In this issue

• Virtual Celebration of Grants
• Presenting our 2019-20 Grantees
• Changes to 2020 Charitable Contributions
• Volunteer Engagement Corner
• Membership Corner

Our first Virtual Celebration of Grants

On May 6, nearly 500 Women’s Fund members and guests gathered around their favorite internet devices for our 16th Annual Celebration of Grants. While we couldn’t meet in person, we were able to witness the creativity and resiliency of our newest Women’s Fund grantees (see article below) and hear their incredible stories.

Kudos to our talented volunteers who organized our virtual event, enabling us to see and hear the live presentations and proving we could still celebrate together as a community.

If you were unable to join us for the Celebration of Grants, you can view a replay on our website by clicking below; it's a little fuzzier than the original but just as exciting.

Presenting our 2019-20 Grantees

Women’s Fund members combined their 2019 membership donations, voted in March from a well-researched ballot of candidates, and selected nine local nonprofit programs to receive $685,000 in Women’s Fund grants.

In moving remarks at our May 6 virtual celebration, these recipients told us how our grants could not have come at a better time.

2nd Story Associates - Housing Authority of Santa Barbara — $100,000 to provide an on-site case management and health support team for low-income seniors.

Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine — $60,000 for a daytime outreach specialist to expand reach of medical volunteers helping homeless people.

Easy Lift Transportation — $80,000 to enable same-day transportation services for eligible seniors and disabled people.

Goleta Education Foundation — $65,000 to fund a state-of-the-art STEAM Lab at El Camino Elementary School.

Santa Barbara County Immigrant Legal Defense Center — $65,000 to partially fund an immigration attorney supporting volunteer lawyers representing families facing deportation.

Santa Barbara Education Foundation — $90,000 to bring suicide prevention program “Sources of Strength” to 6,000 students and teachers at Santa Barbara High Schools.

Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation — $100,000 for a Library-on-the-Go mobile van to provide information, training and library services for those with limited access.

SEE International — $60,000 to update optometric equipment at the Santa Barbara Vision Care Program and Clinic, expanding free eye care for low-income patients.

Showers of Blessing - Interfaith Initiative of Santa Barbara County — $65,000 to purchase a mobile three-stall shower/bathroom trailer for people who are homeless.

Go to our website to learn more about each grantee and the great work they are doing in our community

Changes to 2020 Charitable Contributions

The recently passed CARES Act provides a tax incentive to continue supporting our community during these difficult times. It relaxes the restrictions on deductibility of charitable donations in 2020.

This allows an individual to make cash contributions up to a total of $300 ($600 for a couple filing jointly) to qualified charities and deduct the contribution from adjusted gross income. The taxpayer receives this deduction in addition to the standard deduction but is available only to a taxpayer who does NOT itemize their deductions.

We bring this incentive to your attention as we continue our commitment to building a large community of educated, strategic givers who are inspired to make lasting change in our community.

Other tax provisions of the CARES Act may affect you; please consult your tax advisor.

Volunteer Engagement Corner: Meet Five Women Who are Making a Difference

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is rich with talented, smart women. Ten of them have joined the ranks of our volunteers in the past few months. You’ll meet five in this newsletter and five more in the next. We applaud these relatively new members for their willingness to jump in, especially at this time.

• Nancy Chase, Volunteer Engagement Committee: Nancy is helping to keep the volunteer data up to date. Click here to get to know her.
   
• Kathy Hollis, 2020 Celebration of Grants Co-chair: Kathy is invaluable as we totally change the format of the COG this year. Click here to get to know her.

Communications Committee:

• Margie Larkin, Member: Margie is supporting different aspects of our Celebration of Grants.
   
• Mary Luthy, Consultant: Mary is helping with events and other communications.
   
• Kerry Parker, Media Relations Manager: Kerry helps build our image in the community.

      To get to know them, click here.

Want to give back to the community? Build your network and make new connections? Volunteering with the Women’s Fund is a great way to start. You can learn more about volunteering by contacting our Volunteer Liaison, Jacki Belt at volunteer@womensfundsb.org and by visiting our website.

Membership Corner

New members learned more about the Women’s Fund at a February reception.

Since January 1, 2020, the Membership Committee has welcomed 20 new Women’s Fund members: Denise Anderson, Judith Bennett, Marcy Burton, Susan Cass, Rebecca Craig, Katie Crocker, Annette Dezelan, Kathryn Dinkin, Caroline Fisher, Janice Fisher, Judy Frank, Barbara Hill, Janice Ingrum, Margie Larkin, Christine Nachman, Diana O’Keeffe, Stephanie Olson, Jessica Phillips, Diane Quinn and Ashley Watkins.

Membership renewals for 2020 are underway. Renewing your Women’s Fund membership is critical to strengthening the nonprofit sector that has been key to sustaining community services, especially over the past few months. They will need the support of the Women's Fund more than ever in the coming year.

It’s easy to join or renew. Just: