In the October 2025 issue…

• Grantee of the Month: SEE Vision Care
• Membership Corner: Options for Giving!
• Researchers Find Disturbing Trends
• Join Us to “Learn and Connect” at Carpinteria Children’s Project
• Women’s Fund Members “Learn & Connect” at PAL’s Newly Renovated Twelve35 Teen Center

For individuals without insurance coverage for eyecare, eyesight problems often go unaddressed and can undermine success in work, school, and everyday life. Thanks to a Women’s Fund grant of $110,000, the nonprofit SEE International's SEE Vision Care (SVC) program is expanding essential eyecare for low-income individuals in Santa Barbara County.

SVC’s patient population consists of veterans, children, low-to-moderate income people, and individuals unable to access eyecare services due to language barriers, cost, and lack of transportation. Two stories offer concrete and compelling examples of SVC’s contributions to our community.

• Lupe (a pseudonym), whose eyesight was deteriorating, recently attended a healthcare fair in Carpinteria, where she had her eyes checked at SVC’s mobile care unit. The optometrist confirmed that Lupe had a serious medical problem—a detached retina. Thanks to SVC, an ophthalmologist later performed a surgical procedure to address this issue, at no cost to Lupe.
• Lili (another pseudonym), an 8-year-old who was struggling in school and on the playground, spent most of her days in social isolation. An SVC eye exam revealed that Lili, who had never had an exam before, couldn’t even read the largest letters on the eye-exam chart. After receiving glasses at no charge to her family, Lili became lively and engaged inside and outside the classroom.

These examples illustrate SVC’s life-changing work. Since its founding in the 1980s, SVC has addressed the needs of more than 87,000 individuals in Santa Barbara County. In keeping with the Women’s Fund’s emphasis on the needs of women and children, 49% of SVC’s patients are children while 88% come from households with annual incomes of less than $30,000. Like its parent organization, SEE International, SVC partners with local volunteer doctors to make vision care accessible to underserved individuals in our community.

The Women’s Fund grant will help support the operation of SVC’s mobile care unit and allow the Goleta clinic to be open for service four days a week rather than three. These changes will reduce the typical wait time for a visit from 90 to 60 days and allow SVC to see around 900 more individuals each year in Goleta and more than 200 more each year in Carpinteria.

Vision problems for children are a growing public health problem, likely due to increased screen time. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, “research suggests that children who spend more time indoors doing near-focused activities (such as computer work, video games, and reading) have higher rates of myopia than those who spend more time outdoors.”

Likewise, Medicare and Medi-Cal offer only limited eye care coverage while insurance reimbursement practices have reduced the number of optometrists who accept Medi-Cal payments at all. Many of SVC’s more than 6,000 annual patients do not qualify for any eyecare insurance coverage.

According to Arianna Castellanos, Vice President of Programs at SVC, “Through outreach, education, and care, we’re working to ensure no one is left in the dark when it comes to their vision…. [And] while it’s true that the most beautiful things in life are felt in the heart, it’s also true that they’re seen more deeply—more clearly—when we can open our eyes to them.” SVC, with help from the Women’s Fund, is addressing a growing and vital community healthcare need.

• Contributed by Margaret Crocco

As the air crisps and the holiday decoration boxes come out, it’s time to think about renewing your membership with the Women’s Fund. While many of our members make their annual contribution via ACH or Credit Card, there are other options, including Donor Advised Fund (DAF), IRA, or Stock Transfer. Please consult your financial advisor to see how you can make a tax-free contribution, and if any of these options may be able to increase the value of your gift.

To renew, navigate to https://womensfundsb.org/renew and select the individual or group member link. Then, select your method of payment from the variety of options available.

We’d also like to stress the benefit of renewing now, versus at the year’s end. Not only is it one less item to check-off around the holidays, but it gives you ample time for organizing a contribution though stocks, IRA, or DAF to ensure we receive it by December 31. Lastly, receiving your contribution now gives our research committee the best estimate of how much money we’ll be able to provide to our grantees next year. 

Please note that the Women’s Fund cannot advise on financial decisions, so please consult your financial advisor.

