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Make Plans Now to Attend Grants in Action!
The Women’s Fund is excited to announce Grants in Action (GIA): two brand new educational forums and a series of our signature grantee site visits this fall. This expanded format will provide more than 700 opportunities for Women’s Fund members to increase their understanding of the critical issues being addressed by our most recent grantees. You can RSVP for any or all of these informative events when you receive your email invitation on August 23. So mark your calendars now and make plans to attend.
Members are welcome to bring guests. We suggest you invite them now so you can register their names when you receive your invitation. There is no charge for any of our Grants in Action programs, thanks to the generosity of long-time Women’s Fund member Carole McElhenny.
GIA EDUCATIONAL FORUMS
 The first program is an educational forum entitled Homelessness and the Working Poor: Creating a Bridge to Hope. On September 26, three grantees (Catholic Charities, PATH SB and Transition House) will join the Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools to investigate the complicated factors that contribute to Santa Barbara County’s growing homeless population and the struggles of local working families to meet their basic needs. This forum will be held at the First Presbyterian Church and can host 200 attendees.
A se cond educational forum will take place at the New Vic Theatre on October 29, and is open to 275 attendees. From Adversity to Resiliency: Supporting Children and Families will engage audience members in a discussion of the efforts to combat early childhood experiences that result in negative long-term mental and physical health outcomes. Grantee presenters from Isla Vista Youth Projects, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics and CALM will show us how they help children and their families deal with toxic stress through screenings, counseling and other social services. More information about this issue can be found in this Ted Talk by the California Surgeon General.
GIA SITE VISITS
The Family Service Agency is partnering with the Santa Barbara Public Defender’s Office on October 14, to present a site visit opportunity for 120 attendees. Learn how this working partnership between the public defender, social workers and clients addresses both an offender’s crime and the life circumstances that contributed to her criminal behavior. In this way, the program reduces the likelihood of repeat offenses by providing female offenders with supportive legal and social services to address underlying reasons for the criminal behavior.
Four one-hour site visits at Alpha Resource Center will be available for 80 attendees (20 per visit) between October 10 and November 7. Take an Imagine Tour and learn how the organization empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hear insightful stories and listen to a special performance by Rockability, the Alpha band. See the new wheelchair accessible van purchased with the Women’s Fund grant and learn how it helps Alpha clients participate in volunteering and other activities in the community.
Four one-hour site visits at Sarah House will be available for 60 attendees (15 per visit) between October 1 and November 6. Tour this eight-bedroom home providing end-of-life care for low-income individuals. See the kitchen the Women’s Fund grant is helping to renovate and appreciate its impact on the lives of residents and staff. Learn about the history of the house and how staff interact with grieving families. Paloma, a veteran storyteller with 15 years at Sarah House, will put a "face" on the reality of death and loss.
Click here for a complete list of forums, site visits, dates, times and locations. And don’t forget to look for your electronic invitation on August 23.
We Have a New Mailing Address
As part of our transition to independent operations, we now have our own Tax ID and a new mailing address for checks sent to the Women’s Fund.
If you choose to make a membership donation with a personal check or a check from your donor advised fund, family foundation or IRA, please let us know first by going to the “Join/Renew” tab at our website and checking the "I will pay by: check, donor advised fund, stock transfer or IRA distribution” option. Then click “Confirm Contribution” and follow the instructions on the website, making checks payable to:
Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara
133 East De La Guerra Street, #15
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is now recognized as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization with Tax ID 82-5169678.
Use this information and the new address above when requesting a check from your donor advised fund or for your IRA distribution. And, again, please let us know via our website if you are sending a check so we will be on the lookout for it and can immediately credit your membership.
Questions? Click here.
Smart Research, Accomplished Women
So often we hear that the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has the most intelligent, accomplished women as members! That is especially true when describing the Research Committee.
This year, 13 returning members bring over 30 years of Women’s Fund research experience to the 2019-20 team. In addition, the committee welcomes five new members: a clinical psychologist and former program director for a large social service organization in LA, a former dean of students at UCSB, a retired senior leader of the Alameda Community Development Agency, a former senior VP of Sony Music and former board member of the Telluride Community Foundation, and a retired senior executive who managed a financial services international growth portfolio.
To get to know them better, view Research Committee biographies and photos here.
The 2018-19 Research Committee
Co-chairs Maureen Ellenberger and Sabina White are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding year as they develop a ballot of potential grantees for our review next spring.
Membership Corner
Welcome New Members
Congratulations! We are halfway to our goal of attracting 120 new members in 2019! Welcome to our newest members who joined within the last month: Tina Ballue, Lynda Benedetto, Norma Cervantes, Nikki Cotton, Kathryn deBruynKops, Naomi Dewey, Carolyn Grenier, Kohanya Groff, Martha Kaufman, Janice L Kopf, Sherry Lafler, Jennifer LeMert, Marjorie Reese and Sandra Walther.
Our new 2019 members have been invited to a welcoming and informative Women’s Fund reception on August 22 at Garden Court (past Women’s Fund grantee) on De La Vina Street. Prospective members have also been invited. If you know someone interested in the Women’s Fund and you would like her to attend on August 22, please contact membership@womensfundsb.org.
Meet Member 1,000
 For the past year, we have been saying we have “almost 1,000 members.” Now, new member Lisa Wysel has officially put us over the top. Since moving to Santa Barbara in 1986, Lisa has served on the Montecito Union School Board, as PTA president at Montecito Union and has taught ESL classes for children and adults. Internationally, she and her husband founded Open Wide Foundation, which brings better oral health to communities in Guatemala. She continues to serve as founder and board member on this exciting project.
"I had been looking for a place to donate time and money at a local level,” Lisa says. “So when I learned about the outstanding mission of the Women’s Fund, I was inspired to become part of it! I know what it takes to run an organization that is responsive, sustainable and inclusive. I’m so proud to be a part of the Women’s Fund, making a long term, significant impact on the community of Santa Barbara.”
Meet W2D2
W2D2 group members enjoy the Celebration of Grants in May.
We asked Captains Caryl Bowman and Judi Brooks to explain why and how they started the new W2D2 group last fall. Below are a few of their answers. Click here to read the entire interview.
What prompted you to start a group?
We both have been Women's' Fund group members for over five years. We wanted to invite additional friends to join us, but we prefer a smaller group that can meet in a member's home, get to know each other well and bond. Ultimately we decided to leave the group we were in and start a new one before the year-end deadline so we could vote in the spring as our new group.
How did the process work?
We invited some friends to come to an introductory meeting. Group Captain Liaison Stina Hans joined us and introduced everyone to the Women's' Fund and outlined the steps to forming a new group. All attendees were anxious to join. At that first meeting, we collaborated on a group name and W2D2 was formed.
Stina then did the work behind the scenes so each group member could go online and join as a member of W2D2. It was really easy.
If you are interested in forming a group, please contact Stina Hans, Group Captain Liaison.
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