Relief is now one of America’s most recognized charities for efficiency and effectiveness, having provided more than $8 billion of medical aid around the world. Charity Navigator routinely gives the organization a 4-star rating and a top ranking on its list of “Best Charities Everyone’s Heard Of.” Direct Relief’s commitment to responding to far-flung crises remains core to its mission (it deployed staff and supplies within minutes of the August 2021 earthquake in Haiti). But the natural disasters the organization confronts today aren’t just across the country, they’re even across the street, with more frequent and ferocious wildfires ravaging California and storms becoming more intense and more destructive. Over time, Direct Relief has become an organization that anticipates emergencies as much as it responds to them. Throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean, it has outfitted several medical clinics with backup batteries and refrigeration to ensure they have power and useable medical supplies when crises hit. “We recognize that climate change is testing a lot of the infrastructure that we’ve relied on to do what we do,” Morain says. Direct Relief has also evolved into a grantmaking organization, whether it’s solar panels

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or emergency equipment that could save lives. In the last two years, it helped the Santa Barbara County Fire Department raise $1.5 million to upgrade and convert a Blackhawk helicopter into a firefighting aircraft. Once commissioned, the new “Firehawk” will be able to fly at night and at high winds and drop water on any wildfire. “We’re keenly listening to our partners and organizations to understand what the needs are to improve the health and lives of people,” says Vice President of Partnerships and Philanthropy Heather Bennett.

“O

ver the past several years, the County of Santa Barbara Fire Protection District has received a number of generous donations as a result of fundraising efforts hosted by Direct Relief. These donations helped to significantly offset the capital improvement costs for the Sikorsky HH60L Firehawk. The Firehawk was tested, certified, and transformed from a military-grade helicopter to a helicopter configured to meet the missions of public safety for the citizens of Santa Barbara County. In addition to increased stability when flying in high winds and being outfitted with top-of-the-line night-flying equipment, the Firehawk provides a significant increase in working capacity. The aircraft can carry 12 passengers, including two critically injured patients. Furthermore, the Firehawk significantly increases lift capacity which ensures that more water can be delivered faster and more accurately on fires, thereby helping to limit fire spread, associated impacts, and costs.

“Subsequent to their donations for the build-out for the Firehawk, Direct Relief secured additional donations that have allowed the Fire Protection District to expedite the final modification to mount the fixed-belly tank on the Sikorsky HH-60L Firehawk. This tank is unique from any other option in that it allows the aircraft to maintain its multi-mission capability in firefighting, hoist rescue, and medical evacuations without the need for any reconfigurations. “The Fire Protection District deeply appreciates the dedication and partnership of Direct Relief’s staff and donors to support the acquisition and modification of the Firehawk.”

– Mark A. Hartwig

Fire Chief/Fire Warden, Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Global Coverage, Local Commitment

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ice President of Partnerships and Philanthropy Heather Bennett says there is an increasing need to improve access to medicine throughout the world. As the world’s largest provider of charitable medicine, Direct Relief has a presence in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries. That coverage enables the organization to provide coverage not just for the biggest and best-known disasters, but also the “underfunded, under-reported” crises. “No matter what size gift, Direct Relief takes that responsibility extremely seriously to be a good steward of funds and make sure that each dollar is spent as efficiently as possible,” Bennett says.

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KEY SUPPORTERS Direct Relief

directrelief.org 6100 Wallace Becknell Rd. Santa Barbara, CA 93117

Contact:

Heather Bennett, Vice President of Partnerships and Philanthropy (805) 879-4934 hbennett@directrelief.org

Tom & Carrie Cusack Dick & Kate Godfrey Pamela Gann & David Hardee Stan & Betty Hatch Angel & Lisa Iscovich Jim & Chana Jackson Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing Mark & Kim Linehan Siri & Bob Marshall Jay McGonigle

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Harry & Jacquie McMahon Jane & Ron Olson John & Mary Romo Jamie Ruffing & Rhys Williams Denis & Jennifer Sanan Nancy Schlosser Mark & Lynda Schwartz Jim & Patricia Selbert Thomas & Heather Sturgess Steve & Suzanne Weintraub

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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:

Global Local

uman Rights Watch (HRW) has developed a unique network of committees that devotes local resources to fundraising and community engagement and that brings global issues to the doorsteps of local HRW families. This groundbreaking method of support and dissemination of information has altered the trajectory of this global nonprofit that routinely documents and exposes human rights violations and advocates for new policies. New committees continue to be formed in cities around the world. Today, HRW has 22 committees that each draw attention to the critical human rights research and advocacy the organization conducts worldwide. Roughly 450 country experts, lawyers, journalists, and advocates work for Human Rights Watch, providing deep insights into an incredibly broad range of issues, from arms trafficking to children’s rights to refugee and migrant issues. “The sad truth is that humans everywhere in the world commit violent, vile, heartbreaking acts against other human beings,” says Lis Leader, the director of Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara. “Human Rights Watch is the preeminent human rights defender on the planet. Our programmatic staff investigates human rights violations such as abuses in Cambodia’s garment industry, LGBTQ discrimination in Russia, ethnic cleansing of Rohingya in Myanmar, and child marriages in Florida. They do so to an established, proven, and consistent methodology based on information gathering from a broad range of resources, and with field-based research at its core. Our work is not just about victims and perpetrators, but about determining who can and should take responsibility for stopping rights violations and providing redress, the detailed and specific steps they need to take, and

“T

he Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara Committee is the most incredible way to engage with social justice issues and supporters around the globe. The scope and breadth of HRW’s research and work shines a light on challenges faced by some of the world’s most vulnerable.

“Examples of injustices exposed recently include those experiencing the most extreme impact of climate change in places such as Brazil, immigrants suffering mistreatment on our southern border and in nations where war and extreme poverty have forced whole populations to migrate, and health inequities which have been exposed by COVID-19, which has demonstrated the serious deficiencies in public health and access to vaccines and care. “I support Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara because I learn so much about the world – through reading reports, watching Zoom briefings, and meeting the researchers when they come to Santa Barbara – and it helps me feel more knowledgeable and more importantly, more hopeful, about the future.”

– Rita Moya

Santa Barbara HRW Committee Vice Chair

who else can bring influence and leverage to bear.” Locally, the Santa Barbara HRW Committee works to embed the concepts of human rights in the community. It advocates the principles memorialized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through education, financial support, and by putting pressure on those who can enforce and change laws. California has long been held up as the forefront of transformation and positive change, and the Santa Barbara HRW family works to uphold that reputation. “Together, we shine a spotlight on tyranny, give voice to the voiceless, and apply unrelenting pressure on policy-makers. We investigate, expose, and make positive, long-term change,” says Leader. It’s a poignant reminder of how vital the research and advocacy work of Human Rights Watch remains to our community. And also of how much work remains to be done, both at a global and at a local level. As Leader says, the objective of Human Rights Watch is nothing short of ambitious: “What we’re trying to do is change policy so that abuses are eradicated forever.”

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Take the Matching Gift Challenge!

lease help us unlock any of the following matching grants by contributing to one of these invaluable areas of work:

$25,000 Matching Grant for our Health & Human Rights Work The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered serious deficiencies in public health and access to healthcare in societies around the world. The effects of the crisis underscore the urgent need to reform government health policies that disproportionately impact the world’s most socially and economically marginalized communities. As HRW lays the foundation for a new body of work on health and human rights in the coming year, it plans to focus on the following areas: tackling health inequalities; protecting the most marginalized communities; ensuring access to health information; addressing health and climate change; and curbing attacks on health in conflict and crisis settings. $10,000 Matching Grant for Human Rights Watch’s Work in Tibet Under Xi Jinping, Chinese authorities have accelerated their assault on Tibetans’ human rights, tolerating only expressions of identity that show loyalty to the state and the Chinese Communist Party. • About two million rural and nomadic Tibetans have been forcibly resettled under the guise of poverty alleviation and environmental protection, cutting them off from their traditional ways of life and communities. • Authorities have accelerated aggressive campaigns to further curtail Tibetans’ religious freedom, publicly humiliating monks and nuns, destroying irreplaceable communities, and prosecuting expressions of loyalty to the Dalai Lama. • Even the youngest Tibetan children in rural and urban communities are now denied the right to be educated in their mother tongue. Tibetans tell Human Rights Watch they believe these policies will erase their distinct culture, religion, and way of life. Our research plays a critical role in challenging Beijing’s claims to have brought prosperity and modernity to the region, and arms policymakers, journalists, and activists with essential facts to hold Chinese government officials accountable for their abusive policies. $10,000 Matching Grant for our Environment & Human Rights Work Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration has sabotaged environmental law enforcement in the country, effectively giving a green light to criminal networks that drive the destruction of the Amazon. Deforestation, fires, illegal mining, and invasions of Indigenous territories and public forests have soared under his watch. Human Rights Watch is working steadfastly to protect the Amazon and support its defenders. We are working with the U.S. government, European Union, and multilateral organizations to apply pressure on Brazil to produce measurable, concrete results to reduce deforestation, protect Indigenous peoples’ rights, and end impunity for environmental crimes. WE RELY SOLELY ON THE GENEROSITY OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS!

Human Rights Watch

www.hrw.org/about/get-local/santa-barbara

Contact:

Elisabeth Leader, Human Rights Watch Director leadere@hrw.org (805) 452-0219

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP Santa Barbara Human Rights Watch Committee: Executive Team Wendy Read, Chair Graciela Montgomery, Vice Chair Rita Moya, Vice Chair Sue Aldrich Wagner, Vice Chair Santa Barbara Steering Committee Benjamin J. Cohen Christine Fletcher William Fletcher Alisa Freundlich Gwyn Lurie Rassa Montaser Casey Rogers John Steed Fiona Stone D. William Wagner Susan Washing *Plus a Santa Barbara Committee of over one hundred community leaders

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Leading the Way “To be successful in the nonprofit world, you have to hold a vision for a better world while living in the world that exists. You have to be conscious but not overwhelmed of that gap.” – Ed France Executive Director, Leading From Within

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Treasure, Time, and Talent by Nick Schou

arren Ritter says that he was born with the passion to give back. By building a career in private wealth management, he has found a way to do it. Born and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he graduated from Wofford College with a degree in psychology in 2012, Ritter began his career at the state capitol, where he worked on reforming policies involving agriculture machinery and small businesses. With the contacts he made in banking and finance – and a well-earned pedigree in financial services – he soon found himself a lucrative job as a bank manager for Wells Fargo. “I developed some really good business relationships that catapulted me into the corporate world and to downtown Santa Barbara,” Ritter recalls, adding that his first day in town fell on his 25th birthday, June 2, 2015. From corporate banking, Ritter quickly transitioned to private investing, joining the San Ynez Valley-based firm Wealth Management Strategies, a move that further cemented his dedication to philanthropic endeavors. “By transitioning into private wealth management, it freed up time for me to serve,” he says. And according to Ritter, the passion to serve was always innate. “Associating with like-minded people made it easier for me to act on that passion, yet that doesn’t always have to be the treasure,” Ritter says. “I realized that if you have the time to dedicate or the talent to share, that’s equally valuable too.” “I always felt that education was an important piece of my work, because many people in our marginalized groups don’t have access to it,” Ritter says. “There is a barrier in what we are taught and how we are taught. What I do now gives me access to information that I can share with others.” Ritter is also passionate about improving the access of law and justice to minority groups. “These types of changes happen when our leaders reflect the social evolution we want to see. Some of these laws were created by racist and bigoted people who didn’t have the best interests of everyone in mind.” As an African American leader in Santa Barbara’s business

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world, Ritter now effects decisions about how to serve the local community. “Being part of these discussions, you have access to all kinds of people,” he says, “which allows you to integrate your personal and professional life.” Since moving to Santa Barbara in 2015, Ritter has served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations including Cre-

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ative Wealth International, the Endowment for Youth Committee, New Beginnings Counseling Center, Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission, and the Santa Barbara Education Foundation. He is also the president of Santa Barbara Young Black Professionals (SBYBP). “I helped nurture that group from its infancy stages,” he says. “I’m from South Carolina, so I am used to seeing a little more diversity and acknowledgment of other persons of color.”

“I always felt that education was an important piece of my work, because many people in our marginalized groups don’t have access to it. There is a barrier in what we are taught and how we are taught. What I do now gives me access to information that I can share with others.” – Warren Ritter When Ritter first arrived in Santa Barbara, he says he didn’t immediately sense the same level of camaraderie, and felt it was up to him to help foster that connection. “This group of about a dozen people was just a bunch of likeminded Black professionals who didn’t really feel comfortable and didn’t exactly have a place to go together,” he explains of SBYBP. “We just wanted to meet up, and one day we showed up and there were 30 people. It was like moths to a flame. Now we have more than 280 members – it’s a beautiful thing.” With Ritter’s help, SBYBP has promoted network opportunities and workshops that help young African American professionals foster positive relationships in their pursuit of community service. “We make sure all our events focus on that,” he says. The group’s membership includes young professionals

between 18 and 40 years old and enjoys a thriving presence in the local college system, including UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, and Westmont College. “We are trying to make ourselves a stopgap tool to help orient people who are new to town,” Ritter says. “Oftentimes, persons of color come to town for school or work and feel they are missing something – they might not know where to get a haircut or where to get food that they’re missing from back home. We position ourselves so that when you arrive to Santa Barbara, you can come connect with us and we can help you get what you need.” All this, Ritter adds, helps the organization in its ultimate quest to keep talented young African Americans in town for the long term. “We become a reason to stay,” he says. “Once people have a job here, they will also have a social community that helps them feel connected and supported.” Ritter brings this same dedication to building community resiliency to his day job with Wealth Management Strategies. “Whether you are talking about big money or small money, it really comes down to a culture of caring,” he says. “How much do you really care about what you talk about – whether it’s solving homelessness or providing better opportunities for low-income families. What we need to do – and what we’re working to accomplish – is to strive to make funds last longer so that rather than throwing a blanket of money at a problem, we can find and fund programs that can help accomplish lasting changes. It’s all about leaving a legacy. How will you be remembered by your family, your friends, and your community? How can you shape the future for the better?” For Ritter it comes down to the three Ts: time, talent, and treasure. “I can be on a finance board and bring the resources you might not have, or I can contribute a way of thinking about finance because that’s my field. There are different kinds of treasures,” Ritter says, “and with each kind of treasure, you bring a piece of yourself. And I think that’s pretty cool.”

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LEADING FROM WITHIN:

The Power of Leading From Within

ur country’s nonprofit sector is notorious for high burnout and voluntary turnover rates that exceed the average of most industries. According to a recent survey, nearly half of nonprofit employees planned to seek new employment in the next five years. Enter Leading From Within, a nonprofit established in 2008 to support and sustain social sector leaders with intensive programs that focus on renewal, leadership development, and peer community. As its Executive Director Ed France says, Leading From Within provides “a safety net for the people who provide the safety net for our society.” Whether it’s Courage to Lead, an 18-month retreat program consisting of five quarterly retreats, or the Emerging Leaders Program, Leading For Community Impact, or Katherine Harvey Fellows, Leading From Within has supported more than 500 leaders of Santa Barbara nonprofits through its programs. “You have so much passion to do this work and even if you’re financially sustained, you’re not psychologically sustained unless you build the systems and communities of support for the long haul,” France says. One person who understands the importance of building strong support systems for social sector leaders is Erik Talkin, the CEO of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara. Talkin is also an alumnus of the Courage to Lead program (2010-11) and a regular at gatherings with other program alumni. “When the program was created, there was nothing like it at the time,” Talkin says. “There was no vehicle for nonprofit directors to do something together that wasn’t competing to raise money. It’s a good opportunity to just refocus.” Talkin embodies the aspirational thinking of the program, and has helped to successfully transition Foodbank’s paradigm of need from providing calories to community health. Through the program, Talkin also met another Courage to Lead graduate,

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Sigrid Wright, the CEO of the Community Environmental Council. The encounter outlined common ground for transformative change. Soon after, Talkin and Wright led a new collaborative called the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, a multi-stakeholder partnership largely led by the CEC and the Foodbank to address food insecurity while strengthening Santa Barbara’s food systems. New collaborations and community resources such as this exist due to a meeting of different minds brought together by Leading From Within. “To be successful in the nonprofit world, you have to hold a vision for a better world while living in the world that exists. You have to be conscious but not overwhelmed of that gap,” France says. “We support talented community leaders who have courageously embarked on daunting efforts.”

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“C

ompare leadership in nonprofits before Leading From Within, and today. You’ll see that posturing and rivalries have largely been replaced with genuine mutual support, care, and engagement. I’ve witnessed this first-hand over my time in this community, and experienced the value as well as a Courage to Lead participant. Leading From Within lays the groundwork for needed collaboration and innovation between organizations. Investing with LFW is a meaningful way to support the leaders from many of the great organizations listed here in The Giving List.”

– Ernesto Paredes

Easy Lift Executive Director

Invest in People Who Drive and Create Change

eading From Within brings social sector leaders together to grow as individuals and improve their effectiveness as leaders, sustain each other as peers to keep leading and learning, and increase their capacity to be collaborators for the common good. Your support means investment in people who drive and create change. Together, we are creating transformational selfdevelopment opportunities and powerful networks that provide leaders with the skills, mindsets, and connections to make meaningful change in our community.

Leading From Within

Ed France, Executive Director www.leading-from-within.org | (805) 203-6940

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT LEADING FROM WITHIN

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KEY SUPPORTERS Jeff Bochsler Sumit Singh Kristin Boehm Carrie & Mike Randolph Montecito Bank & Trust Ginger Salazar & Brett Matthews Judy & Charlie Markline Monique Limón & Michael Medel Katya Armistead Carrie Towbes & John Lewis Mary Becker Nancy Swanson Schwartz Family Foundation Mosher Foundation Ken & Jo Saxon Jim & Mary Morouse Santa Barbara Foundation Angell Foundation Monroe Foundation Alixe and Mark Mattingly

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MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMMITTEE OF SANTA BARBARA:

Honored for All Lifetimes

saac Garrett was 22 years old in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Garrett had moved to Santa Barbara from his native Louisiana just a few years before and by then he was already community minded. He would serve on the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury and become the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, fighting for equal rights and leading a life of civic duty that would make Dr. King himself proud. Years following King’s death, several community organizers, including Shirley Kennedy and Sojourner KincaidRolle, organized a two-hour service on Dr. King’s birthday. In 2008, that commitment to Dr. King, the man, his methods, and what he stood for, crystallized into the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB), for which Garrett was one of the founding members. Through a series of community programs and events, MLKSB is committed to fostering positive relationships between multiple community groups in Santa Barbara. Garrett is 80 years old now, a soft-spoken man who lives by the words of his favorite Dr. King quote: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” As long as his health permits, Garrett says he will continue to follow Dr. King’s teachings. “We believe that actions speak louder than words,” he says. “Regardless of what you say, your behavior determines what you are all about.” MLKSB has organized annual Unity Marches since 2008, and remains steadfast on the front lines of social justice. Earlier in 2021, it hosted a town hall meeting to press government officials for statistics on how minority communities have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and to push for solutions to help those communities. It’s part of Dr. King’s credo to speak rather than remain silent for your friends.

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“Every adult has a duty and responsibility to do what’s right by your fellow man each day,” Garrett says, “and also to encourage your brother that you work alongside to do the same.”

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“I

have always felt our nation owed a huge debt of gratitude to Martin Luther King Jr. with his commitment to nonviolence that guided us out of troubled times and a hurtful past. This extraordinary man gave our nation a chance to redeem itself and the soul of America. Every year I am so moved to participate in the annual celebration the local MLKSB chapter organizes with such care and beauty, inviting the whole community to share in his memory and legacy. A great man had a dream; thank you MLKSB for helping to keep the dream alive.”

– Margie Bushman

Co-Founder & President of Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Educational Nonprofit

MLK Essay & Poetry Contest

rograms of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB) primarily focus on social justice issues, that promote positive relationships between diverse groups in our community. Every year the MLKSB hosts a children’s Essay and Poetry Awards Program, ages six to 18 in which students write about their thoughts and beliefs on the MLKSB theme for the year. Donations help to pay for publicity, technical support, and minor scholarships for students. We feel that it’s very important that our kids know about our national heroes,” Isaac Garrett says. “And this Awards Program is a great way for them to do it.”

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KEY SUPPORTERS ...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMMITTEE

Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara E. Onja Brown Lawson, President (805) 259-5782 www.mlksb.org

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Anita Blume Juliet Betita Dr. Jamece Brown Rabbi Steve Cohen Derrick Curtis John E. and Nansie Douglas Shireen Faizullabhoy Rev. J.B. Ficklin Christine “Chrissy” Gilbert Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

Beverly King Frances Moore Melvin Richey Linda Ryles Toni Schultheis Wendy Sims-Moten Betsy Shelby Dr. and Mrs. Earl Stewart Delvis Stoute Judi Weisbart

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WORLD BUSINESS ACADEMY:

A “Think & Do” Tank Ahead of Its Time

Rinaldo Brutoco, Deanna Dehlsen, Kristy Jansen, and Tom Dain at the Luncheon for Montecito Community Microgrid

n 2007, a group of authors published “Freedom from Mid-East Oil,” a lengthy treatise on energy, national security, and global climate change. The book was strikingly prescient, warning about an impending environmental crisis that would be titanic in scope. Its final chapter predicted that green hydrogen would one day become mainstream form of renewable energy. The book’s co-authors – Jerry B. Brown and James. A. Cusumano – are Fellows with the World Business Academy, a Santa Barbara nonprofit and think tank that has spent the last three decades proposing solutions to the world’s most complex and pressing social and environmental challenges. “We have been consistently way ahead of the pack as a think tank,” says the book’s principal author Rinaldo S. Brutoco, who is also the World Business Academy’s founder and CEO. “Fifteen years later, that book is stunningly accurate.” One of the reasons the World Business Academy is so good at anticipating tectonic shifts in business and social trends is the caliber of its leadership. It starts with Brutoco himself, an accomplished entrepreneur, business executive, author, radio host, and futurist who has carved a reputation as a leading expert on a multitude of issues, including energy policy, renewable energy, and finance. Brutoco joined forces with other leading global thinkers – the author and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra and billionaire hedge fund manager and conservationist Paul Tudor Jones II – to establish JUST Capital, an organization that advises business executives to make sustainability a priority in their decision making. JUST Capital is just one of many Brutoco ideas that reinforces his philosophy of tackling big problems: “I launched the think tank

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The Academy’s mission serves our children and grandchildren – we want them to inherit a more equitable, just, and livable biosphere

“M

y husband, Chuck, and I have been supporters of the World Business Academy as an organization that catalyzes innovative strategies, especially from the perspective of the business community, that address many of the pressing issues of our time – from climate change to economic instability and widespread inequality. We have been impressed by the thought leadership addressing solutions for positive change which the Academy puts forth. Indeed, as climate funders, it is especially the Academy’s innovative work on our muchneeded transition to clean energy that has inspired us as supporters.”

