Stina Hans joined the Women's Fund in 2005, and says, "it has been an amazing journey since then." At the time Stina joined she was working out of town and didn’t know about the charitable needs of the Santa Barbara community.

"The Women’s Fund was an incredible gift to me, both in terms of giving me insights into our community needs and in connecting me with other like-minded women," Hans said.

In 2012 a few members of the Women’s Fund started talking about an endowment. "We didn’t want to detract from the grants pool and all the worthwhile nonprofits. So, we informally made a commitment of $10,000 each," she said. Over the years the Endowment Fund has grown in size and the number of contributors.

Stina concludes, "Now the Women’s Fund has ‘grown up’ and is able to give large sums to the community and to grow its endowment to become even more self-sustaining. That’s a legacy I am proud to be part of."