News Articles

Women's Fund Helps Bring Back Books on Wheels

11/6/2021

The Santa Barbara Public Library is reintroducing its book mobile, now called Library on the Go, for the avid readers who have not been able to visit the library in person, largely due to the pandemic.

“With public health concerns over large gatherings likely to continue for some time, this model will also allow for expanded reach outside the library’s building,” said spokesperson Erick Mendez.

For the children of Santa Barbara, the arrival of the van is like a holiday. It’s loaded with custom book carts that can be pulled out and set up outside, with kids perusing rows of... Read More

Hope Ranch Women Making Lasting Change

8/8/2021

Nearly 50 Hope Ranch women are members of the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara, a volunteer-led, collective donor organization that enables women to combine their donations into significant grants addressing the critical needs of women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County.

Santa Barbara Library Thrives on Private Donations

Library-on-the-Go serves children at Shoreline Park

7/28/2021

Santa Barbara Library Services Manager Molly Wetta watches patrons walk up to the doors Sunday and Monday, unaware that the central and eastside branches are closed, and press their faces to the glass, disappointed.

Santa Barbara library staff were faced with a tough decision this spring as they budgeted for the 2022 fiscal year: Cut hours or cut programming?

Staff members wanted to provide literacy courses and tutoring, so they sacrificed operating hours.

The city of Santa Barbara, impacted by the pandemic’s constraints, couldn’t offer departments the funding they... Read More

Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara Awards $750,000 to Ten Nonprofits

6/8/2021

1,100-Member Organization Focused on Greatest Needs in Pandemic Times

At its May 5 virtual Celebration of Grants event, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara awarded a record $750,000 to 10 local nonprofits. Members tuned in to see which of the organizations on the ballots they cast received the funds and to learn more about the work of these organizations. As in prior years, the grants were targeted at the critical needs of women, children, and families in south Santa Barbara County.

Grant recipients: (Clockwise from top left) United Boys & Girls Clubs... Read More

Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara Names 10 Nonprofits to Share Record $750,000 Grants Pool

5/7/2021

Ten local nonprofit agencies were awarded grants totaling $750,000 from a record-breaking pool of member donations collected by the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara during 2020. The recipients were announced at the Annual Women’s Fund Celebration of Grants event held virtually on May 5.

The new grants bring the total amount awarded to local organizations to more than $8.6 million since the Women’s Fund was founded in 2004. Grants are targeted to address the critical needs of local women, children and families in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria.

This year’s... Read More

Grantee Update: Library on the Go

3/18/2021

The Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL) will be adding a mobile library branch — Library on the Go —and hitting the road this year, thanks to support from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation.

With the mission of providing a range of library services to South County residents, Library on the Go will deliver more than just books to those with limited library access.

Over the last three years, SBPL has made great strides in taking library programs and services into the community. With pop-up library programming at local... Read More

A Record-Breaking Year: Let’s Prepare to Vote

2/10/2021

We are excited to announce that next month our 2020 Women’s Fund members will vote to award the largest grants pool in our 17-year history – an amazing $750,000!

That’s three quarters of a million dollars from us—from you—to help local women, children and families as the community continues to cope with the effects of the pandemic and forge a path to recovery.

It Takes Time

Our researchers have worked diligently to finalize the ballot we’ll use to cast our votes. A larger grants pools means more nonprofits on the ballot than ever... Read More

Hundreds Attend Immigrants’ Stories – America’s Promise Forum

2/1/2021

On the evening of January 28, more than 230 people attended the Women’s Fund's fourth virtual forum in its Grants in Action educational series. The forum focused on the topic of immigration and the work of the Santa Barbara County Immigrant Legal Defense Center (ILDC).
It was moderated by Mikki Andina, a member of the Women’s Fund Research Committee and a retired anthropologist and public health nurse. You can watch the... Read More

What A Year – You Are Extraordinary!

1/14/2021

2020 is not likely to make it onto anyone’s “My Favorite Year” list. But 2020 will make it onto the Women’s Fund list of most generous years. During this extraordinarily disruptive year of extraordinary need, Women’s Fund members—you—showed extraordinary generosity.

This past year, some of you “rounded up” your donation or even doubled your usual contribution. We received unexpected gifts of $5,000 and even $10,000. We were thrilled to welcome 95 women as members – about half the number we saw in 2019 – in a year when... Read More

Mark Your Calendars – Important Dates

1/13/2021

The next few months will be busy for Women's Fund members! Here are the important dates leading to the selection of our new 2020-2021 grant recipients in March.

Friday, March 5 - Ballot Information Package emailed to all 2020 Women's Fund members. This important package includes the information you need to know as you consider planning for your individual or group vote.... Read More