– Merryl Zegar with the central belief that unless you get the business community on board, nothing positive is going to happen,” he says. “Most people understand that we live in a world where business is the most powerful institution on the planet.” Through a wide array of cutting-edge publications, videos, podcasts and events, the World Business Academy strives to shift the consciousness amongst global business leaders, young people, and the public. The end goal is a more just world that puts values above profits.

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“A

s a CEO of a growing nonprofit, a key challenge for most leaders is to find mentors and strategic thought partners to provide guidance during pivotal moments in an organization. I have been very fortunate to work with Rinaldo Brutoco and his team for more than 10 years. His guidance and insight has enabled me to grow as a leader and exponentially grow the organization – impacting over 500,000 men, women, and children with education and life-saving services.

“Rinaldo is my hero, and his support has been invaluable to me and to the results we’ve been able to create over the last decade.”

– Cynthia Kersey

Founder & CEO Unstoppable Foundation

Hannah-Beth Jackson, Rinaldo Brutoco, and Judi Weisbart at an Academy Members Meeting in Santa Barbara

The Academy engages the Santa Barbara community in public forums addressing issues that demand local action, but speak to a broader need in its “Global Citizens” meetings. Here, CEO Rinaldo Brutoco moderates a panel featuring Jason Dominguez, Lucrezia DeLeon, Matt Turner, and Rob Fredericks on Housing Solutions for Santa Barbara. (2019)

The Academy’s active roster of Fellows is a valuable resource in providing thought leadership on critical issues. Longtime Academy Fellow Deepak Chopra sits down with CEO Rinaldo Brutoco to discuss consciousness and clean energy in a public event at the Arlington Theatre. (2014)

Academy’s Bob Perry and Kristy Jansen celebrate Earth Day 2019 (Photo Credit: Kristy Jansen)

Incubating Innovation, Catalyzing Consciousness

KEY SUPPORTERS

he Academy could not continue its work without the ongoing contribution of wisdom, experience, and philanthropic/ institutional resources by our longtime donors, colleagues, and Academy Fellows. Help us continue our mission of incubating initiatives and creating collaborative relationships to build a more equitable, just and livable planet. We are seeking support and partnership in a wide range of unique and vital projects, ranging from a clean energy land stewardship demonstration in Northern California to local partnerships at UCSB & Isla Vista to build a net-zero economy by 2030. By creating comprehensive solutions addressing multiple needs, California, the United States and the world can be shown the path towards a better future.

World Business Academy

Kristy Jansen, Executive Director (805) 892-4600 www.worldbusiness.org

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Pat & Evan Aptaker Deirdre & Will Arntz Blaine Bartlett Jack & Inga Canfield Bob Evans & Susanne Chess Juliana Friedman & Tom Dain Ricky & Orman Gaspar Betty & Stan Hatch Betsy Ingalls Richard Mazess Sara Miller McCune George & Karen McCown Bill Moses Mary Morrissey Michel Saint-Suplice Tana Sommer-Bolin Leslie Tolan Cheryl Tomchin Mike Weissman Merryl & Chuck Zegar

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BRADY | UNITED AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE:

A Teenager Steps Up to Save Lives

ike many teens, 15-year-old Stephan Abrams was devastated by the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Desperate to make a difference, and inspired by the national youth movement to end gun violence, he began educating classmates and community members about the issues. Abrams found some adults who were doing great work and lifting up the powerful voices of his peers – Brady | United Against Gun Violence. A storied national gun violence prevention organization with a strong California presence, Brady has been on the forefront of developing bipartisan educational and legislative solutions for our country’s gun violence epidemic for over 40 years. Among their more successful recent programs is the Combating Crime Guns Initiative, which seeks to stem the pipeline of illegal guns from a small group of rogue dealers, and Team ENOUGH, a youthled project focused on educating and mobilizing young activists. Now 18, Abrams is involved with both. To prove how easy it was to buy illegal guns, he went “undercover” at a Southern California gun show to buy one – at 17. And to help harness the power of youth change-makers, he led the San Diego chapter of Team ENOUGH, before being promoted to its national director, further developing chapters in California, Florida, and Virginia. But is anyone listening? “Last year we trained with the Brady policy team, and lobbied in Sacramento to successfully pass the microstamping bill,” Abrams says, referring to a law requiring gun manufacturers to honor their commitment to more carefully identify guns. “Stephan, and all these young people, are doing something that most adults would be afraid to do – get up there, make a stand, and help carry a gun bill,” says Steve Lindley, a former police chief who runs Brady’s Southern California programs. Young people see the same statistics their parents and grandparents do: that 106 people die from gun violence every day in this country; that there are more gun dealers than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined; that it is often easier to get a gun than a library card. They also understand that gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color. For that reason, a majority of Team ENOUGH’s youth leaders are young people of color. Team ENOUGH had just started to turn that awareness into focused collective action when COVID hit. Lindley was worried that they wouldn’t be able to continue their lobbying work. Undeterred, they moved their trainings and presentations online, expanding access to young activists who were unable to travel to Sacramento. Through their digital efforts, Lindley says, “these young folks are pioneering a new way of making a difference.”

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Shepard Fairey and Tony Hawk at the 2020 Voices of Parkland Premiere

“I

support Brady because gun violence is an escalating public health epidemic. I want to give my kids – and all kids – a safer world where they aren’t afraid of being shot in their communities, schools, movie theaters or homes. This is urgent and is critical. Please join me by supporting Brady and its comprehensive approach to gun violence prevention.”

Team ENOUGH Executive Council members

“G

un violence in our country is complex and can seem daunting. Brady takes a data driven approach which is smart, strategic and inclusive. They tackle all types of gun violence and lift up the voices of survivors, activists and those most impacted by suicide and everyday gun violence. I am proud to support Brady, it is an investment I make with assurance and conviction. Please join me and we can make our country safer for all of us.”

– Christy Callahan

Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Regional Leadership Council

– Alana Mayo

President of Orion Pictures

Giving to End Gun Violence

ith additional funding for Team ENOUGH, we will be able to expand the number of young people we engage with in our training program. More students like Stephan will gain the skills and access to elected officials to advocate for SCAN TO MAKE their right to live in communities free A DONATION... from gun violence. To help illustrate the impact of your gift, $25,000 will allow us to organize a national Team ENOUGH two-day Summit for 75 students. $7,500 provides an advocacy training program for a cohort of 15 Team ENOUGH students.

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT BRADY

Brady

www.bradyunited.org 840 1st Street N.E., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20002

Contact:

Liz Dunning, Gun Violence Survivor & Vice President of Development (202) 370-8149 ldunning@bradyunited.org

Jessica Gerber RN, Senior Advisor, Brady

KEY SUPPORTERS Institutional Funders California Wellness Foundation Southern California Regional Leadership Council Christy Callahan (Co-Chair) Juano Queen (Co-Chair) Ross Misher (Past Chair) John DeFaria Bill D’Elia Erin Dunkerly Joan Whitney Flagg Anita Greenspan Rise Johnson Jeremy Kagan

Nadine Lewis Paul Koplin & Jill Lawrence Harry Litman Alana Mayo Adam McKay Claire Rudnick Polstein Skei & Jeremy Saulnier Allison Shaw Randi Singer Rose Ann & Ira Sharp David & Diana Skaar Jeff Vespa Lena Waithe Ben Wexler

For donor advised funds, stock, checks, make payable to:

• Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (C3 arm, tax deductible) • Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (C4 arm, non tax-deductible)

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Community Action “In today’s society, it’s very easy to blame others or to seek fault in the world. Instead, I think we are called to see resilience and what is going right in the world.” – Edwin Weaver Executive Director, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley

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For Janet Garufis, Giving Is Not Only a Responsibility, But a Privilege by Michael Bowker

ometimes, life’s lessons emerge from the most unlikely places. For Janet Garufis – Montecito Bank & Trust’s dynamic chairman and CEO – one such place was her grandparents’ house in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Garufis often went there as a child when her parents were working. “My grandmother and grandfather didn’t have much, but the homeless people who came by occasionally had even less,” says Garufis. “When they came to the door they did not beg for food, they asked for work. My grandmother always had something for them to do and then she would give them a sack lunch and a dollar, which meant a lot in those days. I came to understand that she honored the fact that giving is not just a responsibility, it is a privilege. She taught me that when you give something to someone, you should do it in a way that they feel good about receiving it.”

“I’m process oriented by nature. As one of the few women in the banks where I worked, I had to be tough and even fierce when it was called for, and I was. But, most of all it was about solving problems for people.” – Janet Garufis The idea that giving must be focused on the receiver is at the heart of Garufis’ leadership vision at the bank, which is one of the more generous financial institutions in Southern California. Founded in 1975 by a small group of local businesspeople, it soon became the fledgling dream of Michael Towbes when he became the sole shareholder a few years later. The bank now boasts 14 branches from Westlake to the Santa Ynez Valley. It has more than $2 billion in total assets and donates nearly $1.5 million every year to various philanthropic causes. Under the leadership of Garufis, who Towbes hired in 2004, the bank continues to blossom. That is due in large part to the fact that communities welcome the bank – it arrives in town as an asset, not a predator. Its ability to innovate an effort to provide solutions can be seen in projects such as Ventura’s Westside community, which had fallen into disrepair. Working

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with the housing authority in the area, the bank helped secure tax credits and construction loans to help create something that is in scarce supply in California – affordable housing. That is only one of hundreds of other successful business and philanthropic efforts launched under Garufis. Her own story – from her early dream of being a writer to becoming one of the most influential people in the region’s banking and philanthropic communities – seems unlikely as well, until you get a chance to talk with her. Then an impressive mix of personality, work ethic, vision, and, well – joy – becomes apparent and you see why she is a major reason for the bank’s emergence. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from CSU Northridge, her goal was to someday achieve a PhD in English

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or writing. Meanwhile, working as a bank teller paid the bills. As it turned out, she had a host of natural skills that helped her stand out in the banking world. “I’m process oriented by nature,” she says. “As one of the few women in the banks where I worked, I had to be tough and even fierce when it was called for, and I was. But, most of all it was about solving problems for people.” Garufis took time away from her everyday routine to attend and graduate from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle, but immediately returned to Southern California and continued her career.

“The primary driver in choosing which organizations to support is providing help for low-to-moderate income children and their families. We are flexible when the need arises, though, and lately we’ve focused on the array of new challenges that we have faced, from fires and the debris flow to the pandemic.” – Janet Garufis Her career was satisfying in many ways, but after 30 years in banking, she became increasingly disgruntled with the impersonal nature of the national bank she worked for, which didn’t seem to embrace the idea of women in management. She retired early and decided to pursue her master’s degree and ultimately a PhD in English. She and her husband, Nick Garufis, moved to Santa Barbara in 2002 so she could attend the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara. But when Nick was diagnosed with dementia related to Parkinson’s disease, she put that dream on hold and returned to banking. When she met Michael Towbes in 2004, things changed dramatically for her, and the Santa Barbara area will always be better off because of it. Towbes interviewed her, and a rewarding relationship was forged based on business interests, philanthropy, and friendship. “Michael’s vision was the reason I came to the Montecito Bank & Trust,” she says. “I say it is simple – to provide world-class service to the community, our associates, and then our stakeholders – but in that statement is an incredible expanse of possibilities, all of them making life better for everyone involved. I loved that, I still do.” Towbes was clearly impressed by the skills and energy Garufis brought every day, and in 2006, he promoted her to president and CEO. “I was able to share that with my husband, Nick, before he passed away,” she says. As part of her efforts to deal with his passing, Garufis took up long-distance running. She began running marathons when she wasn’t running the bank.

The list of boards she serves on – and awards and accolades she has won – would fill multiple pages, yet one of her most impressive accomplishments isn’t found there. “I’m proud of the culture of the bank,” she says. “We have good people who work together incredibly well.” Most employees freely give their time and effort to various causes. She has also been skilled at helping the bank expand its unusual connection to the community. “The primary driver in choosing which organizations to support is providing help for low-to-moderate income children and their families,” Garufis says. “We are flexible when the need arises, though, and lately we’ve focused on the array of new challenges that we have faced, from fires and the debris flow to the pandemic.” Under her leadership, the bank management and associates dropped almost everything else they were doing and responded to the chilling threat the pandemic shutdown posed to thousands of regional businesses. They dedicated more than 20,000 hours to communicating with local businesses, taking Paycheck Protection Program applications and securing as much funding for clients and nonclients as possible so they could keep their doors open. When the effects of the pandemic spread throughout the region in 2020, the bank quickly gave gifts to front-line organizations such as Sansum Clinic, the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, and the United Way of Santa Barbara County, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the efforts. With her overall track record of success, Garufis could clearly have sought other opportunities at larger banks around the country, but she feels the real treasures are still here. “Hands down, what I’m doing today at the bank is the reward of my career,” she says. “I’m working with wonderful people who work together incredibly well. They make it easy. When you are in it, getting it done, and being successful, it’s joyful. I have a dream job in a community I love.” Sometimes, she thinks of her husband, Nick, and of Michael Towbes. “When I wonder what they would think of everything we’ve been able to do to serve and support the community and how the bank has thrived, I believe they would be proud.” As a postscript, Garufis adds that she just received a letter from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara inviting her to accept an honorary PhD in humanities, thus bringing her dreams full circle. “This journey has been the time of my life, an unbelievable gift,” she says. “I am so grateful.”

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SANTA BARBARA BUCKET BRIGADE:

Community Resilience in a Changed Climate T

he Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade is a homegrown community response to climate change. Created in the wake of the Thomas Fire and debris flow in 2018, the Bucket Brigade leverages community solidarity and human empathy into a powerful organizing force for resilience and regeneration. In the face of unprecedented natural disasters and global crises, the Bucket Brigade stands ready to lead an organized, local volunteer response. The challenges communities are facing are greater than ever before. The Bucket Brigade helps communities rise up to meet those challenges. True resilience is inclusive and is measured by how well an entire community bounces back from a disaster. The Bucket Brigade is designed to address unmet needs by harnessing local wisdom and untapped resilience potential. The result: a faster, more equitable, and longer-lasting recovery. When communities have the ability to mount an effective response to a crisis, they build self-reliance and solidarity, emerging stronger and more connected than before the disaster. In between disasters and crises, the Bucket Brigade trains new volunteers and volunteer leaders with ground-breaking, year-round Community Uplift Projects (CUPs) like Walk Montecito and the Growing Community Project. This approach transitions seamlessly from response and relief work to long-term community resilience-building. The CUPs program teaches community members disaster response skills through projects that make their neighborhoods safer and more connected. The Bucket Brigade’s constantly growing cadre of experienced volunteers and volunteer leaders helps to form a grassroots community safety net that stands ready to respond to whatever challenge Santa Barbara County faces next. The Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade received 13 major nonprofit awards in its first two years, including California Nonprofit of the Year, Local Heroes, Environmental Hero, Community Heroes Award, and Citizen of the Year for its response to the Thomas Fire and debris flow in 2018. In 2020, it received a second Local Heroes award for its innovative Make Masks - Save Lives pandemic response program. In 2021, Bucket Brigade volunteers constructed two miles of safe-route-to-school trails in Montecito, delivered pandemic home victory garden kits throughout Santa Barbara County, and launched a major climate-adaptive habitat restoration in Elings Park.

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Everyone is welcome to join the Bucket Brigade

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Neighbors work together to clean up after the 2018 debris flow in Montecito

“T

here isn’t a more outstanding effort and demonstration of community than the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade. There’s devastation yes, but the SBBB shows that there is also compassion and caring in the hearts of our friends and neighbors.”

Volunteer briefing at Ennisbrook open space cleanup

– Larry Lee

Local children cut the ribbon on a new Bucket Brigade safe-route-to-school

“D

uring a crisis, the Bucket Brigade turns helplessness into helping by enabling the community to lead its own recovery effort. The inclusive, welcoming approach gives ordinary people a chance to become neighborhood heroes in a time of need. This is something every community needs right now.”

– Greg Tebbe

The Membership Drive

ver 90 percent of Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade’s funding comes from individual donations. The organization focuses on its membership drive and sponsorship to support its ongoing operations, including volunteer training, Walk Montecito, the Growing Community Project, and the Bucket Brigade Academy, which teaches volunteer leadership and deployment skills to high school students. Co-Founder Abe Powell says the goal is to reach 10,000 members and 50 major sponsors to support Santa Barbara County with ongoing community uplift and a volunteer-driven disaster response team.

Bucket Brigade leaders after a hard day’s work

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA BUCKET BRIGADE

Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade

John Abraham Powell, Co-founder and CEO (805) 568-9700 | www.sbbucketbrigade.org P.O. Box 50640, Santa Barbara, CA 93150

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KEY SUPPORTERS Greg and Daphne Tebbe Geoff Slaff and Dale Zurawski Michael Smith David Jackson Sharon and David Bradford Heather and Tom Sturgess Cindy Pitzer and William Howard Anne Towbes Gerd and Pete Jordano Cliff and Crystal Wyatt Joan and Robert Hollman Kathleen Lavidge Edward J. McKinley Sherri Ball The Santa Barbara Foundation The Zegar Family Foundation The Manitou Fund The J.S. Bower Foundation The Montecito Community Foundation The Hutton Parker Foundation

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COMMUNIFY:

Uniting Santa Barbara Against Poverty

Head Start alumni Joseph and Anthony with their mother Debbie Ramirez

2-1-1 helpline clients Don Seth and Lynda Millner

Adolescent Family Life Planning case manager Monica Gonzalez and client Ruby Sierra

eople in the nonprofit world often talk about “A Tale of Two Santa Barbaras” to describe the county’s gaping wealth disparity. There’s the American Riviera version, the one with society’s most well-heeled living in multi-milliondollar mansions. And there’s the other Santa Barbara, the one where more than 20 percent of the county’s residents live below the poverty line. CommUnify CEO Patricia Keelean is all too familiar with the other Santa Barbara. Her organization, which provides children’s, community, and family services to the county’s most disadvantaged, has been on the front lines against poverty for the last 55 years. “The disproportionate nature of poverty here in Santa Barbara and California, as it compares to other states, is really significant,” Keelean says. “That’s something many people aren’t aware of.” According to the MIT living wage calculator, a single mother with two children needs to earn $64,000 per year to live comfortably in Santa Barbara County with a roof over their heads, food on their table, and access to healthcare. People who live below the state poverty line struggle to make ends meet here without the support of organizations like CommUnify. Established in 1967 as the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County and renamed CommUnify in 2020, the organization serves the community in a multitude of ways. As one of the county’s largest nonprofits, its nearly 400 staff operate more than 17 programs and services, including Head Start/Early Start programs, energy assistance, home weatherization services, financial literacy and family self-

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Head Start parent and volunteer Gabriela Gonzalez DeLaCruz and daughter

Head Start program participants.

sufficiency supportive services, a variety of prevention and intervention services for youth, and the 2-1-1 information and referral helpline. CommUnify is one of the few nonprofits in the county truly able to provide county-wide coverage. Despite its footprint and deep pool of services and programs, it relies on multiple partnerships with nonprofits to tackle the chronic poverty problem across the county. The rebranding to CommUnify was designed in part to rally the community around this cause. “The needs are so great and we recognize that we can’t be successful on our own,” Keelean says. “Our new name, CommUnify, represents our commitment to bringing the community together to address the issue of poverty.” | Santa Barbara |

“M

y girls have learned so much from Head Start; all three of them are bilingual now. They have developed respect for others, and the two oldest are doing well in their middle school and junior high because they were well prepared by the program. Head Start has helped me as well; I took a 12-week parenting class and learned a lot about communicating with my children. I want all three of my girls to go to university and achieve their goals. Now this seems possible.”

– Norma Pacheco

“I

A three-time Head Start parent

Home Repair and Energy Services team members Adrian and Dave

have been involved with CommUnify (formerly Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County) professionally and later as a proud supporter for over 33 years. I have continued my involvement with CommUnify for all these years because I have seen all the exceptional programs and services they provide to the entire Santa Barbara County community and the way they ‘step up to the plate’ in times of need. They provide a full spectrum of services for and support to vulnerable members of this county prenatally to older adulthood and ages in-between. CommUnify represents the best of the best in Santa Barbara County.”

– Flo Furuike

A longtime supporter of CommUnify

Help Us Serve Seniors

Los Compadres Mentor Joshua Hurst and participant

id you know that low-income seniors are among the most vulnerable people in Santa Barbara County? Many were productive members of our community before retirement, but now live on fixed incomes which do not keep up with the high cost of living here so they can’t afford home repairs. Each year, 950,000 older adults nationally are hospitalized due to a fall, making this lack of repairs a serious safety concern. CommUnify’s Seniors Safe at Home program provides minor electrical and plumbing repairs, upgrades water heaters and furnaces, and installs carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms, and slip-and-fall prevention devices so SCAN TO MAKE our seniors may age safely in place. This program A DONATION... serves 150 to 175 senior households each year, but with your donation we can increase this number to ensure more seniors have a safer home and prevent potentially catastrophic injuries, hospitalization, or death. We hope you’ll support Seniors Safe at Home.

CommUnify

Julie Weiner, CDO jweiner@communifysb.org (805) 964-8857 ext.#1105 www.communifysb.org 5638 Hollister Avenue, Suite 230 Goleta, CA 93117

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $10,000 donated will be matched thanks to several generous donors.

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KEY SUPPORTERS Ann Jackson Family Foundation CenCal Health Dr. Hildegard H. Balin Charitable Foundation Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation Eric and Kelly Onnen Hutton Parker Foundation Latkin Charitable Foundation Mark and Dorothy Smith Family Foundation Mike and Linda Cordero Montecito Bank & Trust Norm and Jane Habermann Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Sara Miller McCune Susan Rose The Crawford Idema Family Foundation The Towbes Foundation The Towbes Group, Inc. Walter and Holly Thomson Foundation Williams-Corbett Foundation

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FIGHTING BACK SANTA MARIA VALLEY:

Second and Third Chances at Life

n a wall next to the entrance of Edwin Weaver’s office at Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley (FBSMV) hangs a massive reproduction of Rembrandt’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” The famous oil painting depicts the moment from the Biblical parable when a son seeks forgiveness from his father for wasting his inheritance and falling into destitution. The painting reminds Weaver, Fighting Back’s executive director, every day about the power of redemption. “At Fighting Back we believe in second and third chances,” Weaver says. “It’s the ethos of who we are – we never quit on anybody.” Since 2003, when Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley was founded as a response to the methamphetamine epidemic in Santa Maria, it has helped thousands of young people get second and third chances at life. Many of its programs focus on protecting kids from drugs, alcohol, gangs, and other negative influences. It has a coalition of community leaders that meets monthly to address substance abuse and the nonprofit works with law enforcement and local schools in Santa Maria on drug prevention education. The Check, Connect, Respect program tackles truancy and encourages students at 23 elementary schools to complete their education. The FBSMV team helps reduce violence by offering conflict mediation in four high schools using Restorative Approach. Through the Youth Action Group, young people benefit from peer-to-peer support for issues like violence, drugs, and alcohol. Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley even provides support systems for children who are homeless or in foster care. Weaver says the philosophy of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley is “looking upstream” to understand the entirety of why kids fall into trouble, not just looking at individual current behaviors. “In today’s society, it’s very easy to blame others or to seek fault in the world,” he says. “Instead, I think we are called to see resilience

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High school students gather for a group picture after spending the morning in a Restorative Circle resolving conflicts

“I

was living at my friend’s house and I did not have any place to go, I was needing a place to stay. [FBSMV] helped me get into my own place and rent a room. They helped me with my deposit and my rent. They helped me get my documents and apply for college. I was able to finish high school and now I am working and attending college.”

-Shakita, age 18

Homeless Transitional Aged Youth

and what is going right in the world.” It’s an approach that takes inspiration from Weaver’s favorite leader, Theodore Roosevelt, who once said there are two types of people – the Critic and the Man in the Arena. “What we choose to do at Fighting Back is to see the potential in the young person when they come to our attention, instead of throwing our hands up and saying, lock them up or kick them out of the program,” Weaver says. “We choose to get in there in the messiness of the arena.”

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“A

s a pastor of a local congregation, FBSMV was vital in helping us launch an outreach program to local foster youth. They helped with initial contacts and training and provided ongoing guidance as it grew. I believe our community is a better place because of what they do. Their team is excellent and offers many essential areas of support to often overlooked areas of our community.”

– Scott & Carissa Campbell

KEY SUPPORTERS Luke Ontiveros, Board President Santa Maria-Bonita School District Superintendent Bob Bush, Board Vice-President Orcutt Union School District Retired Superintendent Carrick Adam, MD MSPH, Board Secretary SB County Juvenile Facilities Medical Director Matt Beecher, Asst. Sup. for Business Services Santa Maria-Bonita School District

Executive Director Edwin Weaver, Program Specialist CJ Johnson with a student who has benefited from FBSMV services

Holly Edds, Superintendent Orcutt Union School District Jude Egan, Owner Offices of M Jude Egan Steven Funkhouser, Owner Starry Sky Coffee Antonio Garcia, Superintendent Santa Maria Joint Union HSD Emilio Handall, Superintendent Guadalupe Union School District

‘We Are Good at What We Do’

overnment grants have paid the bills for the 32 full-time employees of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, but it’s time to diversify the organization’s income, says Executive Director Edwin Weaver. The nonprofit seeks $150,000 in individual donations to supplement its $2.4 million annual budget. Weaver takes pride in his organization’s efficiency, saying it’s lean and delivers great outcomes, including a high success rate housing 18 to 24 year olds living on the street. “I can guarantee that every dollar that we spend goes directly to youth and family services,” Weaver says. “We are good at what we do, we are ethical, and the money goes where it’s supposed to.”

Mark Richardson, Retired Superintendent Santa Maria Joint Union High Kevin Walthers, President Allan Hancock College Scott Campbell, Pastor and President South Valley Church and the Santa Maria Pastors Network Bob Nelson, County Board Supervisor Santa Barbara

Street Outreach Team Results 75 homeless young adults ages 18-24 met 57 of them exited with positive housing outcomes Success Rate of 76% – Santa Barbara County Community Services Department Housing and Community Development Division

Alice Patino, Mayor City of Santa Maria

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Jordan Cunningham, California State Assemblyman District 35 Lisa Brabo PhD, Executive Director Family Service Agency Paul and Alexandra Allen, Owners Main Street Produce Sylvia Barnard, Executive Director Good Samaritan Shelter Pastor Miguel Hidalgo, President Spanish Speaking Minsters Alliance

Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley Edwin Weaver, Executive Director (805) 346-1774 www.fbsmv.com

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FIGHTING BACK SANTA MARIA VALLEY

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Marc Schneider, Santa Maria Police Chief Joyce Dudley, District Attorney Santa Barbara County

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MONTECITO FIREFIGHTERS’ CHARITABLE FOUNDATION:

A Vision Beyond the Call of Duty F

irefighters do a lot more than fight fires. On any given day, Montecito Fire’s 33 active-duty firefighters wake up to uncertainty, not knowing what emergency they will respond to next: trail rescues, medical emergencies, traffic accidents, structure and brush fires, debris flows, or even threats of a global pandemic. They are always there, and it is for this reason that we trust them with our lives. For the same reason, you can trust the Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation with your donations. Being there in times of crisis for members of the community and its fire family was exactly why the Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation was created in 2006. The organization, whose board of directors is fully comprised of active-duty firefighters, was a spinoff of a benevolent fund created to raise funds for a firefighter who had cancer. Their mission is to provide relief to the poor, disadvantaged, underprivileged, disaster victims, and those facing an emergency hardship. With a minimal annual overhead of less than $15,000 for legal, accounting, and other administrative costs, virtually every dollar the foundation receives goes straight towards helping people. “It is truly our privilege to be able to offer financial relief to people in their time of need,” says Lucas Grant, a board member and a department Fire Engineer. “Many emergencies that people

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Live burn training with B-shift and Burn Cadre.

experience create financial emergencies right along with them. We are able to ease the stress by assisting with that financial burden.” As a charitable foundation, the Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation knows how to do one thing very well – issue responsive grants that deeply impact individuals. When a wildland firefighter’s 2021 season was put on hold due to testicular cancer, the foundation provided support to him so he could focus on getting healthy. The foundation has also set up a scholarship fund to assist local youth in need, as well as firefighters’ children with college tuition. Like I said, firefighters – notably, your local Montecito firefighters – do much more than fight fires. The work of the foundation mirrors the work that they do every day: responding to whatever comes their way. For the charitable board, the work they do with the foundation is an extension of what they do every day on the engines. “As firefighters, we are often right there, on the scene of some of the most challenging emergencies in our community, but we also recognize that the emergency doesn’t end there. It is our aim to help people regardless of the circumstance in which their need arises,” says Alex Broumand, a founding board member and Fire Captain with the department.

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E391 reflecting its American pride.

Montecito Firefighters battling a vegetation fire.

Well-Earned Trust

“T

he beauty of our foundation is we don’t have anybody to pay,” says Secretary Shawn Whilt in explaining that the Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation is entirely volunteer-driven with low overhead of $15,000 per year. The nonprofit welcomes the generosity of the community to support firefighters who put themselves on the line for all kinds of emergencies. In the same way that you can trust Montecito’s firefighters with your life, you can also trust the foundation with your donations.

Young Montecito Fire Family member and future chief making sure the engine is polished.

KEY SUPPORTERS Bob and Joan Hollman Robert Kemp and Melinda Goodman-Kemp Kind World Foundation Connie Frank Diane Boss Sally Jordan Merryl and Chuck Zegar Julianna and Tom Dain Jeffrey C. Barbakow and Margo Baker Barbakow Lillian Lovelace John and Coco Marsala Peter and Gerd Jordano Richard and Connie Kennelly Beverlye and Bob Fead Jeffrey and Hollye Jacobs Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation Wood-Claeyssens Foundation

Young Montecito Fire Family member looking at the Thomas Fire in the distance. Montecito Firefighter ventilating a roof during the Holiday Fire.

Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation Aaron Briner, President (805) 895-7896 www.montecitofirefightersfoundation.com

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| Santa Barbara |

Community Resources “Throughout the pandemic we’ve been able to share the message that a 21st century library isn’t just books. It’s truly a community resource center.” – Lauren Trujillo Foundation Director, Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation

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TV SANTA BARBARA:

TV for Social Good S

ince it opened its doors in 1974, TV Santa Barbara’s mission has been to provide an outlet for freedom of speech and to empower people to make media that matters. “For nearly 50 years, TV Santa Barbara has been the one place where every member of our community can make themselves seen and heard,” says Erik Davis, TVSB’s executive director. “We are the people’s channel.” In addition to running a media access center where local producers create and edit programs, TVSB also carries 24/7 programming on two community access channels, 17 and 71 (TVSB Voice and TVSB Culture). But when COVID-19 struck – and the world shifted to video – Davis and his team quickly realized they needed a pandemic pivot. “I knew we wanted to be of service and give back to this great community,” Davis says. One way TVSB did so was to provide free production help for area museums, gardens, and other cultural institutions through a program called 805 Inspires! TV Santa Barbara recorded and aired lectures, civic forums, and community arts presentations. And when in-person graduations were cancelled, TVSB partnered with area high schools to create virtual and televised graduations. One of TVSB’s most critical endeavors continues to be providing media literacy training to kids of all ages. Particularly at a time of heightened misinformation, the ability to identify different types of media and analyze the underlying message is more important than ever. When you give to TV Santa Barbara, you’re helping the organization provide clear, unbiased information to the public, to offer video production services to local nonprofits and government agencies, and to train the next generation to see past the hype. Community media access centers like TV Santa Barbara play an important role in giving voice to communities lucky enough to have them. Whether advocating for freedom of speech or teaching young students about the value of media literacy in the digital age, TVSB is a vital part of the local landscape and in the lives of local residents.

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| Santa Barbara |

“W

e are really fortunate to be able to access their video equipment and studio space. Most significantly, we’re able to film people that are going through some of the most difficult times in their lives. TVSB has enabled us to help create meaningful pieces that can be shared with family.”

– David Selberg

CEO of Hospice Santa Barbara

KEY SUPPORTERS

Support TV Santa Barbara

s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, TV Santa Barbara relies on the support of generous backers like you to provide the high-quality media services that TVSB is known for: 24/7 community television programming, discounted video services for hundreds of nonprofit organizations, media literacy programs, and training along with the operation of an access center where everyone is welcome. “Please help ensure that all of the diverse stories and voices continue to be heard with the respect and honest consideration they deserve,” says Erik Davis, Executive Director. Your donation can help keep community media alive in Santa Barbara.

TV Santa Barbara

Erik Davis, Executive Director (805) 571-1721 www.tvsb.tv

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A partial list of the nonprofit organizations that have used the TVSB studios in 2021: Alzheimer’s Association Assistance League Boys & Girls Club Breast Cancer Research Center Domestic Violence Solutions Easy Lift Friendship Center Girls Inc. of Carpinteria Hillside House Jodi House Junior League of Santa Barbara Sansum Diabetes Research Center Santa Barbara Education Foundation Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History SB Library Foundation SBCC Foundation St. Vincent’s Storyteller Children’s Center YMCA

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SANTA BARBARA PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION:

‘The New Foundation Baby in Town’

uring the pandemic, Santa Barbarans got a fresh reminder of how vital the public library is to the community. As people were stuck living and working from home, the library came directly to them when it was needed most. Through a program called SBPL Delivers, the Santa Barbara Public Library transformed its service model to deliver thousands of books throughout mandatory shelter. “One of those things that made the library unique was that across the country libraries shut down because of the pandemic,” says Anne Howard, the President of the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation (SBPLF). “Our library under the leadership of Library Director Jessica Cadiente and her amazing team never once shut down.” Howard and her colleagues at the foundation spend a lot of time educating people about public libraries and how their service is as essential as clean water and electricity. The City of Santa Barbara provides 78 percent of the operating costs of the Santa Barbara Public Library but the library depends on private donations to help serve the 600,000 people each year who use the library for much more than just borrowing books. “Throughout the pandemic we’ve been able to share the mes-

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sage that a 21st century library isn’t just books,” says Foundation Director Lauren Trujillo. “It’s truly a community resource center.” SBPL Delivers was made possible through special contributions from the foundation to cover supplies and postage for the program. It’s one of several large-scale efforts funded by the foundation, including the new Children’s Library and outreach programs that touch the lives of more than 30,000 children a year and larger capital endeavors like the renovation of the Library Plaza. That project, estimated to cost about $5 million, will be named the Michael Towbes Library Plaza, in honor of the late real estate developer and philanthropist. Established only in 2012, SBPLF is “the newest foundation baby in town,” says Howard, and it is intensely proactive in its campaign for raise funds for the Library Plaza renovation. But don’t expect to see a big splashy gala at the Bacara or the Coral Casino. Like a good librarian, the foundation prefers to connect with the community on a personal basis. “We’re just trying to grow our reach,” Trujillo says. “This campaign that we’re doing is a great way to reach out individually and build relationships. We try to make our fundraising accessible and digestible.”

| Santa Barbara |

“A

ll your creativity and hard work that go into finding ways to meet the needs of the community are incredible. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful resource.”

- Mercedes Millington

Library Foundation Donor since 2014

“I

’m pleased that the library is working to educate children even more and in a wide range. It can make their lives and our community better and stronger.”

- Susan Gulbransen

Library Foundation Donor since 2015

Restoration & Revitalization

he historic plaza at the Santa Barbara Library, a community treasure and once bustling pedestrian thoroughfare, is in dire need of restoration. A $5-million project to revitalize the plaza into a cultural and educational hub is well underway. The capital campaign was launched in 2020 and has quickly grabbed donor attention. Last year, the City of Santa Barbara committed $1.115 million. Nearly 85% of the funds have already been raised. In April, the City Council approved a proposal to rename the plaza in honor of the late philanthropist, Michael Towbes, a decision that no doubt bolsters the capital campaign. “We’ve zoomed into this capital campaign and that’s our total focus right now,” says Foundation Director Lauren Trujillo.

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Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation Lauren Trujillo, Director (805) 689-2448 director@sblibraryfoundation.org www.sblibraryfoundation.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS Anne Towbes The Ann Jackson Family Foundation Hutton Parker Foundation Jim Jackson and Janet Garufis/Campaign Co-Chairs Zora and Les Charles Mercedes Millington and John C. Mithun Emily and Dan Engel The Samuel B. and Margaret C. Mosher Foundation Carol and Bob Bason Susan and Claude Case Marni and Michael Cooney Christie and John Glanville Anna Grotenhuis Kandy Luria-Budgor Patty and John MacFarlane Maryan Schall Lynne Tahmisian Barbara Hauter Woodward Meg and Dan Burnham Kirby-Jones Foundation

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FRIENDS OF THE MONTECITO LIBRARY:

With a Little Help From My Friends (at the Montecito Library)

ibraries across America enjoy the support of friend groups for funding support, whether it’s for a reading room, an embellished summer reading program for kids, or the replacement of outdated computers. But traditionally that funding is supplementary to their operational needs. “These tend to be capital projects that are the whipped cream and cherry on top of the pie,” says Patricia Saley, the President of the Friends of the Montecito Library. “The pie is supplied by the municipality.” In Montecito, the Friends of the Montecito Library exists to ensure there is still a whole pie to serve to the community. Every year the organization founded in 1975 gives the County a grant of $125,000. The donation guarantees the Montecito Library stays open a full five days per week. Without the grant, the library might only operate part time. “That would be really tragic because as you cut back days, people just give up and don’t go to the library anymore,” Saley says.

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The annual grant, though, is merely a stopgap solution, Saley explains. The real goal is to put in place a long-term funding and organizational plan that ensures the Montecito Library stays open full time, forever. And part of the plan is to show people that at libraries, “books are just the beginning,” Saley says. The Montecito Library’s patrons trend a little older than other libraries, but it serves all ages, with facilities filled with laptops and internet hotspots and a calendar stocked with courses that teach how to use technology and discussion groups on a variety of topics that change with the times. After the 2018 Montecito mudslides, for instance, the library offered classes showing how to save books that had succumbed to water damage. “They do a really good job of keeping up with the times,” Saley says. “People may perceive libraries as these stodgy places, but they’re much more vibrant and topical than you and I might think of when we were kids.”

| Santa Barbara |

A Library for All Ages

“P

otential funders know that we are not just trying to solve the here and now. We’re trying to make it better in the future so we can guarantee that the Montecito Library is going to be open a minimum of five days per week, forever.”

any people are surprised to learn that up to half of the operating costs of the Montecito Library are covered by donated funds. Donations ensure that the Montecito Library maintains a regular schedule, provides a variety of programs, offers many different books, and keeps its doors open for the long term. The Montecito Library offers services for all ages such as tech support, community safety information and the ever-popular Story Time. The Montecito Library is truly the heart of the Montecito community and the busiest library per capita in the county. It’s where books are just the beginning.

– Patricia Saley

President of Friends of the Montecito Library

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE MONTECITO LIBRARY

KEY SUPPORTERS Keith Berry T. C. Boyle Ricardo and Dinah Calderon Candace Dauphinot and Richard Brumm Fannie Flagg G. A. Fowler Foundation Justine and Josiah Hamilton Hatchett Family Jackson Family Foundation Lee Luria Carole MacElhenny Bill and Pat MacKinnon

Friends of the Montecito Library montecitolibraryfriends.org PO Box 5788 Santa Barbara, CA 93150

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Manitou Foundation Marie Morrisroe Marshall Family John (Jock) and Ellen Pillsbury Bayhurst Foundation Penny Ridgway Jerry and Joan Rocco Siemens Family Spivey Family Peter and Debbie Stalker Susan Grimes Sweetland Watson Family

Contact:

Patricia Saley, President (805) 242-3688 Info@MontecitoLibraryFriends.org

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A Commitment to the Central Coast

S “What we’ve always tried to do at KCRW is build a sense of community, really a community organization in the form of media. We have expertise in topics like music, food, literature, film, and, of course, news and we’ve woven this content together into the KCRW brand.”

anta Barbara is a proud community with an independent identity, and residents chafe at any hint that they live in a suburb of Los Angeles. So, when KCRW bought the venerable, but faltering, classical-music station KDB in 2014, many were nervous. A locally owned community asset was being swallowed by a public-radio powerhouse deeply rooted in L.A. Among the skeptics was Geoff Green, despite being a KCRW member. “My first question was: ‘Okay, is this really going to be a Santa Barbara effort?’” Green, a local nonprofit veteran who once ran the Fund for Santa Barbara, says. Or, as he had seen before, would KCRW be yet another large nonprofit arriving mainly to establish a fundraising outpost? When Green met KCRW President Jennifer Ferro, he was encouraged but not convinced by her pledge to hire local staff and invest in programming that would reflect Santa Barbara. In short order, though, “KCRW did everything they said they would do, and more,” says Green, who now is chairman of the station’s local advisory board. “The fact that they stepped in with real curiosity and a commitment to resources was a huge boon to our community.” KCRW was already broadcasting in Santa Barbara via a so-called repeater, a radio-relay station like those it uses to reach Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and San Luis Obispo. But the KDB purchase gave it a stronger sig-

– JENNIFER FERRO

nal and the opportunity to create dedicated local programming outside of L.A. for the first time. KCRW has become part of Santa Barbara by blending original local content with KCRW’s signature music, culture, and public affairs shows. “What we’ve always tried to do at KCRW is build a sense of community, really a community organization in the form of media,” Ferro says. “We have expertise in topics like music, food, literature, film, and, of course, news and we’ve woven this content together into the KCRW brand. I see that as a big strength going forward.” Early on in Santa Barbara, KCRW teamed up with important local institutions to sponsor events, a critical element in Ferro’s threepronged strategy to create content on air, online, and in person. Like its longstanding partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for shows at the Hollywood Bowl, KCRW supported performances at the Santa

KCRW President

“I

joined as a champion at the beginning of the COVID lockdown because of your 100% commitment to inclusivity, connectivity, and integrity... I am deeply committed to this too, personally and professionally. You are my extended family. In a world of physical distancing, you entertain, inspire, and expand.”

– CHRISTINE LEUTHOLD Producer, and Champion Donor

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| Santa Barbara |

“I

Barbara Bowl. In 2017, KCRW co-hosted a debate among mayoral candidates at Santa Barbara City College. The gravitas of the KCRW brand regularly helped attract large, diverse audiences. No doubt, free pizza also lured students to the UCSB Multicultural Center for a live-broadcast discussion. KCRW’s local staff of three, led by Jonathan Bastian, worked out of a space at Antioch College in the heart of Santa Barbara. Bastian

hosted “The 805,” a weekly half-hour show about issues important to the Central Coast. He also hosted news updates each day during national drive-time programs like “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” – brief but valuable information for the local audience. “Our joke is that we don’t care about the weather in El Segundo,” Green says. The COVID-19 pandemic forced KCRW to suspend operations in Santa Barbara. It closed its studio but retained the staff, who are providing content that is incorporated into KCRW’s main feed. Meanwhile, KCRW continues to deliver to Santa Barbara its menu of innovative programs that have put the station at the fore-

support KCRW because I like to learn, be surprised, tap into my own network to share new information, and stay relevant.”

