The Women’s Fund Endowment was created to ensure the sustainability of our organization as our membership grows and our outreach expands. It is intended to provide a permanent source of funding to support our mission: improving the lives of women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County. Each gift from members and friends of the Women’s Fund creates a long-term financial resource that helps ensure our future financial health. Larger gifts of appreciated assets, bequests or memorials sustain a donor’s impact on the community for years to come.

The Endowment Fund was created in 2012 as a Field of Interest Fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation. In November 2019, as part of our transition to an independent nonprofit, the Women’s Fund received a distribution from the Santa Barbara Foundation of the assets previously held for our benefit. The balance of $391,863 was immediately reinvested in an Agency Fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation. These funds are held separately from other Women’s Fund assets and are managed by professional investment advisors at Meketa Investment Group. 

The Endowment Committee of the Women’s Fund oversees the fund performance and makes recommendations to the Board regarding investment and spending policies. Click here to read about the Endowment Committee members.

We thank everyone who made a contribution to the Endowment Fund! A list of  last year's generous Endowment Fund donors is on Our Supporters page.