Welcome New Groups and Members

New Groups

• Fund and Fabulous
• FUNd Together
• Peri-Money-Pause
• AWC—SB

New Members

Julianna Acos, Greta Bachhuber, Christine Beckman, Julie Bensman, Tina Berg, Celesta Billeci, Pamela Breedlove, Janette Carr, Shari Chambers, Claudia Chotzen, Ellyn Cole, Kathleen Craig, Diane DiLascio, Yasmine Dominguez-Whitehead, Ann Dwelley, Annie Dzierski, Elaine Eckert, Valerie Edelheit, Kirsten Ellis, Bridgitt Evans, Kendle Evans, Juliana Fabio, Patricia Forgey, Alisa Freundloich, Jerrol Golden, Jenny Gumperz, Margo Handelsman, Melissa Hansen, Gaile Haslem, Mallory Hatcher, Beverly Herrera, Debra Herwaldt, Maureen Hislop, Melissa Honig, Renee Houston, Sheela Hunt, Beth Jamerson, Mary James, Jennifer Jeffrey, Line Jette, Dayna Jordan, Maureen Kafkis, Celeste Kafri, Megan Karsh, Helen Keane, Jaime Kowal, Janice Lawson, Christine Le Bon, Jennifer LeMay, Lynn Lyon, Diana Lytel, Kateryna Markova, Casey McAdams, Laura McGlothlin, Claire Mitchell, Karen Motaghedi, Natalie Mutz, Tanya Newlove, Holly Onak, Mary Orr, Beatrice Oshika, Ana Papakhian, Carolee Peterson, Carol Primeau, Christine Raimer, Arlene Ramirez, Colleen Rickman, Sophia Roberts, Marianne Roberts, Sarah Salvatore, Victoria Sanborn, Nancy D. Schley, Marcella Simmons, Hadley Simmons, Jennifer Slayman, Mary Smith, Magda Stayton, Tracy Stevens, Suzie Swenson, and Joan Tapper.

The Research Committee has been hard at work since August, preparing the ballot members will see in March. After meeting with local nonprofits that serve vulnerable women, children, and families, what the team has learned has been sobering.

Reductions in federal, state, and local funding are threatening critically needed programs throughout our south county nonprofit community. Many agencies have been forced to consider reducing staff or eliminating services altogether. These reductions are felt most acutely by low-income women, children, and families because they impact the availability of childcare, food pantries, housing, medical care, and educational programming. Agencies are struggling to sustain critical services in these areas.

Our observations are confirmed by The Santa Barbara Foundation which estimates that, so far, funding cuts to nonprofits throughout Santa Barbara County total at least $550M. By their estimation, approximately 24% of nonprofits in the county have lost federal funding.

At the same time, federal and state programs have also been subject to cuts. As those services contract, more low-income women, children, and families turn to nonprofits to meet critical needs. The result is that nonprofits are seeing increased demand for their services at a time when their capacity is diminished. Ultimately, this means more community members will struggle to meet basic needs.

What does this mean for the Women’s Fund? The 2026 ballot members will see is likely to include higher grant amounts and more requests for gap funding.

Many of our seasoned researchers are taken aback by the situation our local nonprofits currently face. “In my eight years as a researcher, I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Women’s Fund researcher Robin Masson. “The sudden and unprecedented withdrawal of federal funds has created more need among children and families than ever before.”

Robin admits that what she was hearing from agencies was making her feel despondent and powerless. Then, she says, “I realized one thing I could do was increase my contribution to the Women’s Fund so the grants pool would be larger.” Robin decided to raise her contribution to her group and became an Individual Member for the first time. “I feel better knowing I can do my small part to help my neighbors,” she says.

Robin isn’t the only researcher who has increased her contribution to the Women’s Fund after hearing directly from nonprofit agencies. “It is important to me that our members understand how extraordinary this year is compared to other years I’ve been a researcher,” says Researcher Pat Sherman. “If there was ever a time to consider a larger donation, this is the year.” 

The entire Research Committee is grateful to members who have already made donations. Knowing more about the size of the grants pool helps us build a better ballot. If you have not yet renewed your membership, please do it soon. And if you’ve been thinking about becoming a member, now would be a great time.

If you are able, please consider increasing your contribution this year. Collectively, we can still enlarge the grants pool significantly. The research we’ve already done makes it very clear that our community really needs our help in the coming year, and our Women’s Fund grants can have impact by providing a lifeline to our neighbors.

