​In this Issue:

• Get to Know...our Steering Co-Chairs
• Home Should Not Be a Car
• Congratulations!
• Get to Know...D'Penguineer Friends

Get to Know...our 2017-18 Steering Co-Chairs

Every year after the Presentation of Grants, the Women’s Fund Steering Committee members change, and a new year begins under their leadership. This year our co-chairs are Shelley Hurst and Laurie Tumbler. Laurie returns after having served last year with Nancy Harter, and Shelley is brand new to the position.

So that you can get to know them better, we caught up with them at a local café during one of their frequent meetings.

First we asked them some questions about their new positions as Steering Co-Chairs. Here are their responses:

What are the things you want to accomplish as Steering Co-Chairs?
Our ambitious, three-year plan is our guide for the goals we want to accomplish. It focuses on so many areas—membership, communications, growth, grant making, organizational structure, and more. All areas are critical to our continued success, and we would encourage our members to review the strategic plan, which is posted on our website.

Specifically, our goals are:

• Continue to grow our leadership team, and to welcome members who want to be more involved in the organizational aspects of the Women’s Fund.
• Promote the Women’s Fund more broadly in the community to raise awareness of what we do and how we do it. We are a major grant maker in Santa Barbara, and many in the community have never heard of us.
• Measure and communicate the WF’s impact in our community.

What are your biggest challenges in the year ahead?
As our membership continues to grow, we need to manage that growth so we remain connected as a group of educated and engaged community donors. To that end, we need to evaluate our organizational structure to ensure we are serving our members in the most effective way possible.

We also need to think differently about our organization. We have moved from a “start up” to a mid-size organization with close to 800 members and an annual grants pool reaching $485,000 in 2016-17. Our procedures, processes and organizational structure must evolve to support our continual growth.

Our next questions were of a more personal nature. Click here to read their interesting responses.

Home Should Not Be A Car

How a 2016-17 Grantee is Changing Lives

Three teenage boys had been living with their single mom in a Toyota Corolla. The boys often came to Noah’s for food, clothes and a shower. They were reluctant to leave their mom alone. Noah’s Anchorage worked with the family and collaborated with other local agencies, and eventually relocated the whole family in a home of their own.

Frequently, young children and adolescents come to Noah’s with nothing but the clothes on their back. Simple basic needs that we all take for granted mean the world to them. In fact, underwear and socks are the most appreciated items Noah’s can give them. This story of just one family is repeated over and over again in Santa Barbara County. An astounding 13.6 percent of the students in the County are homeless, compared to the state average of 4.8%.

Noah’s has served as a short-term foster care home for youth, while appropriate permanent foster families are identified. It provides a calm and safe environment for children who have experienced crisis and trauma, including youth who have been victims of human trafficking. Due to recent legislative changes, Noah’s Anchorage faced extensive new requirements, including national accreditation. With the support from the Women’s Fund, they are able to upgrade the property to meet these physical requirements. Without this support, Noah’s may have been forced to close its doors.

At the May 8th Presentation of Grants, Valerie Kissell, Executive Director, Youth and Family Services, thanked the community of Women’s Fund members for helping to ensure some of Santa Barbara’s most vulnerable youth have a safe haven at Noah’s Anchorage for years to come.

Congratulations to...

...the first two membership groups who have completed their
2017 membership renewals!

Sharing the Blessing
D'Penguineer Friends

Get to know...D'Penguineer Friends

On October 30, 2014, the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy showed off its Capital Campaign Donor Wall. Pictured here are DPEA founder and Director Amir Abo-Shaeer with Parm Williams.

We wanted to get to know this new group better, so we interviewed Group Captain, Parm Williams.

What is the significance of your group's name?
“D’Penguineer Friends” is a take-off on the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy’s name—“D’Penguineers.” The “DP” is an abbreviation of “Dos Pueblos,” and “Penguineer” is a word play on “engineer.” Of course, their mascot then had to be a penguin! All our members are in some way connected to DPEA or Dos Pueblos High School.

Your group has already reached 100% participation in 2017. Congratulations, and how did you achieve such a great result within the first half of the year?
Peer pressure and a little badgering from me on occasion. I’ve found that asking our members to bring their checks when we get together to vote has been very successful.

What is the one thing you would like people to know about your group?
D’Penguineer Friends is a group of very bright, caring women who are all committed to the Women’s Fund’s goal of pooling our resources to help change lives. Because we all have such a strong connection to Dos Pueblos, many of us also continue to support the Academy through our individual contributions of both time and monetary giving. And one last and very important point to mention—as busy as our members are, we have not lost a single member since we formed our group in 2011!

These are just a few of Parm's answers; read the full interview on our website to learn all about D'Penguineer Friends.