– MIKE CHEVEDDEN Champion Donor

front of public radio nationally and of civic engagement throughout Southern California. As KCRW’s leader since 2010, Ferro has propelled the National Public Radio affiliate forward by introducing programs to attract new, more diverse listeners and embracing digital formats, like podcasts, Internet channels, and even video via social media, to connect with global audiences. The strategy is paying off. When the pandemic all but killed the daily office commute for a year, on-air listenership declined, but the streaming audience soared. The number of overall listeners and KCRW members reached record highs in 2021, Ferro says. For Ferro, that affirms the “relationship we have with people, that we’re their company, their friend, their trusted source.” Not just in

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION AND LEARN MORE ABOUT KCRW champions@kcrw.org (424) 538-8879 www.kcrw.com 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

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Southern California and not just for public affairs and culture. KCRW is holding its own with music fans in an era when services like Spotify make everyone their own DJ. The fastest-growing markets for members – that is, listeners committed enough to donate – are outside of KCRW’s broadcast area, where the station’s taste-making music programming is the biggest draw. Afterall, since 1978, the flagship program, “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” has discovered or championed many emerging musicians who went on to international stardom. A rarity in public radio for its hybrid music-talk model, KCRW produces award-winning shows of both types. The news staff focuses on “telling stories that have deep resonance, are emblematic, and tackle a problem in a deeper way,” Ferro says. For instance, KCRW’s four-part series “Samaritans” in 2020 followed Christine Curtiss for a year as caring neighbors battled bureaucracy to find shelter for her after seven years on the street. That kind of intimate reporting offers a model for KCRW in Santa Barbara. KCRW was founded by Santa Monica College in 1945 to train World War II veterans in the emerging medium of FM radio. Today, it has a state-of-the-art headquarters on campus, where, among other things, it trains the college’s students in audio production. Ferro would like to have a campus presence again in Santa Barbara when KCRW is able to return. Discussions are underway with Santa Barbara City College for shared space in the journalism department. The plan’s biggest advocate is Green, the converted KCRW skeptic whose day job is CEO of the Santa Barbara City College Foundation.

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| Santa Barbara |

Performing Arts “[Our mission is] to educate, entertain, and inspire. That’s what we do. We believe in educating and entertaining everybody, but we also believe in inspiring the community and creating hope. I cannot define how people will be changed or touched because everybody has a very personal experience. But I do guarantee you will be changed or touched when you come to an Arts & Lectures event.” – Celesta M. Billeci Executive Director, UCSB Arts & Lectures

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Santa Barbara’s First Lady of Philanthropy Looks Back by Nick Schou

orn and raised in a leafy suburb of Detroit, Michigan, located near the city’s zoo, Anne Towbes grew up surrounded by the sound of animals – an experience she credits with sparking a lifelong passion for nature. But the future wife of the late Santa Barbara philanthropist Michael Towbes – and the surviving half of the city’s most influential power couple whose impact on the Santa Barbara’s culture of public work is difficult to overstate – was also destined for a career in philanthropy. The child of a family dedicated to public service – including an architect uncle who helped design parts of the Motor City’s skyline such as the nation’s first Ford automobile plant – says she learned early on the value of volunteering. As a teenager, she became a candy striper who visited the elderly in nursing homes. “I also created candy poppers (cardboard tubes filled with hard candy) and delivered them to children in hospitals every Christmas during my high school years,” Towbes recalls. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and used to organize my dolls as my students to play ‘school’ with them.” Towbes attended the University of Michigan for both college and graduate school, where she majored in English literature and education. During her studies, she met her first husband, Bob Smith, while he was attending law school there; the pair raised two children together while she tutored disadvantaged elementary students before becoming a schoolteacher for the next 18 years. Now, her daughter, Jennifer, owns Santa Barbara Magazine and C Magazine, and her son, Michael, founded an environmental venture fund called Regeneration.VC. Three decades ago, when Smith purchased KEYT-TV from the Shamrock Broadcasting Group (then part of the Disney Company), Towbes moved to Santa Barbara, where she continued her lifelong involvement in children’s theater and became a board member and eventually board president of the Lobero Theatre. “My daughter attended San Marcos High

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| Santa Barbara |

School and was active in theater there, and my son attended Cate School and was active on the tennis team,” Towbes says. “I also became president of the Cate Parents League.” Besides being an active participant in Santa Barbara’s cultural and educational community, Towbes also helped her husband leverage his role as a broadcaster to give valuable publicity to nonprofit organizations. “This would help them get their message and mission out to the public, who then would hopefully help support them,” Towbes explains. “We helped the station create programs such as Santa Barbara Treasures, which showcased several nonprofits weekly for several years. We also created a feature called ‘Kids You Should Know,’ highlighting local kids doing extraordinary things to help our community.”

“I am privileged to be able to give small amounts of support or ‘fairy dust’ to as many nonprofits as I can, as I feel it encourages others to give as well. Philanthropy has truly opened up my heart and my life and I try to live in gratitude every day.”

The husband-wife team also created KEYT’s Unity Telethon to raise funds and awareness for the Unity Shoppe and the Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse (CADA) mentor program, which helps local students earn volunteer hours by mentoring a disadvantaged student at least an hour a week during the school year. Both telethons continued over many years. “I also created the Gratitude Luncheon, which continues to support the mentor program,” adds Towbes. “We always have a speaker talk about who their mentors were who helped change their lives for the better.” For the past 30 years, Towbes has been volunteering her time and giving support to many worthwhile causes in Santa Barbara,

including Santa Barbara City College (where she was a foundation board member and later helped fund the Sara Evelyn Smith Drama Scholarship in honor of her late mother-in-law) and The Women’s Fund, where she served as a founding member and remains an active contributor. Other organizations she’s committed to are UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures as an ambassador and a board member of the UCSB Foundation (with a special focus on graduate education), the Hutton Parker Foundation, and, last but not least, the Towbes Foundation. After Smith passed away in 2003, Towbes met and later married her second husband, Michael Towbes. “Michael was a developer, banker, and philanthropist who taught me so much about philanthropy,” she says. “He was the most thoughtful, generous person I have ever known.” At the same time, Towbes says, her husband was strategic and clear-eyed with his funds. “He showed me how to focus on, identify, and support organizations having clear missions, goals, and programs that effect change and add to the soul of the community.” Among other things, Towbes says, Michael advised her to give to organizations that speak to her heart – in her case, those that helped foster the pursuit and appreciation of music, the performing and visual arts, education, animals, architecture, and mental health. Towbes is also helping to oversee the creation of the Michael Towbes Library Plaza, which will be located next to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. “This project is a passion of mine,” Towbes says. “It will serve to remind future generations about his incredibly generous spirit.” Towbes also considers herself lucky to be able to sponsor her own donor-advised fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation, which gives her more direct control over her own philanthropy. “I am privileged to be able to give small amounts of support or ‘fairy dust’ to as many nonprofits as I can, as I feel it encourages others to give as well,” she says. “Philanthropy has truly opened up my heart and my life and I try to live in gratitude every day.”

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SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY:

In Harmony With the Community

ver the last two years, Santa Barbara Symphony President & CEO Kathryn R. Martin has noticed a marked change in how concertgoers relate with the venerable local institution. And it wasn’t just that for several months, most of the symphony events had gone virtual. “What’s been different is that people bought tickets not just because they wanted to hear the concerts, but because they wanted to support us,” Martin says. The support from the community not only helped Santa Barbara Symphony outlast a crisis, but also strengthened its bond with its audience by continuing its potent combination of ticketing, education, fundraising, and partnerships. “The virtual format had a silver lining, as we created ways for the community to get to know the extraordinary musicians ‘up-close-and-personal.’” Martin says . “People want to feel a connection to the music and the people making it happen.” That bodes well as the 2021-22 season launched with in-person events anchored by an impactful calendar of critically acclaimed and internationally renowned musicians, with Maestro Nir Kabaretti as always at the helm as the Symphony’s music and artistic director. Season highlights include Beethoven in Bloom, presented in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. There’s the annual New Year’s Eve With the Symphony, where conductor Bob Bernhardt returns to host an evening of Gershwin and other symphonic celebration favorites. In the spring of 2022, there is also Romance in a New Key, presented in collaboration with “Through Vincent’s Eyes and His Sources,” an exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The heart and soul of the organization remains music education. The Symphony starts working with kids as young as third grade and it has programs that take them all the way to college, serving nearly 10,000 students every year. “We provide the bulk of music education for Santa Barbara students,” says Vice President of Patron & Community Engagement Rebecca Roling. “We know that music education creates tomorrow’s performers, fans, and community leaders.”

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| Santa Barbara |

“O

ur family has a deep appreciation for the enormously positive impact the Symphony’s Music Van, Concerts for Young People, and especially the Youth Symphony have had on my wife and me when we were members many years ago, and on our three children, who continue to play viola, cello, and bass, even as adults now. That is why we have included a bequest for the Symphony in our estate plans, to help secure the future of the Symphony and the education programs that have so enriched our own family. “

– Dr. Don Gilman

Past President Board of Directors, Santa Barbara Symphony

Reaching Higher

ore than ever before – your support OW! Thank you for helping my son be a part makes our impact possible. of something so magical! He has had a difficult At the heart of the Santa Barbara time all year with virtual school, but he is so proud to be Symphony’s mission lies our commitment to a part of this virtual concert. Seeing all the Santa Barbara be an indispensable partner to our community, Youth Symphony students performing together, virtually, providing enrichment through inspiring was emotional for my whole family. Thank you for giving concerts, joy, and music education programs. our students something worthwhile to work towards!” In normal times, ticket sales and other earned income cover less than 35 percent – Parent of a music education student of our total operating budget, leaving the remaining gap to be filled by donations. As the Symphony returns to live performances and in-person instruction, we are grateful SCAN TO MAKE for outpouring of support and encouragement. This has A DONATION... been a challenging time, and yet our five-year artistic and operational framework creates unprecedented opportunity for increased impact! 10/2/21, 2:23 PM

“W

sbs-logo-svg.svg

Santa Barbara Symphony

Rebecca Roling | rroling@TheSymphony.org Vice President of Patron & Community Engagement (805) 898-0107 | www.TheSymphony.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers: Janet Garufis, Chair of the Board Christopher D. Harris, Treasurer Michelle Richardson, Secretary Dan Burnham, Chair of Governance Kathryn R. Martin, President & CEO, Ex-Officio Nir Kabaretti, Music and Artistic Director, Ex-Officio Directors: Mashey Bernstein Sarah Chrisman Dr. Don Gilman Nancy McAleer Golden Renee Grubb Sam Hedgpeth III Palmer G. Jackson, Jr. Simon Knight George Konstantinow Isabelle Meyer Stapf Howard Jay Smith Dr. Robert Weinman Steven Zander, Orchestra Committee Chair, Musician Liaison

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STATE STREET BALLET:

A Fine Art for All Ages

(photo by Andre Yew)

t was March 2020 when Rodney Gustafson received the call no creative director wants to get. It was the week before the State Street Ballet was scheduled to open its production of Sleeping Beauty to a sold-out crowd and the Granada Theatre was on the phone saying it was time to move out their equipment and sets. The coronavirus pandemic was closing the doors on performances for the rest of the season. The shutdown could have crippled State Street Ballet, but the venerable dance company that Gustafson founded in 1994 had other plans. “Rather than many companies that just shut their doors and laid off many of their staff, I pivoted toward a more creative solution,” Gustafson says. One solution was to keep alive its intensive dance training program for 18-to-22-year-olds by moving classes outside. Another was to keep at least half of the company’s dance staff on payroll to mentor younger dancers and carry out a high-level program of virtual performances. It yielded some innovative choreography, including performances held in Santa Barbara’s mountains shot from drones hovering 200 feet over the ground. “I believe that having people watching ballet on their computer screens is not the best delivery system. However, it did give us some creative ideas where we can work outdoors,” Gustafson says. One reason why the company has been so resilient, says Gustafson, has been its strong track record of quality performances. “Quality doesn’t build overnight; it takes time,” Gustafson says. Another reason is the company’s legacy of collaboration with other institutions in the fine arts, from the Music Academy of the West to the Santa Barbara Symphony to Ensemble Theatre Company. In October, State Street Ballet returned at last to the stage in what may be its greatest collaboration yet: a production of the Tony Award-winning Kismet. Directed by the famed Broadway showrunner Lonny Price and featuring top-billing leads, the performance was underwritten and produced by Santa Barbara philanthropist Sara Miller McCune and in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Symphony.

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(photo by Andre Yew)

“S

tate Street Ballet, Santa Barbara’s premier professional dance company, has been bringing outstanding and innovative dance performances to our community since 1994. Under the steady leadership of Founder and Executive Director Rodney Gustafson, State Street Ballet has skillfully balanced each season with both elegant classical ballet as well as state-of-the-art contemporary works. Featuring talented dancers from across the country and the world, from California to Russia to Cuba, State Street Ballet makes dance accessible to a wide audience through outreach, educational programs, master classes, and brilliant performances.”

– Carrie Towbes

PhD, President of the Towbes Foundation & Licensed Psychologist

(photo by Andre Yew)

| Santa Barbara |

“T

ake a glance at State Street Ballet’s 2021-2022 season and try to hold onto your checkbook. You will want to buy tickets for yourself, your spouse, children, parents, and friends. Oh, and send a little extra to support this terrific troupe. All of Santa Barbara should be delighted by our dancers and grateful for Rodney, William, Brian, Leila, and the rest of the staff. Dan and I sure are.”

– Meg Burnham

(photo by Samantha Schilke)

Community Philanthropist, and wife of Dan Burnham

“S

tate Street Ballet provides Santa Barbara with a unique combination of high-quality programming and powerful community outreach. Whenever people ask for examples of young artists pursuing their dreams, I point them towards State Street Ballet and their extraordinary company of dancers. These talented performers come from all over the world to participate in the vibrant creative atmosphere of the company, and to have a chance to earn a living by touring and providing outreach to students. It’s an inspiration for all of us here in Santa Barbara to have Rodney Gustafson’s great organization proving that our city can support an ambitious and successful ballet company.”

– Charles Donelan

Arts Editor of the Santa Barbara Independent

Help Add a Live Orchestra to Performances

s State Street Ballet soars toward our 30th Anniversary, we seek to deepen our impact at home and on tour. The addition of a live orchestra to all major performances at our local venues will highlight the combined power of live dance and music, enhancing the quality of our productions and reaching a more diverse audience. Our touring productions take us to many underserved communities with a wide range of demographics, fulfilling our mission of making dance accessible and available to everyone. From large urban cities to small rural towns, we treasure each of these opportunities to bring the joy of the performing arts to people of all ages and backgrounds. We are honored to represent Santa Barbara as Cultural Ambassadors, knowing that our work in each community has tremendous meaning and long-lasting positive impact. Our fundraising goal, to support a live orchestra and subsidize our touring efforts, is $200,000.

“W

hen we moved from England to the far-off Santa Ynez Valley, I was delighted to discover a local ballet company of significant artistic merit. Now, for many years I have watched the State Street Ballet grow and prosper into a company of national reputation and world class performances. I know first-hand the challenges of maintaining and growing a ballet company, and Rodney Gustafson has brilliantly shepherded our local jewel through the years with artistic success and a school to provide for future dancing careers. Well done Rodney and well done members and students of our State Street Ballet!”

– Kate Firestone

Former Soloist with the Royal Ballet of Great Britain (wife of Brooks Firestone)

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

State Street Ballet

Rodney Gustafson, Founder and Creative Director rg@statestreetballet.com (805) 845-1432 www.statestreetballet.com

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT STATE STREET BALLET

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KEY SUPPORTERS Fred and Roxana Anson Barbara Burger and Paul E. Munch Dan and Meg Burnham California Arts Council Roger and Sarah Chrisman Benjamin Jerry Cohen and Jane S. De Hart Margo Cohen-Feinberg Brooks and Kate Firestone Dennis and Setsuko Furuike Seth Geiger and Teri Jory Arlyn Goldsby Patricia Gregory Deirdre Hade-Arntz and Will Arntz Belle Hahn Hutton Parker Foundation Jerry Isenberg and Caroline MacDougall Palmer and Susan Jackson Diana Katsenes Herbert Kendall Chris Lancashire Lillian Lovelace Manitou Fund / Nora McNeely Hurley Silo Tim Mikel Sara Miller McCune Montecito Bank and Trust Mosher Foundation Robert and Alexandra Nourse Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Jeffrey and Amy Pryor Robert and Patricia Reid Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture Maryan Schall Victor and Coleen Stewart Marc and Pauline Sylvain Roger and Justine Thompson Anne Smith Towbes Carrie Towbes The Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts Malcolm Tuffnell Richard J. Watts Karl Weis and Kristen Klingbeil-Weis Andre Yew

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UCSB ARTS & LECTURES:

A Cultural Gift to the Community

Rhiannon Giddens (photo: Ebru Yildiz)

Malala Yousafzai (photo: Antonio Olmos)

f you had told Celesta M. Billeci, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ Miller McCune Executive Director, in March of 2020 that within a couple of months the organization’s 63-year-old program would be redefined by racial justice, she may not have believed you. Then came the murder of George Floyd, casting the issue of systemic racism and its underlying causes squarely into the global discourse. In a matter of weeks, UCSB Arts & Lectures did what it does best: it recognized the gravity of the moment and mobilized leading thinkers, activists, and creatives for a season-long series called Race to Justice, which explored race, racism, its impacts on American society, and solutions for advancing racial equality. Race to Justice featured the likes of historian Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson, and was transformative for A&L, reaching viewers worldwide when most of the organization’s programming moved off-stage and online due to the pandemic. The success of Race to Justice embraced every word of the Arts & Lectures mission: “To educate, entertain, and inspire.” As Billeci says, “That’s what we do. We believe in educating and entertaining everybody, but we also believe in inspiring the community and Creating Hope, which is the theme for our 2021-22 season. I cannot define how people will be changed or touched because

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Alvin Ailey® American Dance Theater (photo: Paul Kolnik)

everybody has a very personal experience. But I do guarantee you will be changed or touched when you come to an Arts & Lectures event.” Race to Justice reinforces the versatility of UCSB Arts & Lectures to create a well-rounded program of 200 annual events that is simultaneously timeless and timely while offering something for everyone. This season, A&L launches a new Soul of America series celebrating the best of America’s jazz, bluegrass, and other homegrown musical marvels. The program also expands its scope to look at injustices in a broader context with its Justice for All series, bringing an even wider range of public policy makers, courageous changemakers, thoughtful writers, and groundbreaking artists to Santa Barbara theaters. 2021-2022 is already packed with a mix of provocative programming, including a lecture by renowned journalists and human rights activists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the return of Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, and the groundbreaking Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. During the performance season, you can count on nearly four events each week of world-class arts, music, dance, and educational programming, but as Billeci says, “It is worth your time, and it is worth investing in this program because it is a phenomenal gift to the community. We have something for everyone.” | Santa Barbara |

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (photo: Tenzin Choejor)

Wynton Marsalis

(photo: Piper Ferguson)

“A

rts & Lectures brings our community, the University, and its students an incredible array of artistic offerings that are unequaled in any other community of our size in this country. A&L always manages to present the kind of material that appeals to thousands – I don’t know how they do it! Their robust education outreach, presented to both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences, enriches younger students immeasurably. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a varied and stellar program right here on our doorsteps!”

Alvin Ailey® American Dance Theater (photo: Gert Krautbauer)

– Sara Miller McCune

‘The Wait Is Over’

ow that UCSB Arts & Lectures is again hosting live, on-stage events after a 20-month absence, Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta M. Billeci proudly proclaims, “The wait is over,” as she welcomes the Santa Barbara community to come back and join its 2021-2022 season. UCSB Arts & Lectures takes pride in putting together a program that is suitable for all ages and affordable for everyone in the community. “It is really a program for all parts of Santa Barbara and I’m very proud of that,” Billeci says. “We base our prices on what we have to charge, not what we can charge. ‘Access for all’ is a motto we stand by here at Arts & Lectures.”

Yo-Yo Ma (photo: Jason Bell)

Megan Rapinoe (photo: Sam Maller)

Joffrey Ballet (photo: Cheryl Mann)

KEY SUPPORTERS The dedicated advisory council members and leaders who have helped make Arts & Lectures a vibrant part of Santa Barbara. Jody & John Arnhold Loren Booth Marcy Carsey Marcia & John Mike Cohen Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher Connie Frank & Evan Thompson Martha Gabbert Eva Haller

Luci & Rich Janssen Tom Kenny Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing Kath Lavidge & Ed McKinley Patty & John MacFarlane Sara Miller McCune Natalie Orfalea & Lou Buglioli Maxine Prisyon

Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Heather & Tom Sturgess Anne Smith Towbes Sherry Villanueva Lynda Weinman & Bruce Heavin Merryl Snow Zegar & Charles Zegar

UCSB Arts & Lectures

Stacy Cullison, Senior Director of Development & Special Initiatives (805) 893-3755 www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

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SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES

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ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY:

ETC Reopens its Doors E

ight years ago, when the Victoria Hall Theater underwent a $12.6 million renovation that transformed the historic venue into The New Vic, the project was a marvel of volunteer collaboration. Nearly every person involved in the renovation undertaken by Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) was an unpaid supporter, from the board of directors to the fundraising committee to the legal department. “This is an example of how volunteers can come together to achieve something that really changes the community,” says Derek Westen, an ETC board member. The result was a magnificent 300seat theater that remains the envy of cities up and down the West Coast: a space with a rare combination of energy and intimacy that stages worldclass theatrical productions. The New Vic has elevated ETC into a nationally recognized theater company and increased Santa

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Barbara’s stature as a destination for the performing arts. The theater has also been a hub for nonprofits, who rent it out for events at affordable rates in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Since its reopening in 2013, The New Vic has hosted more than 150 nonprofit organizations spanning the social spectrum, from health and environment to education and the performing arts. “We are really elated how the building has worked for us and how it has worked for Santa Barbara,” Westen says. Following 18 months of closure due to the pandemic, The New Vic reopened its doors in 2021 and the Santa Barbara community has regained a remarkable calendar of theater productions that includes Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, the fresh-from-Broadway play American Son, and Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein’s musical adaption of the beloved opera. | Santa Barbara |

NONPROFITS THAT USE THE NEW VIC Adventures in Caring American Irish Historical Society Davey’s Voice/Animal Film Festival Environmental Defense Center Heal the Ocean Santa Barbara Help One Walk Human Rights Watch Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara KCRW Las Cumbres Observatory Los Padres Forest Watch Planned Parenthood Project Save our Surf Sansum Clinic Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Santa Barbara Audubon Society Santa Barbara California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture Santa Barbara Education Foundation Santa Barbara Rotary Club Westmont - Theatre Department Women’s Economic Ventures Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara

“The Legend of Georgia McBride” 2018 (photo by Jeanne Tanner)

“S

anta Barbara is a town known for its love of the arts – museums, music organizations, dance companies, and theater. Among all the stellar arts organizations in Santa Barbara which deserve our support, I am proud to invest in the groundbreaking theater produced by Ensemble Theatre Company at The New Vic.”

– Dana White

“School for Lies” 2018 (photo by David Bazemore)

Theater Lives On

Dana White and Derek Westen

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

TC depends on gifts from the community all year long to help subsidize ticket prices, fund education outreach programs, and support artistic freedom. Your tax-deductible donation makes a tremendous impact on the theater. Even in “normal” times, ticket sales accounted for only 40% of what it takes to create our productions. In these times, donations are key to ensuring live theater will live on in Santa Barbara. And, ETC has received a “four star charity” rating from Charity Navigator, so you can donate with confidence in your investment.

Ensemble Theatre Company (805) 965-5400 www.etcsb.org 33 W. Victoria St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Through December 31, 2022, the first $5,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Zegar Family Foundation

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Simon Williams, President Gwen Baker, Vice President Owen Patotzka, Treasurer Deb Pontifex, Secretary Meredith Baxter Paula Y. Bruice Ginny Brush Chris Carter Susan Case Michael Gray George Konstantinow Paul Longanbach Doug Norberg Lisa Reich Sybil Rosen Ken Rotman Chuck Sheldon Robert Turbin Susan van Abel Kathy Weber Derek A. Westen Dana White Parm Williams

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THE GRANADA THEATRE:

Roaring Back I

t’s just a couple weeks before October 2021 and Opera Santa Barbara is preparing to take the stage for its season kick-off, the Mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna. It’s an emotional moment. The 1,500-seat Granada Theatre has endured the past 18 months mostly shuttered with only a few cautious exceptions, but now the expansive venue is set to roar back to life healthier than ever. Granada Executive Chairman of the Board Palmer Jackson Jr. is visibly excited about the return, but he’s thinking about another event: a small outdoor concert series that kept Granada audiences delighted even when the auditorium was dark. He is referring to “Roar & Pour,” a live music fest hosted Thursday nights on State Street in front of The Granada Theatre, in collaboration with Opera Santa Barbara and the craft cocktail bar The Good Lion. When most of State Street’s venues remained closed, Roar & Pour was a beating heart of downtown Santa Barbara’s music scene, hosting up to 300 people enjoying music, food, and craft cocktails. “This was really a case of making lemonade out of lemons,” Jackson says. “Roar & Pour became a local institution and we were really proud to support the musician community in Santa Barbara while we could.”

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Roar & Pour has grown to be a potential new summer tradition for The Granada. But with fall, the organization turns its attention to welcoming audiences back for onstage performances, having taken advantage of the off-time to improve the century-old building and the surrounding neighborhood. That includes a $2 million downtown beautification called Plaza Granada, a collaboration among local business owners, city officials, arts patrons, and residents to renovate the neighborhood with landscaping, well-lit pedestrian passes, improved parking, and a competitively commissioned mural. The Granada Theatre has undergone multiple facelifts in the last couple of decades to ensure that the facility continues to be on par with the caliber of performers who grace its stage. Ensuring the theater is in its best shape is a point of pride for the organization as it welcomes audiences and artists back. “For many years, our resident companies have brought great artists from the entire world to The Granada,” says longtime Development Services Manager Kathy Kramer. “We host the pantheon – Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman – and they come back to The Granada year after year with pleasure because the facility has been so good to them.”

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The Doublewide Kings perform at Roar & Pour

e consider The Granada Theatre to be the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of Santa Barbara’s performing arts venues. We like to support The Granada not only because it is a local treasure, but also because we know our gift supports all eight of their Resident Companies including the Santa Barbara Symphony, CAMA, The Music Academy of the West, State Street Ballet, Opera Santa Barbara, UCSB Arts & Lectures, American Theatre Guild, and the Santa Barbara Choral Society.”

– Brooks and Kate Firestone

“T

o me, there could be no better way to emerge from the darkness of last year than to present a vibrant and dynamic new season that pushes boundaries and engages our audiences.”

– Maestro Nir Kabaretti The Doublewide Kings perform at Roar & Pour

Keep Them Coming

GRANADA BOARD

n normal times, the Granada Theatre can rely on about $2 million of earned revenue, the income it receives for use of the 1,500-seat hall. That revenue stream took a huge hit when the theater was closed for 18 months, but the commitment of The Granada to its partnership with its resident companies stands. For starters, The Granada will be the Grand Venue Sponsor for the Santa Barbara SCAN TO MAKE Symphony’s seven shows in 2021-22. Donations to The Granada A DONATION... support its resident companies and make sure the facility’s excellence continues to equal that of the performers who frequent the historic venue every year.

The Granada Theatre

development@granadasb.org (805) 899-3000 www.granadasb.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GRANADA THEATRE

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Palmer Jackson, Jr. Executive Chairman Dan Burnham Immediate Past Chair Roberta Griffin Treasurer F. Robert Miller III Secretary Merryl Snow Zegar Development Chair Yvette Birch Giller At Large Jan Bowlus Sarah Schlinger Chrisman David Cronenbold Brooks Firestone Timothy Fisher Charles C. Gray Blake Jones Mark S. Manion Leanne Schlinger

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Visual and Educational Arts “We believe that the arts are healing, and we see this every day with people coming into the studio and finding their peace.” - Lynda Weinman Founding donor, Clay Studio

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A Force for the Arts by Nick Schou

ai Tepper knew from a young age that she was destined for the arts. Along with her sister – who now attends Berklee College of Music in New York – the Central Coast native experimented with everything from ballet to visual arts. “The arts have always been part of my life; both of my parents are very creative,” says Tepper. “My sister stuck more to performing arts and I went into visual arts.” While studying studio art, art history, and graphic design at California State University Channel Islands beginning in 2006, Tepper landed an internship at the Santa Barbara Arts Fund. Three years later, she became the organization’s executive director. “I always thought Santa Barbara was so small, and at first, I wanted to get out and see the world and never thought I’d stay here,” she says. But with so many of her fellow young artists leaving town, Tepper wondered who would steward the future of the local arts and culture scene. She decided that the time was ripe to stay in Santa Barbara and help foster a contemporary Santa Barbara that is inclusive and exciting for current and future generations. “There was a transformation happening at the time with the Funk Zone, and I was part of a team involved in launching the mural program and the Funk Zone Art Walk,” she says. “It was a great opportunity to build partnerships and connect the dots between arts and culture – to help create a more vibrant community that benefits the collective whole. That’s still a philosophy that motivates me and guides me.” After four years at the Arts Fund, Tepper became the Santa Barbara Bowl’s first full-time outreach manager for seven years. From there, she transitioned to serve as executive director of the Children’s Creative Project (CCP), which serves an average of 50,000 children at 100 schools in Santa Barbara County as well as schools in Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. “CCP helps provide access to quality arts education for schools

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for grades TK through 12th. In some schools, our services are the only pathway for students to engage in arts education,” she says. “I’m excited to see how I can foster community partnerships to deepen student impact through arts and cultural experiences for years to come. The icing on the cake: I still get to partner with the Santa Barbara Bowl.”

“There was a transformation happening at the time with the Funk Zone, and I was really involved in launching the mural program. It was a great opportunity to build partnerships and connect the dots between arts and culture – to help create a more vibrant community that benefits the collective whole. That’s still a philosophy that motivates me and guides me.”

Tepper serves on Santa Barbara’s Arts Advisory Committee, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (she’s the co-chair of its Asian American History Affinity Group), whose core vision is to steward the past and present of the Presidio neighborhood. There, Tepper has helped push for greater social equity and neighborhood diversity. “I’m half Japanese,” she says. “Growing up I knew there was a Chinatown and a Nihonmachi [historical Japanese community]. There is really nothing left of Nihonmachi or Japantown, because as downtown Santa Barbara was developed and gentrified, it pushed out a lot of families. Right next to the Presidio is a big parking

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lot, but back in the day there was the Asakura Hotel, which was thriving. It’s such a disappointment that it’s gone and important to retell these histories.” One of Tepper’s main goals is to preserve and celebrate the rich history of what lies “beyond” contemporary Santa Barbara. “I am so interested in preserving those things and celebrating diverse stories,” she says. “It helps also to define the future of Santa Barbara – to see how we can empower this community as a diverse place that gives space to artists and creative people from all backgrounds. Although there is more work to do, it seems in the last five to 10 years, many organizations are starting to expand beyond the Spanish

Colonial narrative and work toward highlighting different historical narratives.” Finally, Tepper, an alumna of Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Arts & Design Academy, is also currently on the program’s advisory committee. She considers serving students and young people to be one of her most important responsibilities. “I really believe the arts have the ability to transform lives and can be used as a tool for social change,” she says. “I can’t not do what I do. It’s good to remind people that just engaging in your community and showing up is as powerful as anything else when it comes to community building. That’s something I try to do every day.”

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SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ART:

A Breathtaking Reopening

Installation View of Ludington Court

n August 2021, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art celebrated the completion of a six-year $50 million renovation campaign. More than 2,000 people streamed through the museum’s doors to see the new and renovated galleries during the grand reopening weekend. The renovation was essential, addressing critical needs to the main building built in 1912, including seismic retrofitting, the replacement of mechanical, air handling, and climate controls systems, and the replacement of ageing roofs. New galleries for contemporary art, photography and new media enable the museum to display even more of its impressive 25,000-object permanent collection. Highlights of the permanent collection on view include a reimagined installation of the museum’s monumental Roman marbles, intermixed with African and pre-Columbian antiquities. Galleries dedicated to the museum’s superb Asian collection celebrate the region’s diversely rich aesthetics with selections from China, Japan, Korea, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. A new Works on Paper Study Center offers members and visitors a behind-the-scenes view into the process of researching and caring for the collection. The grand reopening provided a short respite after a long construction period and fundraising for the next stages will continue. Now it’s on to programs, lectures, and exhibitions including, on February 27, 2022, the opening of “Through

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Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources,” a highly anticipated exhibition presenting 20 works by Vincent van Gogh along with over 75 works by the artists and authors who inspired him. More information about current and upcoming exhibitions can be found on the museum website. Art lovers of all ages are invited to join as members to enjoy free admission; discounts on programs, lectures, workshops, and shopping at the Museum Store; as well as access to events that celebrate and honor art for all in the community. Philanthropic support membership as a Museum Circles Patron provides donors with additional opportunities to meet artists, curators, and fellow patrons.

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e believe that integrating works of art into students’ lives is an important aspect of social and emotional learning. Looking at art – seeing art – can be a communal or a solitary experience. Art is one of the most important vehicles by which we come to understand one another. It makes us curious about that which is different or unfamiliar, and ultimately allows us to accept, even embrace, differences and new ideas. Through art, we can deepen curricular connections, explore expanded narratives, raise questions, and spark conversation.”

– Patsy Hicks

Director of Education

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Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890), The Wheatfield, 1888. Oil on canvas, 21 3⁄4” × 26 1⁄4” Honolulu Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Richard A. Cooke and Family in memory of Richard A. Cooke, 1946, 377.1

Program Support

e are grateful to the many generous donors for the support that made the first phase of the transformation possible. The next stages will include increased gallery space and more room for community outreach and educational programming. Later stages will include new public spaces which will provide additional opportunities to partner with other local cultural organizations. We will continue to use the museum’s art and resources to transform and enrich the lives of people in our community and beyond.”

– Larry J. Feinberg

Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and Chief Executive Officer

he museum provides education programs to over 25,000 students in Santa Barbara County each year, including free admission for all local students and teachers, free transportation for school groups and after-school groups, and free California State Standard based education programs for Santa Barbara Unified School District students SCAN TO MAKE in grades K-12. These include art lessons that A DONATION... increase student awareness on a range of topics, including social justice, mindfulness, nature, science, and ethnic studies. Your gift to the Annual Fund supports educational programs and opportunities for the community: including classroom and after school activities for students; in-person and virtual school field trips; adult studio classes and workshops; and free community days and outreach programs. ...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ART

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Susan Bradley, Deputy Director of External Affairs sbradley@sbma.net (805) 884-6427 www.sbma.net/support

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Installation View of Nigel Cooke, British, (b. 1973), Shipwreck with Spectator I, 2010 Oil on linen backed with sailcloth, 86 5/8” × 76 7/8” Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Gift of Dan Aloni and Sarah Brown, 2018.35

2021-2022 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Nicholas Mutton, Chair Richard De Schutter, Vice Chair Bruce Worster, Secretary Ken Anderson Gwen Baker Patricia Blake Lynn Cunningham Brown John Mike Cohen Joan Davidson Kathleen Feldstein Timothy O. Fisher Connie Frank Martha Gabbert John Gardner Christine Vanderbilt Holland

David Jackson Junie Prewitt Jinkins Norman A. Kurland Judith Little Kandy Luria-Budgor Carol MacCorkle Betsy Newman Doug Norberg Diane Sullivan Clay Tedeschi Jeanne Towles Martha Townsend Sarah Vedder Michael G. Wilson Barry Winick

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CLAY STUDIO:

The Healing Power of Art

lay Studio Founder and Executive Director Patrick Hall has acquired a lot of ceramics memories since he fell in love with clay at the age of 14 and soon after began working as a production potter. But a memory that still sticks with him is meeting Lynda.com co-founder and writer Lynda Weinman and “the breakfast that changed my life for the next 30 years.” It was about six years ago when Hall, by this point an accomplished clay artist, had started a small clay studio with his UCSB art professor Sheldon Kaganoff. The owner of the building wanted to redevelop the property and Hall was stuck looking for a new location. That’s when he came across Weinman and he told her all about his idea to develop a community arts center that teaches drawing, painting, and printmaking, but has ceramics as its core discipline. “I like your big idea,” Weinman told him during the breakfast, and she became his biggest investor. The confidence that Weinman placed in Hall’s big idea helped mold Clay Studio into what it is today: Santa Barbara’s leading community arts center specializing in all things clay, from hand building to wheel throwing to 3D printing. “Thank God for Lynda,” Hall says. “I could not have anticipated how well the community would receive this place and what a joy it is to be here every day to do my part in making this happen.” All this takes place in a modern facility in Santa Barbara under the meticulous care of five experienced staff members. Clay Studio offers nine three-hour classes per week, and it also brings together internationally renowned artists to host outdoor and

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virtual workshops. The nonprofit has enough space for eight private artist studios ranging from 150 to 400 feet, with another 16 that will be available in 2022. For her part, Weinman says she could not have anticipated the overwhelmingly positive response to Clay Studio, and sees this as only the beginning of a long story with Santa Barbara. “We believe that the arts are healing, and we see this every day with people coming into the studio and finding their peace,” she says. “We really believe that this is a needed nonprofit in town because of its healing ability for a lot of people who are hurting right now.”

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lay Studio is a phenomenal organization and experience! Gorgeous location and state of the art. They recently hosted several of us from Hope Refuge (a local nonprofit that helps survivors of child sex trafficking transition from slavery to freedom) for a lovely afternoon workshop and tour.

“Our children received the gift of being in the moment, connecting mind, body, and clay, in nature. ‘Uniquely therapeutic’ are the best words I can use to describe it. We are genuinely grateful, and look forward to returning. Thank you to Clay Studio!”

– Sean Mortland

Volunteer, Hope Refuge

“I

t was so fun just letting your imagination go wild as you’re kneading this clay and wondering, what am I gonna create today? It is so beautiful to see someone’s heart and soul infused into these sculptures, bowls, and pots! Thank you for giving the community a place to work with clay and maybe find a new passion!”

– Mika Nasta

Dos Pueblos High School AHA! Peace Builder

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n a very short period of time, Clay Studio has become one of the most important art institutions in Santa Barbara. As it continues to fulfill its mission, it will bring visitors from around the globe to take part in creative workshops and innovative classes. This will help raise the profile of Santa Barbara’s creative community generally, and should help the entire arts ecosystem flourish. It would be hard to overestimate the potential impact of Clay Studio on the Santa Barbara art scene.”

Help Us Grow

hanks to initial seed funding, Clay Studio has built a sustainable operation that is growing, but will need “fortification from others,” if it is to continue expanding, says Lynda Weinman, the nonprofit’s seed investor. The studio will undergo renovations this spring to further build out the property and facilities. Once completed, programming will include photography classes, printmaking, painting, drawing, and more. Clay Studio is aiming to raise $625,000 to pay for equipment and furnishings, with the goal of greatly expanding their classes and community offerings in late 2022.

Clay Studio

(805) 565-2529 www.claystudiosb.org 1351 Holiday Hill Road Goleta, CA 93117

– Nathan Vonk

Owner, Sullivan Goss An American Gallery

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Contact:

Patrick Hall, Executive Director (805) 886-6765 Patrick@ClayStudioSB.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CLAY STUDIO

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KEY SUPPORTERS Patrick Hall, Board Member, Executive Director Lynda Weinman, Board Member Amy Ryan, Board Member Anita Green, Board Member Josh Rabinowitz, Legal Advisor Juliette Fish, Glaze Technician Suzanne Hawtrey, Children’s Program Director James and Linda Haggerty of Haggerty Ceramics Michelle Griffoul of Michelle Griffoul Studios Michael Adcock, Artist, Potter & Ceramics Instructor Isaih Thomas, Artist, Potter & Ceramics Instructor Sarah Klapp, Artist, Potter & Ceramics Instructor Sarah McLean, Meditation & Wellness Instructor

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Animal Instincts “We have not survived a fire, a flood, and a pandemic to go down now. Failure is not an option.” – Jamie McLeod Founder, Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary

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My Rich Experiences by Les Firestein

homas Rollerson is a natural-born empathizer and philanthropist – a condition that literally harks back to his birth. Driven by the loss of his husband, Timothy Scott Palmer, in 1994, Rollerson turned his grief into founding the Dream Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to giving terminally ill adults end-of-life wishes. More recently, Rollerson has melded his decades of nonprofit experience into his current work as a philanthropic adviser with Advocates for All Things Good, helping givers make their donations more impactful and efficient. For Rollerson, his journey into the social sector began with the early death of his mother at age 44. “My mom, Barbara Ward Rollerson, was the most elegant, graceful, and caring woman,” he says. “She was a famed equestrienne and a rising star. When offered a contract at MGM Pictures, she flew to Los Angeles, where she instead chose to follow her dreams to raise a family.” Thomas Rollerson was the last of five children. Shortly after his birth, Rollerson’s mother began an 11-year battle with multiple sclerosis that she ultimately lost. “As a result of her MS, which progressed very rapidly, she lost her ability to walk and talk shorty after I was born,” he says. “My father and all five children would visit her in the hospital, whereas being the youngest, I coveted the best spot next to her in bed. It was what we knew, but it was also hell and brutal. Looking back, I regret not knowing more about what she was going through.” Intimately sensitized to the people with disabilities (Rollerson is thoughtful in putting “people” first before an adjective which describes anyone), he found his first job in the nonprofit world shortly after a trip to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to attend an Access Theatre production. “I was a successful businessman in my early 20s in New York when I saw a play by Neil Marcus, a playwright with a condition called dystonia – a disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions,” he says. “The play had a deep effect on me when I realized that my mom, whom – as a child our communication was so limited – was actually profoundly present in a body that could not cooperate. I was so moved by Rod Lathim’s production – which awoken me to realizing my own disabilities in perception – that I embraced the opportunity Lathim offered to serve as a company manager and never looked back. I guess I’ve always been guided by rich experiences more than material

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wealth. I wanted to follow my heart, not my wallet.” Working with Lathim’s Access Theatre, which advocated for access to the arts for audiences and performers with disabilities, Rollerson spent years making 10% of his previous income but was thrilled with the job. “This was before the Americans with Disabilities Act, so we really helped shine a light on the lack of accessibility to the arts for all people, which I found tremendously rewarding, enriching and educational,” he says. Rollerson’s next career move was also born from the adversity of someone close to him: his husband. “Timm had a terminal illness and I wanted to grant him a last wish,” he says. “That’s when I learned there was no wish-granting organization for adults, which gave me purpose to carry on in his memory” as he went on to begin the now-national Dream Foundation, which was founded with his friend Rod Lathim under the umbrella of Access Theatre. Rollerson spent almost 20 years at the foundation before his resignation in 2014. His 30 years in nonprofit management taught him more than a little about the inner workings in the social sector. “Charity status alone does not define excellence in service,” he says. “Good practices, efficiency and outcomes do.” He wished to harness his years in nonprofit management to advise and report on truth- and transparency- and outcome-driven investments in the sector. “There’s a great deal

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Thomas Rollerson’s Advice for Donors: • Give responsibly. Funds are in critical need locally, nationally, and globally. Just as one gives due diligence to one’s personal investments, the same practices must be applied to charitable giving. • Give strategically. Focus on the issues you care most about and select best-in-class organizations. Limit duplication except where you want to help build partnerships. Treat your philanthropy like a balanced portfolio. • Take time to do the math and do the research. At Charity Navigator and at the IRS websites, you can review a nonprofit’s tax filings – including salaries and expenses – which provides you with a financial snapshot of an organization’s priorities and accountability. When it comes to charities and their efficiencies and inefficiencies, I always say “do the math,” although numbers alone may not apply to every organization. For example, an advocacy group would be expected to have higher administrative salary costs versus a program-delivery organization. Therefore, equally important is a qualitative approach, as you ultimately are trusting the leadership and its people to make good with your investment.

of duplication of services and misinformation,” he continues, “and this has led me to the most critical and satisfying and diversified work I’ve done – the strategic work I’ve been doing since 2014 with donors and foundations. Helping philanthropists with vetting organizations and donate responsibly and effectively has been a profound honor.” Rollerson says it’s imperative that funders look at nonprofits with the same critical eye they bring to any other business they’d invest in. “I apply a series of filters in order to create a menu of opportunities for my clients that match their passion and intention,” he says. “This creates bespoke philanthropy with optimal bang for your buck rather than an imprecise spray of inefficient giving.” Still, after 30-some years working in and around philanthropy, Rollerson says he finds his greatest joy in what he calls “everyday charity – giving someone the parking spot. Giving someone a compliment. Buying someone coffee. Or, in my case, taking care of my father, who is 93,” Rollerson says. “I wasn’t sophisticated or conscious enough to help my mom when she needed it. So being able to understand my father’s needs in his sunset years is an incredible honor. I left home when I was 16. Today I appreciate every single day I have with my dad, which wasn’t always the case. We take care of each other.”

