Women's Fund | March 2024 Newsletter

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In the March 2024 issue…

Grantee of the Month: Alpha Resource Center
Countdown to Celebration of Grants
Membership Corner: New Member Event and Welcome
Tax Season Is Here
Join the Women’s Fund on Social Media!
We Earned a Candid Gold Transparency Seal

Grantee of the Month: Alpha Resource Center

This month, our featured grantee is Alpha Resource Center, whose mission is worth highlighting all year, but especially during National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month! This nationwide observance is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of including people with developmental disabilities in community life. Alpha Resource Center seeks to overcome the hurdles that this population faces by providing them with a safe place to explore interests, make friends, and be part of a community.

Alpha’s adult day programs provide activities to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program at their Cathedral Oaks campus offers a full weekday schedule of workshops, health and wellness offerings, and culinary classes for adults. Less than half of those who attend the program live with family, with the rest living in supported living or residential facilities.

While we can agree that we live in paradise, most of us are aware that there are days when temperatures make indoor living uncomfortable. For most of us, such temperatures are just an inconvenience, but for many of Alpha’s clients, excessive heat creates health risks. The facility also must meet state licensing requirements to keep indoor temperatures below 85 degrees.

Opening doors and windows at the Cathedral Oaks facility allows some residents to get the benefits of a cooling breeze, but many attendees of the programs use wheelchairs or can’t otherwise open doors without assistance. And, of course, sometimes an open door is not sufficient to cool down the indoors to safer and more comfortable temperatures. The Women’s Fund’s $140,000 grant allowed Alpha to put in four automated doors and install air conditioning in all program spaces. The grant was recently featured in a KEYT-TV Channel 3 news story.

Alpha’s mission is to empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by supporting families, creating opportunities, and fostering belonging. A big part of belonging is independence and autonomy. To miss out on opportunities and feeling part of the community because of uncomfortable or even unhealthy heat has been a challenge for Alpha’s clients in the past. With new automatic doors and air conditioning, the Women’s Fund has helped remove one significant hurdle to empowering individuals with developmental disabilities to make their mark on the world.

For information about site visits, volunteering, or Alpha’s upcoming events -- the Circle of Life Luncheon in May and the Gala in September -- contact Jeff Henson at 805-683-2145 or jhenson@alphasb.org.

Countdown to the Celebration of Grants

We are in the countdown to our 20th Anniversary Celebration of Grants on May 7, where we will announce which local nonprofits will receive a grant from our record-breaking $1.125 million grants pool.

Earlier this month, nearly 400 members attended our Virtual Ballot Review Meeting. In her opening comments, Research Chair Yonie Harris shared the trends and top issues addressed on the ballot: homelessness; mental health, especially among young people; family support/child care; health care; food and nutrition; and youth engagement.

Coming up next:

March 8 – 30: Voting window; group members and individual members are reviewing, discussing, and deciding how to cast their votes.

March 30: Deadline for voting; all group captains and individual member must submit their official ballots.

May 7: Celebration of Grants at the Lobero Theatre; come help celebrate 20 years of changing lives and meet our 2023-2024 grantees! Invitations will be coming to your inbox in early April.

Membership Corner: Successful New and Prospective Member Event

Last month, the Membership Committee welcomed 120 women -- new members and their Group Captains, plus a large group of prospective new members -- eager to learn more about the Women’s Fund.

Sue Kwasnick, a prospective new member, was so moved by the informative gathering that she decided to join the Women’s Fund on the spot. “I am thrilled to learn more about this incredible organization and to become part of doing things 'for the greater good.' The room was, literally, humming with the inspiring energy of so many committed, bright, and energetic women,” said Sue at the end of the event.

Jessica Bixler, Kathy Hollis, and Sue Kwasnick at the reception

Guest speaker Julissa Peña, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, shared the impact the Women’s Fund grant has had on the critical work they are doing to help Santa Barbara-based unaccompanied immigrant children with the legal process.

In addition to remarks by Board Chair Jamie Dufek and Research Chair Yonie Harris, Lauren Trujillo led a lively Q&A session to wrap up the meeting.

A fantastic group of member volunteers made sure the event was well-organized and welcoming for all attendees: Concetta Conkling, CeCe Harris, Dale Van Mill, Suzanne Weintraub, Sudi Staub, Susan Case, Mary Brown, Julie Sorenson, Lauren Trujillo, Penny Arntz, Georgene Lowe, Linda Van Buren, Elizabeth Weems, Laurie Tumbler, Lynn Karlson, and Chris Silverstein.

Have a friend who might want to join the Women’s Fund and grow our ability to help local nonprofits? Reach out to membership@womensfundsb.org and we will be happy to meet with them and explain our mission and how to join.

Welcome New Members

Who says nothing grows during the winter months? Because the Women's Fund has been growing! Please welcome the 22 new members who have joined us since mid-January: Sophie Andar, Alison Brainard, Penny Cate, Susan Chiavelli, Joan Cotich, Karen Jeffery, Lynne Kandall, Carol Keator, Courtney Kraemer, Sue Kwasnick, Lynette Ledbetter, Sheba Laser Lux, Carolyn Novick, Gail Osherenko, Ciara Ramirez-Patton, Rechelle Ringer, Megan Birney Rudert, Patricia Stewart, Kristina Thomas, Mary Ellen Tiffany, Elizabeth Wagner, and Colleen Welsh.

Tax Season is Here

Is It Time to Consider a Gift of Stock to the Women’s Fund?

Making a gift of your appreciated stock, bonds, or mutual funds to the Women’s Fund not only improves the lives of women, children, and families, it can save you taxes. When you donate securities to us, we sell your gift and use the proceeds to fund our mission.

You avoid paying capital gains tax and may be able to deduct the full fair-market value of the stock as a charitable contribution on your tax return.

By donating appreciated stock directly to the Women’s Fund, you could potentially be giving about 20 percent more than if you had sold the stock and donated the net proceeds. For example, if you own stock worth $500 and you bought it for $100, your taxable gain would be $400. If your Federal and state tax rate is 30% you would pay $120 in income taxes on the sale. That leaves $380 to give to the Women’s Fund. If the stock is gifted directly to us, we can sell the stock for $500 without paying any income tax on the sale.

Maybe you have stock in an investment account that has appreciated over time, or you inherited stock that has potential capital gains tax upon sale. Ask us how to make a gift of appreciated securities at finance@womensfundsb.org, and find our fillable Securities Gift Form here. As always, please consult your tax advisor to make sure this strategy works for you.

Join the Women’s Fund on Social Media!

Did you know that the Women’s Fund is actively engaged on social media platforms? We share updates on the impact our grants are having and other engaging topics. Join us in spreading the word by following, reposting, and/or liking our posts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Our social media handle is @womensfundsb, so be sure to tag us in your posts and stories! Engage with us using our signature hashtags:

#changinglivestogether (our most commonly used hashtag)
#collectivephilanthropy
#womenhelpingwomen
#collectiveconsciousness
#collectivegiving

Join the conversation, share your support, and help us make a difference using the power of social media!

Women’s Fund Earns Candid Gold Transparency Seal

GuideStar and the Foundation Center recently merged to form Candid, a new nonprofit organization that provides a range of services and resources to support the nonprofit sector and promote transparency and effectiveness in the philanthropic world. Through research, collaboration, and training, Candid connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to do it.

We’re excited to share that the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara recently earned a Candid Gold Seal of Transparency! Check out our nonprofit profile here.

133 East De La Guerra Street, #15
Santa Barbara, CA 93101