• Contributed by Janessa Van Vechten, Research Chair

Plan to join our next Learn & Connect event at Carpinteria’s Children’s Project (CCP) on Thursday, Nov. 13! Witness how your generosity has helped provide safe, enriching environments and vital services so that children thrive, parents are empowered, and the Carpinteria community grows stronger.

CCP is dedicated to ensuring that every child in Carpinteria enters kindergarten ready to succeed—no matter what obstacles they may face. CCP has two main programs to strengthen families and build a foundation for healthy child development. One is high-quality early childhood education for toddlers through kindergartners. The second is a Family Resource Center, which provides parenting classes, coaching and access to health, nutrition, and social supports.

Thanks to a $100,000 Women's Fund grant, scholarships are provided to partially subsidize enrollment costs of children from low-income families in the CCP’s dual-language immersion preschool program.

What you’ll experience at the Nov. 13 Learn & Connect event:

• 9:00 am: Network with Women’s Fund members over coffee, bagels, and fruit from Jack’s Bistro.
• 9:15 am: Tours begin. Get an inside look at the many services CCP provides: peek into classrooms to observe children learning, and visit the outdoor play facility and the Family Resource Center.
• 10:00-10:30 am: Listen to remarks by Carolyn Jabs, Women’s Fund Board Chair; Teresa Alvarez, CCP Executive Director; and Guadalupe Perez, CCP Director of Early Learning.

When: Thursday, November 13, 2025 – 9:00 to 10:30 am

Where:   Carpinteria Children’s Project  
5201 8th St., Carpinteria, CA 93013

RSVP now for this very special event. All are welcome, but we must limit attendees for the campus tour to 50, so don’t delay.

Members, please register here.

Feel free to invite a guest; just register them here.

Free parking in the lot at 8th St. and Palm Ave. Parking is also available on the street surrounding the project center.

Sixty-nine members attended the Women’s Fund “Learn & Connect” event at the Santa Barbara Police Activities League’s (SBPAL) Chapala Street teen center on September 24. Attendees toured the facility, which was remodeled, thanks in part to a $110,000 Women’s Fund grant awarded in 2024, and met the team of extraordinary women behind the renovation effort.

SBPAL provides youth development, mentoring, and academic enrichment programs for more than 1,200 local youths between the ages of 11 and 18 each year with the goal of, “building bridges between cops, kids, and our community.” The SBPAL Twelve35 Teen Center serves as a community hub offering a free, welcoming space for teens. Transformative programs include a youth leadership council, mentoring and life-skills coaching with SB police officers, free tutoring, scholarships, and community events. According to Judie Lugo, Executive Director of SBPAL, no young person in the age range that SBPAL serves has been turned away in the nearly two decades that she has been involved with the organization.

Photo by Emily Hart-Roberts

Event attendees were treated to small group facility tours led by SBPAL youth including Manny, a young man who has been coming to the center for many years. In addition to sharing his in-depth knowledge of the facility, Manny indicated that he is now treasurer of the youth council and hopes to pursue a career in law enforcement. He also explained that SBPAL has provided several exciting opportunities including attending a nationwide conference of Police Activity League participants in Washington, DC.

When the tours concluded, attendees heard from Amy Savage, part of the Women’s Fund Grants in Action Team; Carolyn Jabs, Women’s Fund Board Chair; SBPAL Executive Director Judie Lugo, Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon, and Rebecca Barreto, the remarkable SBPAL student designer whose vision helped shape the design of the new Twelve35 Teen Center. Rebecca, a senior at San Marcos High and a long-time SBPAL participant, was in seventh grade when she shared her dream of becoming an architect with Judie Lugo. Judie paired Rebecca with architect and mentor, Jesiy Richards of Appleton Partners, LLC. Jesiy met with Rebecca regularly in the ensuing years, guiding her through the process of reimagining the space and creating a truly remarkable renovation design.

This SBPAL Women’s Fund grant did more than create a safer, modern, beautiful space for the youth in the program. It is helping profoundly change lives.

• Contributed by Holly Carmody

© 2022 Women's Fund of Santa Barbara
A tax-exempt nonprofit organization | Tax ID 82-5169678

Contact Us | Unsubscribe from this mailing |Unsubscribe from all mailings