Thomas Rollerson’s Pivot Advice for Charitable Trends: • Corporate social responsibility will be increasingly important for recruitment, retention and the bottom line. • Greater transparency will be key to engage the next generation of savvy donors. • Content delivery methods must change beyond direct mail and traditional newsletters to engage the next generation of philanthropists and keep up with technology. • Private vs. public funding. Individual philanthropists and major foundations are learning that funding policy changes can benefit their mission more than investments in direct-service organizations alone. • There is a push for boards to reflect those they serve and for these boards to include members of the communities they serve. • Nonprofit boards will need to prioritize taking better care of leaders and all nonprofit employees for retention. • Like a responsible donor, organizations will depend on responsible board members that invest in organization outcomes and returns just like a for-profit board. • The major events of the past 18 months have shone a spotlight on some key issues: racial justice, voting rights and public health education. Charities whose missions touch on these areas have an opportunity to make a real difference if they speak to the need for progress in these areas. • Events will continue to change. Children of benefactors are not following the same patterns of philanthropy as their parents, opting out of black-tie events. The labor intensity of producing a splashy event can also distract an organization from meaningful stewardship of mission-driven donors, not to mention more reliable and sustainable sources of funding. • Prepare for a continued rise in funds directed to climate crisis and disaster relief. Prepare with reserves.

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THE ELEPHANT PROJECT:

ristina McKean’s life changed 20 years ago during a trip to Thailand, when she saw a baby elephant being exploited as a tourist prop on the streets of Bangkok. The scene ruined her trip. “It was just one of those moments where I thought, I cannot be a witness to this and not do something about it,” she recalls. “I always tell people, when you have a strong calling, it is what you do. You really don’t have a choice.” McKean began to advocate against the exploitation of elephants and working to get petitions signed. She recalls joining a protest at a circus, walking in solidarity with elephants between the tent where they were forced to perform and the trailers where they were being kept. She wanted to be part of the movement. At the same time, McKean realized that her protests would never make the greater difference she sought. And so, in 2017, she founded The Elephant Project, which funds the rescue and rehabilitation of elephants worldwide. “What was really important to me in this whole project is that I want to teach my daughters that one person can make a difference,” McKean says. Through The Elephant Project, McKean has aligned herself with a number of organizations that share her commitment to protecting elephants who might otherwise die or suffer inhumane treatment. She works closely with the Thailandbased Elephant Nature Park, which was founded by the elephant conservationist Sangduen “Lek” Chailert, who had a profound influence on McKean’s work. She also supports the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which works throughout Kenya and is famous for its orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in Nairobi. She recently launched a partnership with Elephant Cooperation, a San Clemente-based nonprofit that funds projects to protect elephants

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How One Person Can Make a Difference (photo by Kwaku Alston)

and their surrounding communities. In 2018, McKean organized a screening of Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, at Santa Barbara Junior High School. The documentary chronicles Lek’s pivotal work in protecting elephants and puts a spotlight on the “crush | Santa Barbara |

box,” a brutal practice in which elephants are beaten into submission. McKean expected only 100 people to show up to the screening. It ended up selling out. “The kids were so motivated to make a difference,” McKean recalls. “People turned around and asked me, ‘How can I help?’”

(photo by Lesley Fisher)

big supporter of The Elephant Project is San Clemente, California based nonprofit, Elephant Cooperation. “We recently met Kristina and became immediate fans,” says founder Scott Struthers. “She has that intangible quality that people gravitate toward, and her little elephants, Kiki and Tembo, are irresistible. Krsitina reaches people who care about animals on an emotional level. This connection can make a huge difference in wildlife conservation. We look forward to working with her to save more elephants.”

(photo by Jessica Dalene Photography)

(photo by Sarah Prince Photography)

(photo courtesy of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

(photo by Andrea Russell Photography)

The Elephant Project W W W.T H E E L E P H A N T P R O J E C T. C O M

The Elephant Project

Kristina McKean, Founder theelephantproject.com

(photo by Lesley Fisher)

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ELEPHANT PROJECT

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REDWINGS HORSE SANCTUARY:

(photo by Marissa Todd)

Where the Rescued Horses Roam Free

n any given week, Sara Ruggerone receives as many as 30 requests to rescue someone’s horses. She’s lucky if she has enough space to accept even one. “If we had accepted every horse that we were contacted about, we would have thousands of horses in our sanctuary,” Ruggerone says. Ruggerone is the Equine Care Manager at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, a horse rescue and sanctuary facility that relocated this year to the rolling hills of Paso Robles. Ruggerone has been active in the equine care industry and she owns five horses of her own, all of them rescues. Redwings operates on the front line of one of America’s most rampant but little-known tragedies: the neglect, abuse, and slaughter of horses. In the last five years alone, more than 370,000 American horses were shipped to their deaths in foreign slaughterhouses. There are a lot of reasons why horses need rescue. There are people who lose their jobs and can no longer take care of their horses. There are exasperated owners who discard horses for behavioral problems. There are even people who can’t make the commitment to take care of a horse after its rideable period, even

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though a horse typically lives 10-15 years past its “useful years.” Whatever the reason is, Redwings Horse Sanctuary is there to educate people about the widespread problem of horse abuse. And its 140-acre spread serves as a permanent sanctuary for more than 70 horses, some of which were rescued from the “slaughter pipeline.” “We have horses of every age, breed, and size,” Ruggerone says. “You name it, we have it or have had it.” Before this year, Redwings operated from a 167-acre ranch in southern Monterey County. The move to Paso Robles was a strategic one. “When we knew our lease was ending, we had a vision to move closer to town where we could get more volunteers and visibility and be a little bit more connected to the community,” Ruggerone says. By being closer to Santa Barbara, Redwings will be in a stronger position to raise awareness about its programs. In its first year alone, the organization wants to significantly increase its volunteer numbers and continue to increase the number of horses they can adopt. “We have a lifetime commitment to each horse,” Ruggerone says. “But every horse that’s adopted into a loving home makes space for another horse.”

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(photo by Jim Vincolisi) (photo by Marissa Todd)

“M

(photo by Marissa Todd)

arilyn and I have been associated with Redwings Horse Sanctuary for over twenty-one years. We started to support Redwings shortly after it was founded and have served as volunteers, officers, and board members. We have visited the sanctuary to view with compassion the horses who had been rescued from dire situations and rehabilitated and restored to good health. “We also helped in the relocation of the sanctuary to Paso Robles, California. The wonderful care given to the animals by the staff and volunteers of Redwings has been the driving force in our continuing to support the mission of the organization. I am sure the new facility will enhance the care of the animals and we wish Redwings continued success.”

Paso Here We Are

rior to moving to its new spread in 2021, Redwings Horse Sanctuary led a capital campaign called “Paso Here We Come” to pay for its new permanent facility. Even though Redwings has arrived in Paso Robles, the fundraising campaign continues with a target of $1 million. “Now that we’ve completed the move, we expect to have additional volunteers and to be able to offer more guided tours and educational outreach to the public. With our new proximity to the San Luis Obispo County community, we anticipate more interest in Redwings, which hopefully turns into more fundraising support,” says Linelle Soxman, a board director.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT REDWINGS HORSE SANCTUARY

Redwings Horse Sanctuary

Sara Ruggerone, Equine Care Manager (805) 237-3751 redwingshorsesanctuary.org 6875 Union Road Paso Robles, CA 93446 | www.thegivinglist.com |

– Marilyn and Jack Clifton

KEY SUPPORTERS Marilyn and Jack Clifton Catholic Community Foundation Community Foundation for Monterey Evelyn Gaul The Mary Jo and Hank Greenberg Animal Welfare Foundation Harden Foundation Diana Tiernan Hunter Sharon Johnston Kinnoull Foundation Belina Lee Lazzar Maureen Marshott Joan and Terry McHenry Kristan Otto Rosamund Reece Juanita Reid Trust Dr. Yvonne Robinson and Don Buss Patricia Theis Jan Vanderbilt Ward Family California Retirement Management Account and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance With special thanks to all the Redwings volunteers who give their time so generously to the horses

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THE SANTA BARBARA BIRD SANCTUARY:

A Sanctuary for Exotic Birds Stays Aloft

Feather-picking and, even worse, self-mutilation result from stress, frustration, and the tug of hormones. At the Sanctuary, we do all we can to restore the physical and emotional health of these beautiful and majestic birds.

eople call Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary (SBBS) Founder Jamie McLeod a warrior for good reason. She’s tough, resolute, and fiercely protective of the exotic parrots in her keep. “The birds count on me,” she says. The last few years, however, have put her and the flock to the test. Between wildfires, a flood and mudslide of historic proportions, and stay-at-home orders, all of the Sanctuary’s on-site fundraisers as well as income-generating education programs in partnership with schools, scout organizations, and senior groups were put on hold. These dire financial straits have put in peril the Sanctuary and its 50 or so parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and other exotic psittacine species. “Add to the local disasters a pandemic still going on after a year and a half. We’ve scrambled all of our nest eggs meant for our sustainable future,” McLeod says. “The last one’s in the kitchen cooking right now; making it to the end of the year will be quite a challenge.” But if anyone knows the Sanctuary’s warrior-in-chief, she does not yield to any challenge facing the Sanctuary. “We have not survived a fire, a flood, and a pandemic to go down now,” she says. “Failure is not an option.” This nonprofit has gone on an all-out campaign to reintroduce the Sanctuary to local residents and tourists in an effort to save the facility. Onsite and virtual visitors can experience docent-led tours and a series of Avian Adventure programs that cover the world of parrots through the arts, sciences, literature, geography, and conservation efforts. Also offered is what Board President Leslie Rugg describes as “a spectacular behind-thescenes package,” hosted by McLeod herself. Taking care of exotic birds is expensive. The birds are fed fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts twice a day. Their medical needs are also costly: One hormone implant to prevent birds from self-mutilation while in captivity costs $800. The full life expectancy of many parrot species exceeds that of humans. As pets, these wild creatures are often given up once the novelty wears off, which is where the Sanctuary steps in to rescue and rehabilitate these unwanted and displaced companion parrots. But don’t expect McLeod to cut corners to ensure her birds receive the finest care. Twenty-five years ago, Buddha, a Black Palm Cockatoo “on death’s doorstep,” was placed in Jamie’s care. The bird had belonged to the older sister of the last Shah of Iran. “After her death, the bird was not well cared for and became dangerously ill. I was asked to try to save his life, which I did,” McLeod says. “In thanks, Buddha was given to me. Here at the Sanctuary, he is treated like royalty, befitting his history and his rarity.” Is he really royalty? “I consider him a benevolent despot,” Rugg chimes in. “He gives his attention to those who admire him.”

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“S

anta Barbara Bird Sanctuary, a veritable oasis of joy, is a brilliantly conceived and superbly functioning sanctuary for unwanted and displaced parrots. We cast a wide net seeking a permanent ‘nest’ for our flock when we can no longer provide quality care. Multiple visits with Jamie, Leslie, and staff assured us future relinquishment to SBBS is the best course to honor and safeguard our feathered children. Not only is SBBS committed to its avian mission, but it also embraces education through its community and youth outreach programs. Teaching children about the majesty of avians is a crucial path to wise stewardship of these intelligent, closely bonded, long lived creatures. We are proud to donate to and sponsor SBBS, a trusted answer for parrot owners.”

– Scott Becker and Isabel Marcus

“T

he Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary is a life saver for parrots large and small. The Sanctuary provides a clean jungle-like environment for its parrot flock, many of whom require a therapeutic respite from their previous homes. Here, the birds have a chance to recover from the situations that caused them to scream nonstop or mutilate themselves through feather picking. Jamie McLeod and her team of well-trained professionals provide the best avian care and education on the West Coast. We are so fortunate to have the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary in our community. The Sanctuary has had my support from the day it opened, and it continues to fulfill a unique niche for all bird lovers and parrot species.”

– Jeanette Webber and her best feathered friend, Xena the African grey - Timneh variety

KEY SUPPORTERS SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

Saving the Sanctuary

cLeod and Rugg have pulled out all the stops to save the Sanctuary – applying for foundation grants, requesting individual donations, embarking on a marketing campaign to tourism agencies and travel guides, and restarting docent tours. “If the pandemic allows us to stay open, we will plan fundraisers,” says Rugg, “that will bring people to the Sanctuary who would not ordinarily visit just because they love parrots.” One of the events will be a wine and chocolate pairing event, with appearances by a few of the birds. “We would host the event here at the Sanctuary,” Rugg adds, “so that people would say ‘This place is amazing! Let’s come back... and bring our friends!’”

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through March 15, 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

Principal Officers of SBBS Board of Directors: Erica Brege Nancy Brough Leslie Crane Rugg

Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary www.sbbird.org 2430 Lillie Ave. Summerland, CA 93067

Dakoda’s Fund Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Smart Family Foundation Jeanette Webber Trust Wood-Claeyssens Foundation Scott Becker and Isabel Marcus Mike and Sheila Bonsignore Noelle Burkey Tim Dyer and Kelly Fairwell Janet Fulk and Peter Monge Leesa Givot Peter and Elizabeth Gray Leah Lollar Lorraine McIntire Will and Ellen Oswald Hal and Jodi Price Geonine Scott John and Laurie Tilson Fred and Linda Wudl

Contact:

Jamie McLeod, Founder and Sanctuary Director (805) 969-1944 office@sbbird.org

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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| Santa Barbara |

Centers of Peace and Preservation “We want everybody in the community, every demographic, to experience the beauty of Santa Barbara in a way that’s accessible, joyful, and enriching - not just those who have the financial means to pay for beauty.” – Deborah Schwartz Board President, Santa Barbara Beautiful

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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Giving Back What Was Given to Him by Nick Schou

s a child growing up on the Santa Ynez Chumash Reservation, Kenneth Kahn never felt neglected. His neighborhood was filled with friends and extended family members, and his life was rich – even if others in the world may not have judged it as such. This fertile environment helped Kahn understand the power of giving and volunteerism. “From the outside looking in, I think people would say we were less fortunate, but from the inside, we were surrounded by family,” Kahn says. “We had a thriving culture that kept us engaged in our community. From that perspective, because I grew up with the love and the support of family, materialistic things were less important.” Now, as chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Kahn, 44, uses his position as a community leader to help the next generation of families in need. “I’m lucky in that I can look back and appreciate that experience,” he says, adding that when it comes to partnering with nonprofit groups, his top priority is finding ways to support those most in need. “When it comes to the opportunities that I’ve had to contribute via the Chumash tribe to many charities in Santa Barbara County and elsewhere in the nation, the atmosphere of growing up without certain things informs all of our programming,” he says. “We want to make sure we are supporting families so they can have a level playing field.” As a kid, Kahn fondly recalls receiving gifts each Christmas donated by local nonprofit organizations, one of which, he says, was People Helping People. One of his earliest holiday memories, in fact, was receiving a jigsaw puzzle. “Even though it was a well-used regift, it was new to me,” he says. The same goes for most of the other kids with whom Kahn

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grew up. “For most of us, a gift was an old puzzle as opposed to a shiny new toy,” he says. “But from our perspective, we grew up wealthy, because we had all that with that support.”

“My neighborhood was filled with aunts and uncles and grandparents, so I could walk up and down the street and knock on doors, and everyone was family. We ate government food and had government subsidies, but it didn’t really sink in that we were poor, that mom had difficulty putting food on the table, was barely able to pay her bills and utilities, lights, and electricity. Today I am able to appreciate the support I didn’t realize I had then.” Growing up on a reservation, Kahn says he experienced a unique sense of family that other children weren’t necessarily able to experience. “My neighborhood was filled with aunts and uncles and grandparents, so I could walk up and down the street and knock on doors, and everyone was family,” he says. “We ate government food and had government subsidies, but it didn’t really sink in that we were poor, that mom had difficulty putting food on the table, was barely able to pay her bills and utilities, lights, and electricity. Today I am able to appreciate the support I didn’t realize I had then.” The tribe’s charitable foundation helps with everything, including a food program and general assistance for struggling families as well as other important needs that are increasingly

commonplace in today’s tough economic climate – including education and health care. “We are all exposed to those experiences,” Kahn says. “We all have a friend or family member that has had cancer or heart disease or is suffering from diabetes or other disabilities, and all those experiences inform what we do.” In his career as a community leader, Kahn considers himself fortunate that he was able to get involved early on when the tribe was just getting started in its charitable programming. “I’m an elected member of the tribe – the equivalent of a city council member,” he explains. “So not only am I involved in the day-to-day decisions on supporting our community, but the tribe also has a number of businesses that support and finance our programming.” So far, Kahn estimates, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated $25 million throughout its history to schools and nonprofit groups in the community and across the nation. In 2015, he helped create Team Chumash, which connects hundreds of people in the tribal community to the various organizations receiving its support. “That way, we match the power of the dollar with the power of time,” he says. “It gives people the opportunity to learn and grow and to connect with their communities. It is very empowering and a way to build leadership.” More than anything, Kahn sees his role as tribal chairman as helping to nurture a sustainable future by investing in community resiliency. “Looking at it from the overall philanthropic perspective, we’re not just looking at how to support the current generation,” he says. “Instead, we are looking five, six generations down the line to see how we can support our children and their children’s children.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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LA CASA DE MARIA RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER:

The Rebirth of La Casa de Maria

“L

a Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center holds a special place in my heart. It is an organization that welcomes people of all spiritual faiths at its cultural center to experience a variety of art classes and health retreats. My family has been a proud supporter of La Casa for more than forty years.”

– Lillian Lovelace

indy Faith Swain, Director of La Casa de Maria, has vivid memories of the day a Santa Barbara treasure was all but destroyed. It was January 8, 2018, when the staff and 120 retreatants were mandatorily evacuated from the historic 26-acre property due to anticipated torrential downpours. Since 1973, La Casa de Maria had dutifully served the community as a spiritual retreat center for people of all faiths and backgrounds – there was no reason to believe that this rain would be different than any others before. “No one had a clue about what was coming the following morning,” Swain remembers. “Our staff had a big rally in the courtyard and then began placing sandbags around our buildings. At one point, one of our groundskeepers said, ‘Do we really think this is going to be enough?’” By noon, we evacuated the property and relocated our guests elsewhere. The next day, mud and debris rushed down the Montecito hillsides and wiped out 14 of the property’s 26 acres. Nine buildings were destroyed. “It just massacred the land,” Swain says. “We were in complete disbelief, trying to wrap our minds around what we were witnessing. It was so painful.” Although La Casa de Maria has endured many changes through the years, this time it was different and has left its mark on the land and the community that has stewarded it for nearly 80 years. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart purchased the location in 1942 and turned it into a novitiate for young women training to join the order as nuns. Years later, the sisters turned the property into a retreat center for Catholic married couples, then La Casa became the interspiritual retreat and conference center we know today that accommodates 10,000 to 12,000 guests each year. La Casa is now in the midst of another transformation with the restoration and reopening of the retreat center. Unlike other changes in the past, this project will literally involve being built from the ground up. Though over five acres of certified organic vegetables and citrus trees still stand, La Casa lost dozens of ancient oaks and sycamore trees in the mudflow and plans to replant and landscape the 14 destroyed acres and rebuild the square footage lost to the mud. There are also plans to expand the farm-to-table produce to contribute to the homesteading and sustainability of the property. If all goes to plan, La Casa de Maria hopes to reopen in late 2023. The total rebuild will cost tens of millions of dollars, but the initial target is to raise two-thirds of that amount to get the property back to operational status and welcome people back to the retreat center as soon as possible. As Swain says, “The vision is in the silver lining as we reinvent the property in a way that is even more beautiful, sustainable, and functional than it was before.”

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Raising Funds for the Renewal

021 and 2022 are critical years for fundraising. The initial cost estimate to totally rebuild La Casa de Maria is tens of millions of dollars, but the priority is to reopen the retreat and conference center as soon as possible. Our best work at this point is to get us back to operational status – raising money and rebuilding the buildings and infrastructure we lost. With that, our aim is for guests to return to La Casa to retreat, renew purpose, strengthen community, and increase their effectiveness in the world. We are laser-focused on our SCAN TO MAKE mission to rebuild with a commitment to A DONATION... mind, body, spirit, and community. La Casa is needed now more than ever before.

KEY SUPPORTERS

La Casa de Maria Retreat & Conference Center Cindy Faith Swain, Director cindy@lcdm.org (805) 969-5031 x205 www.lacasademaria.org

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT LA CASA DE MARIA RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Lillian Lovelace Lois Capps Hutton Parker Foundation Anne Towbes Santa Barbara Foundation Ed Bastian Mary Becker, IHM Sara Miller McCune Vivian Engel, IHM Lucia Van Ruiten, IHM Mary Louise Zeyen, IHM

Ralph & Melissa Iannelli Christine Garvey James Bower Foundation Pearl Chase Society The Angell Foundation Weingart Foundation William J. & Susan McKinley Vicki Riskin & David Rintels Noelle Claeyssens Burkey David & Louise Borgatello, – MarBorg Industries

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LOTUSLAND:

Preserve a Community Treasure

olish opera singer and socialite Madame Ganna Walska led a life that was as colorful and flamboyant as the 3,500 species of plants that occupy her 37-acre botanic garden, known as Lotusland. This independent woman lavished all her energy and resources — even selling her dazzling jewelry collection – to help fund the garden she loved and helped to create. Madame Walska’s life and gardens are so spectacular, one might easily overlook the historical and architecturally significant buildings on the property. The Main House, a Mediterranean-style mansion, was designed by Pasadena architect Reginald Johnson, whose other noteworthy local buildings include the Biltmore Hotel, the Music Academy of the West (Miraflores), the Huguette Clark estate, and Santa Barbara’s Downtown Post Office. In the 1920s, Montecito architect George Washington Smith was commissioned to add multiple Spanish Colonial Revival flourishes to the property, including enlarging the dining room, adding a garage, separate pavilion, swimming pool with a small bathhouse, and a large horse stable that Madame later converted into her music studio. “These buildings are full of

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Madame Ganna Walska in front of the Main House (photo by J. Eyerman Lotusland)

character and history. Lotusland’s entire estate is truly an architectural gem.” says Executive Director Rebecca Anderson. Since the garden opened in 1993, most of its restoration projects have been to conserve and enhance the gardens. As Lotusland is charged with preserving the property, its structures, and the collections — both living and non-living, its work must extend to encompass the buildings. Regular repairs maintain the property and the long-range plan requires more substantial funds to restore structures that are more than a century old. The first priority for restoration is the George Washington Smith-designed pavilion. Today it provides a multi-purpose space suitable for exhibitions, non-living collections storage, and a home to special events. Lotusland is developing a ten-year master plan for its buildings and grounds, and a group of dedicated community members have joined together to spearhead its realization. To learn more and contribute, contact Lotusland at (805) 969-3767. Donations are gratefully received.

| Santa Barbara |

“I

fell in love with Lotusland upon arrival. I was inspired by Madame Ganna and the creativity and diversity of the garden for which she had such romantic and passionate vision. Our family has always respected and valued nature and all those who tend and cultivate world class gardens like Lotusland. We feel it is a great privilege and honor to support this well-loved local and national treasure which graces our community.”

– Nora McNeely Hurley The front of the Main House, 1920

Lotusland’s bath house in the Water Garden designed by Architect George Washington Smith and completed circa 1924 (Kim Baile)

“F “The Three Bachelors,” Encephalartos woodii perched above the koi pond in the Cycad Garden. (Lotusland)

Conservation of the Cycad Collection

rom my first visit to Lotusland, I was captivated. With the uncertainties around the pandemic, Lotusland has become a lifeline. There’s a sense of serenity in the garden that makes this verdant sanctuary so very special – it is truly a balm for the soul.”

– Jean Parry

Member And Volunteer

mong the most acclaimed garden rooms of Lotusland is the Cycad Garden, which represents one of the most comprehensive collections of these rare and endangered species in a public garden. This important collection, which includes three Encephalartos woodii, a species now extinct in the wild, is experiencing an outbreak of Armillaria, a root fungus that is dangerous to plants. This organism colonizes the root base of a variety of trees and shrubs and eventually kills them. Lotusland’s Cycad Garden has already had 30 important plants SCAN TO MAKE become infected that are now being triaged A DONATION... in the nursery due to damage from Armillaria. More plants are threatened. This project presents new opportunities to renovate and redesign plant beds and pathways, plus improve signage, accessibility, and plant health within the Cycad Collection for many years to come. Additionally, we will seize this opportunity to improve the aesthetics and function of the Cycad Garden. When complete, Lotusland Curators will be able to advance their preservation and conservation ...AND LEARN MORE work to ensure the legacy of these species. ABOUT LOTUSLAND

Ganna Walska Lotusland

Rebecca Anderson, Executive Director (805) 969-3767 ext 104 www.lotusland.org 695 Ashley Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93108

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Lotusland Pavilion designed by George Washington Smith

2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lesley Cunningham, President David M. Jones, Vice President Stephen Schaible, Treasurer Crystal Wyatt, Secretary Daniel Bifano Laura M. Bridley Merryl Brown Ron Caird Rachael Douglas Dorothy H. Gardner Anthony Grumbine, AIA

Joseph Marek Suzanne Mathews Mimi Michaelis Mari Mitchel Alexandra Morse Connie Flowers Pearcy Jeffrey Romano Caroline Thompson Rick Vitelle Lisa Bjornson Wolf

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CASA DEL HERRERO:

Preserving Santa Barbara’s History

n the day of the great 1925 earthquake, George Fox Steedman was visiting Santa Barbara from St. Louis, Missouri, reviewing the progress on the construction of his new home, Casa del Herrero. He was staying at a local hotel, which did not fare well when the earthquake hit, and he likely drove up to the Casa with trepidation as to what he would find. To his astonishment, the “House of the Blacksmith” was perfectly intact, and he moved in that day. Nearly a century later, the property remains frozen in time, the historic house and grounds preserved for the benefit of the community. Today, the Casa stands as one of only 2,600 U.S. National Historic Landmarks, a masterpiece of the venerable architect George Washington Smith, and one of California’s best examples of Spanish Revival architecture. The 11-acre property is an icon of the era of the Great Estates of Montecito in the 1920s, and an eclectic mix of Country Place Era and Moorish-inspired gardens created by Ralph Stevens, Lockwood de Forest, and Francis T. Underhill.

“The protection of the estate is not just about preserving the house and grounds, it is also about preserving local history,” says Jessica Tade, Casa del Herrero’s executive director. “The more you engage with the estate, the more you feel the memory and legacy of the family and the continued importance of that connection to the community.” Recently, the Casa expanded its outreach through activities that focus on the arts and youth, launching its first-ever summer arts program. Participants from Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, AHA! Santa Barbara, and Youth and Family Services St. George Youth Center Isla Vista came to the Casa to engage in art activities with local artists. The Casa further provided community access to the arts through an outdoor sculpture exhibition comprised of work from local contemporary sculptors and its Feria from Afar online art sale. “More and more we are looking at how we can expand our mission of preservation and thinking about new ways to make the arts more accessible,” Tade says. “In this way, we hope to support the continued vibrancy of the arts in our community.”

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“F

or me, Casa del Herrero is a ‘family affair.’ My mother-in-law, Joan, introduced me to the Casa soon after we moved to Santa Barbara in 1995. She was friends with the Steedman family and worked with several generous individuals to convert the fabulous estate into a museum for the public to enjoy,” said longtime supporter and former Board President Susan Jackson. “I remain captivated by the Spanish Revival architecture and admire owner George Fox Steedman’s attention to detail, and all that he created in his amazing workshop. My other favorite part of being involved is the friendships with the dedicated group of people who serve there. It is rewarding to support a living museum that brings inspiration to many people.”

The Casa Collaborates

“F

ollaboration is a key component of the Casa’s work. From nonprofit partnerships to local youth and school group visits, the community is able to engage with the preservation and creative aspects of the estate through educational and artistic activities. The Garden Club of Santa Barbara is a frequent partner in the preservation of the Casa’s beautiful garden spaces. Additionally, the Casa has a continued relationship with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s Backyard Bounty program, welcoming volunteers to harvest fruit to be given to those most in need throughout the county. Casa del Herrero relies on various annual fundraising avenues including a February membership drive, the Feria Andalusia art show and garden fair, and Christmas at the Casa, a special event with the George Washington Smith house decorated in holiday finery. As Santa Barbara remains resilient after SCAN TO MAKE tragedy including devastating A DONATION... fires, mudslides and now the pandemic, Tade is keenly aware that the future of the estate resides in connecting and collaborating with other community institutions. “As they say, ‘a rising tide carries all boats,’” she says. “Collaborating with other community nonprofits, volunteers, and the Casa’s family of donors, continues the positive trajectory ...AND LEARN of our mission while allowing our MORE ABOUT good work to soar.” CASA DEL HERRERO

Casa del Herrero

Jessica Tade, PhD Executive Director casadelherrero.com (805) 565-5653 1387 East Valley Rd. Montecito, CA 93108

or four Thursday afternoons in July, students enrolled in the St. George Youth Center summer program ventured out of Isla Vista to Montecito to take part in Casa del Herrero’s amazing art program,” said St. George Youth Center Program Coordinator Joshua Mejia-Padilla. “The kids’ faces were filled with joy and amazement from the moment they entered the Casa’s gates. Casa del Herrero’s property is so well kept and vibrant, it creates the perfect atmosphere to want to learn and appreciate the beauty of nature and the art found in it. We were so appreciative for the invitation to share this unique experience with our students!”

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

asa del Herrero board members are engaged volunteers who provide leadership in stewarding the historic house museum and gardens. Through their combined experience and enthusiasm, the board works to preserve the Casa’s history in service to the local community. Karen Jones Clark President Robert E. Williams Vice President Christopher C. Hardy, CPA Treasurer Heather Biles Secretary Board Members: Chris Blau John P. Duffy Marc Normand Gelinas Albert P. Hinckley, Jr.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Emily Jones Jennifer Kelly Mari McAlister Janet McCann Elizabeth Storm McGovern Fran Morrow, PhD Annalisa Hinckley Savin Meghan Stoll Katherine Pharibe Wise George S. Bass Founding Trustee

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SANTA BARBARA BEAUTIFUL:

Uplifting Beauty, in All Its Incarnations

anta Barbara has been fortunate to have many proud residents. One of them was Pearl Chase, a founding committee member of Santa Barbara Beautiful, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to stimulate community interest and action toward the enhancement of Santa Barbara’s beauty as a complement to current and future civic and private activity. Chase dedicated herself to a life of beautifying Santa Barbara and was a pivotal figure in the transformation of the city’s aesthetic, including the integration of the city’s now iconic Spanish Colonial architecture. One of Chase’s greatest contributions to the mission of the organization was to define beauty in much broader terms than the physical beauty for which Santa Barbara is already so renowned. “What is community beauty? What is natural beauty? What is family beauty? People would answer that in different ways,” says 2021 Board President Deborah Schwartz. “It is important because beauty needs to be larger in its definition. We want everyone in the community, every demographic, to experience the beauty of Santa Barbara in a way that’s accessible, enjoyable, and enriching – not just those who have the financial means to pay for beauty.” The organization does much to enhance natural beauty, of course. Find any tree on any street in Santa Barbara and the odds are high it was planted with the support of Santa Barbara Beautiful. To raise awareness of the trees in Santa Barbara’s urban forest,

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a popular series on their website features a Tree of the Month profile. Each article is read by thousands, with website hits from all over the world. The nonprofit contributes to the city’s physical beauty too, supporting public art projects like the I Madonnari Italian Street Festival, Pianos on State, and the new Granada Plaza Mural, as well as the restoration of the Campbell Bridge at the Botanic Garden. Each year, individuals, organizations, and businesses are recognized and celebrated for their contributions to the fabric of Santa Barbara. Important private and community public-access projects that have enhanced the quality of life and expanded the beauty of Santa Barbara are honored. It is also active in civic beauty, with a long track record supporting cultural and educational initiatives. Every year it grants multiple scholarships to college students in Santa Barbara majoring in horticulture and architecture. In celebration of National Arbor Day in April, the Adams Elementary School and Cold Spring School welcomed the return of in-person Arbor Day Tree Planting Ceremonies. The children were excited to help with shovels of dirt, and the newly planted trees supplied by Santa Barbara Beautiful lifted everyone’s spirits. Now in its 66th year, Santa Barbara Beautiful continues with the mission expressed by Pearl Chase to encourage and enhance beauty and civic pride in Santa Barbara.

| Santa Barbara |

Photo by Jeffrey Sipress Photo by Jeffrey Sipress

“N

ow in its 12th year, Pianos on State is an interactive musical experience that takes place in downtown Santa Barbara during Arts and Humanities Month. Santa Barbara Beautiful has been a major sponsor and champion of this public art project since its inception. Pianos on State appreciates how Santa Barbara Beautiful’s support has inspired creativity and spontaneity for all to enjoy. We are so grateful for their visionary and steadfast support of this popular program as it has grown over the years.”

– Casey Caldwell

Managing Director of the Community Arts Workshop

Planting Seeds of Beauty

ince its inception in 1965, Santa Barbara Beautiful has been actively involved in promoting and supporting the planting of trees along Santa Barbara’s streets. The nonprofit administers the Commemorative Tree Program for qualified new and existing city street trees. Sponsorship with a commemorative plaque gives donors an opportunity to support the urban forest and create a lasting tribute. To date, Santa Barbara Beautiful, in partnership with the Urban Forestry Division of the City of Santa Barbara, has funded the planting of over 13,000 street trees. In addition to the Commemorative Tree program, Santa Barbara Beautiful rounds out their annual budget through memberships, private donations, and Legacy gifts. In supporting the organization, donors contribute to keeping the county beautiful through the planting of trees, the funding of art in public places, the restoration of community landmarks, and the nurturing of cultural and educational programs.

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA BARBARA BEAUTIFUL

Santa Barbara Beautiful

Susan M. Bradley, Board Secretary www.sbbeautiful.org (805) 965-8867

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KEY SUPPORTERS 2021 Board of Directors: Deborah L. Schwartz, President Santos Escobar, Vice President and Treasurer Jeffrey Sipress, Vice President IT Susan M. Bradley, Secretary Jacqueline Dyson, Assistant Secretary Suzanne Fairly David Gress Penny Haberman Lori Kari Kate Kurlas Kerry Methner Robert Ooley Ellen Robinson Caroline Rutledge Leslee Sipress Nathan Slack Mark Whitehurst

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Caretakers “For more than a century, and through every crisis, VNA Health has been here caring for our community. Through fires, floods, earthquakes, two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, the Spanish Flu Pandemic, the COVID-19 Pandemic … and even in our nation’s crusade for justice, peace, and equality … VNA Health is here to sustain the continuum of care at home and ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our community.” – VNA Health

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From Local Kid to Social Sector Leader by Nick Schou

asy Lift Transportation Executive Director Ernesto Paredes remembers his earliest experience volunteering as a young kid in Santa Barbara. Growing up on the south side of town as a child of public education and community-based sports, Paredes briefly joined the Cub Scouts, which was a catalyst for his early interest in volunteering. “It was a good organization, but wasn’t the right fit for me,” Paredes recalls. “However, it introduced me to volunteering and to the Goleta Boys & Girls Club and lifetime mentor Sal Rodriguez. The club became my second home.” Paredes – whose professional career now revolves around providing services to the elderly and people living with disabilities – believes that his adult path in life as an active participant in the city’s nonprofit community began early on. “I was in the track club and went by San Marcos [High School] one Saturday and the local Special Olympics was doing an event.” From that moment on, Paredes was hooked on the concept of helping the disabled and disadvantaged in his community. “I saw what this event was doing not only for the athletes, but the families that appreciated it and the ripple effect and the pride they had,” he says. “These were individuals you didn’t see in the community that often because there was still a stigma [about disability] back then. I realized that even though people didn’t seem to value these individuals, there is still a place for them.” Despite his keen interest in sports, while graduating from San Marcos in 1984, Paredes realized that playing professionally wasn’t in his future. “I recognized that I wasn’t going to compete at college level,” he says. “I worked on my grades and thrived at Santa Barbara City College, and that’s where I developed my confidence.” It was during this time that Paredes says his eyes were opened to another option when he found a job at what was then called the Rehabilitation Institute of Santa Barbara (now known as Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital) on De La Vina Street. “That was where I developed my affinity for working with seniors,” Paredes says. “There were a lot of people recovering from strokes or who had diabetes and were recent amputees. I realized that this group of people – frail seniors with the

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stories they had of living through the Great Depression – these individuals had the same interests I had, and their minds and spirits were right there with the rest of us.” Paredes became so interested that he went on to earn a degree in gerontology at the University of Southern California. “I knew that our life expectancy was going to increase and hopefully improve with research,” he says. He saw a clear need for people with his passion for working with the elderly.

| Santa Barbara |

“I returned to Santa Barbara in 1990, and my first job was at the YMCA as aquatic director. With a push from his friend Jim Rivera, who worked at the United Way of Santa Barbara, Paredes cold-called 10 nonprofits in town looking for his next job. “I introduced myself and asked if there was anything I could do for them.” A month later, Paredes met with Tom Roberts, the executive director of Easy Lift Transportation, which provides lowcost rides to and from home for senior citizens, enabling them to participate in social activities at nonprofit organizations such as Friendship Center. “He told me he had a job as director of operations,” Paredes says. “It was essentially my job if I wanted it. I thought, ‘Transportation?’ I don’t know if there is anything less sexy than transportation, but I’ll do it for a year.” But providing access to seniors would become his life’s work. “Like anything else, I got into the world, the stories, the passengers,” he says. “I realized that it was the people I knew who would keep me here.” Paredes continued to work at Easy Lift for 10 years before he felt he was ready to become a nonprofit executive director.

“It’s really important for me to share as much wisdom as I can, to share wisdom with younger directors. The more you learn from others, hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes as some of us did. And maybe you can learn from some of the successes as well.”

With that title, Paredes joined Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara, which provides volunteer advocates for neglected or abused children as they journey through the county’s family court system. “CASA was a little engine that could, but was small and having financial challenges,” Paredes says. “They took a chance on a newbie.” Paredes describes the job as a game-changer. “I was introduced to another world, the earlier side of human development and the underbelly of our community – child abuse and neglect.” Through CASA, Paredes became intimately familiar with Santa Barbara’s nonprofit world, meeting numerous community leaders and donors. “At CASA, I met another mentor,

Larry ‘Mr. Santa Barbara’ Crandell. He was a true champion of our philanthropic sector,” he says. “In fact, he – along with Michael Towbes, Pierre Claeyssens, Palmer Jackson Sr., Sara Miller McCune, and Tom Parker – is my personal choice for our local nonprofit Mt. Rushmore supporters.” “These were people who were in the financial position to not only give but to recruit other people to give and who were creative and able to share our process,” he says. “It was one of the highlights of my professional career. I got to help involve other people in the community and serve children who without our voices would be voiceless.” In 2005, however, Easy Lift recruited Paredes back into the fold as its executive director – a title he still holds. In 2018, Paredes also joined the Santa Barbara Foundation as a trustee and became a board member of Cottage Health. For his many volunteer commitments, Paredes was awarded the 75th Man of the Year award in 2017 by the Santa Barbara Foundation. “I hope our community is aware of the great leaders we have in Ron Werft, CEO of Cottage Health, and Jackie Carrera, CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation,” he says. “These two are truly my professional heroes – the best of the best!” “During the pandemic, it has been fascinating to see how a nonprofit like Cottage can deliver a white glove quality of service to our community,” Paredes says. “At the Santa Barbara Foundation, we are serving many name brand nonprofits but also small-scale organizations that are really important in our community. It has been a gift to be able to see the development of the great things we are accomplishing, but there is still work to be done. That will always be the case.” When Paredes joined the Santa Barbara Special Olympics Leadership Council as chairman this year, he felt that his life in public service had finally come full circle. “It’s something that has been near and dear to me as a child,” he says. And as the founder and director of the Executive Roundtable, he says he feels lucky to pass on what he’s learned to the next generation of nonprofit leaders in Santa Barbara. “It’s really important for me to share as much wisdom as I can, to share wisdom with younger directors,” says Paredes. “The more you learn from others, hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes as some of us did. And maybe you can learn from some of the successes as well.”

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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SANTA BARBARA RITECARE LANGUAGE CENTER:

Where Children Find their Voices

ittle Ryan was only three years old when he was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), an uncommon motor planning disorder that makes it difficult for children to produce sounds and sequence sounds into words. CAS requires a lot of time and therapy to overcome, and it takes an equal measure of patience from speech pathologists and the kids themselves. When the toddler first came to Santa Barbara RiteCare, a nonprofit center that provides speech and language services to young children, Ryan could only utter four sounds and less than 10 percent of his speech was intelligible. It took two years and three therapy sessions a week, but Ryan made a quantum leap in progress. By the time he graduated, about 75 percent of his speech was intelligible. Overcoming speech disorders like CAS also requires early intervention, a RiteCare specialty. Ryan would often come to sessions with his twin brother Bryan, who was quickly diagnosed with a milder form of a speech disorder and enrolled in therapy as well. During summers, both brothers attended Camp Chit Chat, a fun and socially interactive program to help preschool-age children with their communication skills. When they showed signs of reading difficulty, they were enrolled in RiteCare’s Brain Lab program, a literacy intervention program for children from second to sixth grade. The twin brothers are two of the more than 150 success stories who receive Santa Barbara RiteCare’s speech and language services every year. The programs rely entirely on donations and are completely free to the children’s families. “Their parents would not have been able to afford any sort of therapy outside of what we were able to give them,” says Julie DeAngelis, center director and speech-language pathologist. Ryan and Bryan are 10 now, having aged out of all the Center’s programs, but they are forever changed by their experience. “What’s neat is that communication is the most basic thing that everyone needs to be successful, and these children go through an invaluable life experience of overcoming adversity,” DeAngelis says. “It’s empowering for them to have that at a young age.”

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“I

am so grateful for everything Santa Barbara RiteCare has done for Annie. She was accepted into the Brain Lab program right when the pandemic hit. I had been so worried about academic shortfalls because she was already struggling with reading. You offered her that extra academic support just when she needed it the most. She truly loved the activities and engagement Brain Lab offers and it helped her develop a love for reading. Her teachers met with her in the fall and were amazed she didn’t lose any ground over the summer but had made gains in her reading,” says Krissy Cook, parent of nine-year-old Brain Lab graduate Annie Cook, who adds, “Brain Lab was so fun! The games were really good, and they got more challenging as I got better at them.”

| Santa Barbara |

“I

am a supporter of Santa Barbara RiteCare because of the profound effect this amazing therapy has on the lives of young children with speech and language disorders, as well as the huge difference the therapy continues to make as children grow and further their education. The incredible dedication and skills the therapists provide to children and their families has helped hundreds of children become capable and confident communicators and to achieve academic success. There truly is no better way to help children and our community than by supporting Santa Barbara RiteCare.”

– Don Goldberg

“S

ummer and Julie at Santa Barbara RiteCare Language Center create a fun and interactive environment for young children to work on their early communication skills. Their love of children and helping them shines through from the moment you meet them. They have developed a playful, engaging program to help their students learn from books and board games to themed dinosaur and safari weeks during Chit Chat Camp. We love supporting SB RiteCare, so that they can continue to reach as many children as possible.”

– The Mark Frank Family

Fundraising Season

here are many children in the Santa Barbara community facing social, reading, and communication delays. Since 1984, Santa Barbara RiteCare has been providing free, high-quality therapy for many of these children and we need your help to make our efforts go even further. Your partnership with Santa Barbara RiteCare ensures that our unique individualized therapy programs will continue to give children in our community the opportunity to succeed in something many of us take for granted: communication. Your support funds our Brain Lab, Camp Chit Chat, and speech and language therapy programs, which together enrolls over 150 children annually.

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MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through January 15, 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

Santa Barbara RiteCare Language Center (805) 962-8469 www.santabarbararitecarecenter.org 16 E. Carrillo Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

| www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS American Riviera Bank City of Santa Barbara – COVID Relief Funding King David’s Lodge – Arroyo Grande Santa Barbara Foundation Sidney E. Frank Foundation Towbes Foundation Wood-Claeyssens Foundation David Bradley & Chelsea Rangsikitpho Mark & Amy Frank Lois Gill Don & Marin Goldberg Matt Harrison Debbie Kleinpeter Patricia Krout Andy Little Josh Matlaf Toine & Kandie Overgaag Christian Saunders Maurice & Mary Sourmany Ventura Scottish Rite

Contact:

Julie DeAngelis, Executive Director (805) 962-8469 jdeangelis@casrf.org

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VNA HEALTH:

Legacy of Care Lives On

aring for our communities has been at the core of VNA Health for more than a century. Six generations have expressed their profound gratitude for the care that helped them live independently and enjoy the highest quality of life even in their final days. In 1908, Marian Watts – one of our country’s original visiting nurses – recruited a group of Santa Barbara women she described as “public spirited and farsighted” to build an organization with a philanthropic mission to serve the community. Their goal was ambitious but simple: provide everyone with quality healthcare, including those with limited or no financial resources. At 113 years and vibrant as ever, the VNA Health organization (formerly known as Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care) built by Watts and those pioneering women has outlasted every conceivable crisis: floods, fires, earthquakes, two world wars, and pandemics. Through the years, VNA Health continues to be a community trailblazer and has developed healthcare programs to meet the evolving needs. Many clinics and programs across Santa Barbara today – from the first urgent care service to women and baby wellness clinics to nursing education programs – have had their start with VNA Health. Community collaboration remains vital to the VNA Health mission with as many as 50 affiliations, including Cottage Health, Sansum Clinic, CenCal Health, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, and a number of communitybased organizations such as the Family Service Agency, Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s Association, and American Heart Association. “Trusted and compassionate care in the home is what VNA Health has always done – care that even COVID-19 couldn’t stop,” says Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Benard. “While much of life as we knew it shut down due to the pandemic, VNA Health

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knew exactly what to do: keep people safe at home.” Through nursing and rehabilitative therapies to get people back on their feet or end-of-life comfort care, VNA Health’s promise to help people live their best life has never wavered. VNA Health is the only home healthcare agency committed to Santa Barbara families through a charitable mission that provides Serenity House, the Loan Closet, subsidized healthcare, and a variety of community programs. “The longevity of VNA Health is a testament to its leadership, its collaboration, and its generous community that understands the importance of caring for one another,” says Benard. Today, VNA Health is as vital to the health and well-being of our communities as it was over a century ago. The founding “public spirited and far-sighted” Santa Barbara women would be proud to see that their trailblazing legacy lives on today.

| Santa Barbara |

hanks to VNA, my wonderful mother Evelyne Houdek passed away peacefully and painlessly at Serenity House at the age of 100,” shared daughter Linda Whiston. “When mom arrived at Serenity House, her first words to me were ‘I feel safe here.’ That’s exactly what I wanted – for her to feel safe and to know that if she had a crisis, it would be fine. I got to be by her side… to love her and be there with her.”

(photo by Rhianna Mercier)

(photo by Emily Hart-Roberts)

“T

(photo by Scott Gibson)

– Linda Whiston

Serenity House Now & Always estled on a hillside among coastal oaks, Serenity House is Santa Barbara’s treasured hospice home – a place of safety, comfort, and love. VNA Health maintains this vital resource so that everyone, whether they have adequate financial resources or not, has access to a peaceful and dignified passing. Serenity House is one of only a dozen facilities of its kind in all of California, and the next closest one to Santa Barbara is 150 miles away. It is only through the continued generosity of the community that this sanctuary can remain a beacon of hope. “Serenity House is a unique and incomparable gift – an irreplaceable resource of vital importance to our community’s healthcare that deserves our highest levels of support,” shared Fred Kass, MD, a Santa Barbara oncologist for more than three decades. Please visit vna.health/SerenityHouseAnniversary to make a gift.

(photo by Emily Hart-Roberts)

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...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT VNA HEALTH

VNA Health

KEY SUPPORTERS Board of Directors: Michael Bordofsky, MD Alex Craigie, Esq. Eusebio Cordova, Jr. Pamela Dillman Haskell Gregg Hackethal Karen Handy Fred Kass, MD Ken Kraus Mark Mattingly Neil Levinson, Esq. Ben Phillips Suzi Schomer Lynda Tanner, RN, MSN Christopher Thrash, MD

Directors Emeriti: Ed Brady Stan Fishman Herb Geary, RN Jane Habermann Christopher Jones, Esq. Steve Lew Michelle Martinich, CPA Chris McNamara Judy Murphy Elna Scheinfeld James Stovesand Ted Thoreson, MD

Rebecca Benard, Foundation Executive Director (805) 690-6222 www.vna.health 509 E. Montecito Street, S-200, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 | www.thegivinglist.com |

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EASY LIFT:

Lifting the Burden on the Elderly and Disabled

rnesto Paredes, the longtime executive director of the transportation service Easy Lift, was 16 years old when he got his first car, a Volkswagen Rabbit. It was a formative experience for Paredes, who grew up in Goleta, teaching him the value of independence and how easily transportation can be taken for granted until you don’t have it. Years later, Paredes would earn a university degree in gerontology from USC, an experience that taught him about respecting the elderly and not taking them for granted either. Creating a culture of compassion would later become a core part of Paredes’ philosophy when he took the helm of Easy Lift in 1991, just after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandated transportation services for disabled individuals. The success of the transportation service thrives on drivers who care about their riders. “Our litmus test is very simple: Would you trust this driver to pick up your mother?” Paredes says. “I expect all of our drivers to be able to pick up your mom.” Today, Easy Lift has up to 35 drivers and a fleet of 30 vans. The organization’s biggest challenge is not increasing demand – ridership grows up to 10 percent a year, Paredes says – but ensuring that riders with mental, physical, or cognitive disabilities

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who rely on Easy Lift’s flagship Dial-a-Ride service always have reliable access to vans and drivers. It’s all part of Paredes’ long-term plan to build Easy Lift into a vital community resource, synonymous with local institutions like Stearns Wharf, Lotusland, and the Santa Barbara Zoo. “There are certain places in this community that you may not frequent, but you’re glad that they are there and that’s exactly the way I want Easy Lift to be,” Paredes says. “You may not need us today or tomorrow, but maybe someone in your family or maybe a neighbor will need us, and you’ll know about it and you’re thankful that Easy Lift is there.”

| Santa Barbara |

Adopt-a-Van

hether it’s a person living on disability assistance or a retired person surviving on a pension, Easy Lift recognizes that most of its passengers depend on limited fixed income. That’s why the organization keeps the cost of a one-way ride through Dial-aRide at a very affordable $3.50. The program is subsidized through donations, grants, and public transit contributions. Easy Lift makes up for budgetary shortfalls via multiple sponsorship opportunities, including its most popular Adopt-a-Van, which provides sponsors “with a full-color rear vehicle wrap on one of our vehicles for a year.” As Executive Director Ernesto Paredes says, Adopt-a-Van is “a nice fundraiser that we don’t have to go out and hustle and do a big event and all the craziness that comes with it.”

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Eric Miller, Board President Robert Gray, Secretary Roy McLaughlin, Treasurer Matthew Dentinger Dave Johnson Craig McClellan Kim Olson

Easy Lift Transportation

Ernesto Paredes, Executive Director (805) 681-1410 www.easylift.org 53 Cass Place, Suite D, Goleta, CA 93117

BOARD MEMBERS

...AND LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY LIFT TRANSPORTATION

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| Santa Barbara |

End of Life “To be able to give someone their final request is truly amazing, humbling, and inspiring. Dreams provide inspiration, comfort, and closure. And those three words are the very tenets of our mission statement. We see it every day in the work that we do.” – Kisa Heyer CEO, Dream Foundation

| www.thegivinglist.com |

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LIFECHRONICLES:

Helping Families Endure Death by Capturing Life on Video

ore than 23 years ago, when Kate Carter completed an internship at Santa Barbara’s community access TV station, she could have embarked on a career in commercial television. But she wasn’t interested. “I wanted to be part of something that was going to have positive impact on people’s lives,” Carter says. “I decided to be open to whatever the universe might present to me.” Then the universe spoke. A friend of Carter’s lost a husband to ALS disease and six weeks later that friend was diagnosed with breast cancer herself. She died within a few short months, leaving behind children ages 16, 13 and 10. “All I could think is, I don’t want these kids to forget their parents,” Carter says. “It took three months for the light to come on and for me to realize what I wanted to do.” In 1998, she established LifeChronicles, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization that produces legacy videos to assist families in healing and connecting as they cope with the passing of a loved one. The focus is on capturing stories of elderly family members or gravely ill people. Since its establishment, LifeChron-

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icles has filmed more than 1,700 videos in 43 states and 417 cities. The oldest person filmed was 104 years old, the youngest, just 14 months. The process is simple: LifeChronicles schedules an appointment for an in-home taping and brings all the filming equipment needed. They then guide their clients gently through an interview process that can be emotional, poignant and ultimately cathartic. LifeChronicles takes care of all editing and production and returns with a custom DVD or private link containing the final video. Donations to LifeChronicles help defray those production costs and relieve the burden of families experiencing the loss of a loved one. They also ensure that the memories of those loved ones live on in video form long after they have passed. “One of the objectives is that loved ones never forget what it was like to be with them,” Carter says. “What we do is lead people into conversations they would likely never have. It’s a really powerful and therapeutic experience. They’re always glad to go there, and always say, ‘Wow, we could have never done that on our own.’”

| Santa Barbara |

“F

or many years, Michael and I supported LifeChronicles for their service to people facing end of life. They just recently sent a private link to me of our LifeChronicles video and gave me the most delightful 45 minutes! I loved seeing the video we snuck under the wire before Michael started to slip away a few weeks later. I will be eternally grateful. I encourage others to support LifeChronicles as they make miracles in memories, especially these days when it is hard to hold onto the good stuff! Thank you, LifeChronicles, for your talent, sensitivity and thoughtfulness. I believe in giving, and LifeChronicles has continued to be an important place for my philanthropy.”

– Anne Towbes

Heal and Connect Through Video

iving to LifeChronicles makes it possible for people facing end of life to always be remembered, knowing that they have spoken of their life, their love and their wishes in a gentle way that will bring joy and comfort to those they love. Because many of the people we serve are facing devastating medical expenses and often the imminent loss of a provider in their household, donations make it possible for them to receive services regardless of their inability to contribute. A donation of $3,500 would help them serve one family in need. A donation of $20,000 would allow them to serve six families in the coming year. The generosity of donors helps them accomplish their mission “to heal and connect through video chronicles.”

LifeChronicles

Kate Carter, Executive Director (805) 682-3411 lifechronicles@gmail.com www.lifechronicles.org

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KEY SUPPORTERS Ann Jackson Family Foundation Good Robot Terry Bartlett Keith Berry Bower Foundation Rinaldo and Lalla Brutoco Hutton Parker Foundation Sara Miller McCune Montecito Bank and Trust Mosher Foundation

| www.thegivinglist.com |

The Natalie Orfalea Foundation Patagonia Company Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Shull Memorial Foundation Spungen Family Foundation Towbes Foundation Volentine Family Foundation Weingart Foundation Lynda Weinman

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HOSPICE OF SANTA BARBARA:

A Human-Centered Approach T

he modern hospice movement was born in 1967 in a leafy neighborhood of southeast London when a nurse named Dame Cicely Saunders founded St. Christopher’s House. As a medical social worker, Saunders had encountered a patient named David Tasma, a Polish Jew dying of cancer. She became interested in the treatment of chronic pain to relieve the suffering of terminally-ill patients and their families and proposed a concept that was revolutionary at the time: death is more than just David Selberg, CEO a personal medical process, it’s a of Hospice of Santa Barbara sacred event that impacts families and the surrounding community, not just the person dying. Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB), established in 1974 as the second oldest hospice program in the United States, grew out of that unique ethos. “There’s no way a death impacts just the person who dies,” says David Selberg, CEO, Hospice of Santa Barbara. “It has ramifications and a ripple effect throughout not only the family members, but the whole community around that person.” Nearly 50 years later, that holistic view of hospice care remains central to the organization’s approach and is the inspiration for HSB’s model that offers all its services completely free of charge. In its Patient Care Services program, HSB steps in to provide all the necessary wraparound emotional and practical support for families coping with a life-threatening illness, while partnering with multiple health institutions like Cottage Health and Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, who provide the medical care.

“M

y planned gift is my way of honoring my father and the important work that Hospice of Santa Barbara does for those preparing to leave this world, and for their loved ones at the most difficult times of their lives. My family and I will be forever grateful for the compassionate care given our father, and to us; it is my privilege to make a planned gift honoring Hospice of Santa Barbara.”

– Pat Heller

Former client and current volunteer and donor

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In HSB’s Bereavement Services, trained counselors provide professional support and coping tools for children, teens, and their families through its Children and Family Services program as well as confidential individual counseling and support groups for all ages for anyone grieving the death of a loved one. In addition to its professional staff, the organization relies on 115 volunteers, many of whom have been with Hospice of Santa Barbara for decades and have sat at the bedsides of hundreds of people during their last days of life. Every year, the nonprofit serves more than 2,300 people per year as young as four and as old as 104. “Because we are 100% supported by the community and not the government, our programs have a deeply human-centered approach that is dictated not by any prescribed policy or regulation, but by what the client needs and wants,” Selberg says. “That gives our staff the freedom to help them on their difficult journey and that’s the power of a compassionate relationship.”

| Santa Barbara |

een in 46 states and 58 countries, the free online illuminate Speaker Series brings renowned speakers who address the feelings and questions that accompany our challenging times – they inspire, educate, and help bring people closer together. Speakers have included Elizabeth Gilbert, Pico Iyer, Nora McInerny, Daniel Goleman, and others. To check out who is speaking next in the series or watch videos of past speakers, visit Hospiceofsb.org.

“H

ospice of Santa Barbara was the glue that held our family together. If there were any resources we needed like therapy or getting groceries, and even providing companionship, they were there. These things were essential to my father’s recovery.”

– Lou Figueroa

Double Your Impact by Donating to Quality of Life Financial Assistance for Clients and Their Families’ $10,000 Matching Grant

Son of Manuel Figueroa, who had stage 4 Lymphoma

SCAN TO MAKE A DONATION...

ach year, HSB’s Quality of Life Financial Assistance helps low-income families in our Patient Care Services program struggling financially as they cope with a life-threatening illness. HSB’s critical Quality of Life Financial Assistance helps these families to cover basic but essential needs. This financial assistance truly helps make a difference for them. However, demand is outstripping HSB’s ability to help support these families financially. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, all donations up to $10,000 will be matched. To support this critical program, visit the donation page at Hospiceofsb.org and select Quality of Life Financial Assistance in the Designation Selection dropdown menu, or call (805) 563-8820.

MATCHING CHALLENGE!

Contact:

Hospice of Santa Barbara 2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Ste. 100 Santa Barbara, California 93103. For more information, make a financial donation, or to volunteer, visit hospiceofsb.org or call (805) 563-8820.

| www.thegivinglist.com |

Through March 15, 2022, the first $10,000 donated will be matched thanks to a generous anonymous donor

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DREAM FOUNDATION:

When Dreams Come True

hortly before dying from terminal cancer six years ago, Gary began filming videos with his four-year-old daughter Bailey. The hope was one day she could play it at her wedding in place of the father-daughter dance. Bailey loved ballet and they would shoot snippets of her dancing everywhere she went. The video culminated at Disneyland, with father and daughter sharing a dance in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Gary died within a few months. The visit to Disneyland and montage video was made possible by Dream Foundation, which provides end-of-life Dreams to terminally-ill adults and their families. Bailey is 11 years old now and she still watches the video every day on her iPhone, and she will play it again one day at her wedding. “Twenty years down the road, I hope to be at that wedding, watching how much this means to this little girl,” says Kisa Heyer, the CEO of Dream Foundation. The story of Gary and Bailey is just one of 32,000 end-oflife Dreams made possible by Dream Foundation since the organization was founded in 1994. Dream recipients must be at least 18 years old, must have a life expectancy of 12 months or less, and must lack the resources to manifest the Dream. Whether it’s something as basic as paying a utility bill to relieve a financial burden or meeting a personal hero, Dream Foundation provides the type of support that turns dying Dreams into living memories. “To be able to give someone their final request is truly amazing, humbling, and inspiring,” Heyer says. “Dreams provide inspiration, comfort, and closure. And those three words are the very tenets of our mission statement. We see it every day in the work that we do.” Dream Foundation manages its resources carefully and some of the Dream requests can get expensive. It has partnerships with airlines, hotels, and car sharing services that can provide discounts and in-kind donations. And the nonprofit has long-term, loyal donors who can step in to provide everything in between. Sometimes Dream Coordinators

LeeAnne embraces one last vacation with her husband

“W

e want to express our deepest gratitude for the many memories you provided to us. Because of you, we are also able to enjoy family games with our grandchildren every night. Some may look at a hospice patient and write them off by discouraging them to follow their Dreams. Thank you for the reminder to continue to live, laugh, and love to the fullest – now more than ever. What you gave us (memories) can never be taken away and is forever a part of our legacy.”

– Roy Jaimes’ Family

Dream Recipient

have to get creative, as they did recently with a man who suffered from ALS and wanted to travel to Hawaii. The state’s borders were closed due to travel restrictions and the man’s condition was deteriorating quickly. He opted for an Xbox with an adaptive controller so he could play video games with his 10-year-old son before he died. “That was something we were easily able to grant,” Heyer says, “and it provided hours of entertainment that he wouldn’t have been able to have.”

Jack meeting his hero, Dan Gable

Linda sees the ocean for the first time with her grandchildren

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| Santa Barbara |

U.S. Army and Vietnam veteran John visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

“I

Gary dancing with his daughter Bailey

vana and I have been proud supporters of Dream Foundation and its mission for over 10 years. We feel so blessed to be a small part of this incredibly compassionate community of volunteers and supporters that make the magic of Dreams come true. Our participation with Dream Foundation now includes our three children, who have learned valuable lessons about how to contribute with their talent, time, or treasure to this amazing organization.”

Supporting Our Veterans

– Ivana and Andrew Firestone

Mark meets his hero, Troy Aikman, over Zoom

n 2015, Dream Foundation launched Dreams for Veterans to support U.S. military veterans in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Military veterans make up 20 percent of the Dreams served by the organization. CEO Kisa Heyer is keen to attract attention to the program and provide more support to people who served. “Our nation’s heroes sometimes face their toughest times when they come home,” she says. “Considering the sacrifices they made, it is so compelling and so worthwhile to be able to help them in their SCAN TO MAKE final days.”

Delivering Compassion with Flowers

A DONATION!

ream Foundation’s volunteer-driven Flower Empower program delivers floral bouquets, freshbaked cookies, fine chocolates, and cards to friends, neighbors, loved ones, or anyone in need of cheer in Santa Barbara County. “It’s amazing to see the difference a bouquet can make,” says Heyer.

Dream Plaza

ocated directly in front of the Hotel Californian, the Dream Plaza (a generous gift) is comprised of stones available to be dedicated with an elegant engraving. Whether making new memories or remembering past ones, the Dream Plaza will be a place to revisit for generations to come.

MATCHING CHALLENGE! Through December 2022, the first $2,500 donated will be matched thanks to The Giving List’s novel matching program

Dream Foundation

Susie Willett, Director of Development (805) 539-2203 www.dreamfoundation.org 1528 Chapala St., Suite 304 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 | www.thegivinglist.com |

KEY SUPPORTERS Louise and Tim Casey Kate and Arthur Coppola Brad Daugherty, Ambassador of Sports Renee and Mark DePaco, Board Member Michelle and Luke Ebbin, Past Board Member Ivana and Andrew Firestone Audrey and Tim Fisher Roberta and Stan Fishman J. Paul Gignac, Past Board Member Robin and Roger Himovitz Diane and Wells Hughes, Board Member Sheryl and Rob Lowe, Ambassador Dr. BJ Miller, MD, Honorary Medical Chair Jillian and Pete Muller Holly and Bob Murphy, Past Board Members Sandi and Bill Nicholson, Honorary Veterans Committee Members David Nygren, PhD, Board Member Hutton Parker Foundation Priscilla Presley, Ambassador Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Tina Schlieske and Justine Roddick, Past Board Member Shelley and Paul Schulte Elizabeth and Kenny Slaught, Board Chair Daryl Stegall, Board Secretary & John Stegall Colleen Barnett-Taylor and Michael Taylor

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Index AHA! �� 34 Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter ��86 Anne Towbes: Profile �� 196 Brady | United Against Gun Violence �� 170 California State University Channel Islands ��68 Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara �� 88 Casa del Herrero ��234 CASA of Santa Barbara County ��150 Charles Casey: Profile ��94 Clay Studio �� 214 Clean Coalition �� 130 CommUnify ��178 Community Counseling and Education Center ��100 Community Environmental Council �� 138 Cottage Health ��80 Direct Relief �� 156 Dream Foundation ��254 Easy Lift ��246 Edgar Villanueva: Profile �� 142 El Encanto: Social Sector Leader ��46 Endowment For Youth Community ��66 Ensemble Theatre Company �� 204 Environmental Defense Center �� 136 Ernesto Parades: Profile �� 240 Explore Ecology �� 42 Family Services Agency ��102 Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley ��180 Freedom 4 Youth ��40 Friends of Montecito Library ��190 Geoff Green: Profile �� 76 Ginger Salazar: Profile �� 32 Girls Inc. of Carpentaria �� 36 Granada Theatre �� 206 Guy Walker: Profile ��50 Hillside House ��110 Hospice of Santa Barbara ��252 Human Rights Watch �� 158 Janet Garufis: Profile ��174 Kai Tepper: Profile ��210 Katya Amastead: Profile ��64 KCRW: Social Sector Leader �� 192 Kenneth Kahn: Profile ��228 Kevin Brine: Profile �� 128 La Casa de Maria ��230 Leading From Within ��164 Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County �� 152

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LifeChronicles �� 250 Lisa Ling: Profile ��108 Lotusland ��232 Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara ��166 McEnroe Reading & Language Arts Clinic ��60 Mental Wellness Center ��96 Mentors 4 College ��72 Montecito Bank & Trust: Anchor Partner ��14 Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation �� 182 NatureTrack ��44 New Beginnings ��98 Organic Soup Kitchen ��122 PATH �� 112 Plastic Pollution Coalition ��132 Redwings Horse Sanctuary ��222 Sanctuary Centers ��104 Sansum Clinic �� 78 Sansum Diabetes Research Institute ��90 Santa Barbara Beautiful ��236 Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary ��224 Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade ��176 Santa Barbara City College Foundation �� 70 Santa Barbara County Food Action Network �� 124 Santa Barbara Education Foundation ��54 Santa Barbara Foundation: Philanthropic Partner ��20 Santa Barbara Museum of Art ��212 Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics �� 82 Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation �� 188 Santa Barbara RiteCare Language Center ��242 Special Olympics ��116 Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA) �� 148 State Street Ballet ��200 Storyteller Children’s Center �� 52 The Elephant Project ��220 The Fund For Santa Barbara ��146 The Key Class ��58 The Riviera Ridge School ��56 The Santa Barbara Symphony �� 198 Thomas Rollerson: Profile �� 218 TV Santa Barbara �� 186 UCSB Arts & Lectures ��202 Unity Shoppe ��120 VNA Health ��244 Warren Ritter: Profile �� 162 White Buffalo Land Trust �� 134 Wilderness Youth Project �� 38 World Business Academy �� 168

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