We wanted to get to know this group better, so we interviewed Group Captain, Karen Feeney.

Pictured here are Kendall Pata (upper right) and four members of SB4EVA with some children from the United Boys & Girls Clubs during the site visit at the Carpinteria center.

To get to know one of our newest membership groups, SB4EVA, we interviewed Group Captain Kendall Pata.

What is the one word you would use to describe the Women’s Fund?
Effective. Easy. Empowering. Do I have to choose just one? Plus, I seem to like alliteration.

Every year after the Presentation of Grants, the Women’s Fund Steering Committee Co-Chairs change, and a new year begins under their leadership. This year our co-chairs are Shelley Hurst and Laurie Tumbler. Laurie returns after having served last year with Nancy Harter, and Shelley is brand new to the position.

So that you can get to know them better, we caught up with them at a local café during one of their frequent meetings.

First we asked them some questions about their new positions as Steering Co-Chairs. Here are their responses:

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will host the Site Visit Kick-Off, 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at The Fess Parker. The annual event, now in its 13th year, features progress reports from the local nonprofits that received $485,000 in Women’s Fund grants this past spring.

Grantees will describe to Women’s Fund members and their guests the impact the grants have had on their organization and their clients.

The Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL) will be adding a mobile library branch — Library on the Go —and hitting the road this year, thanks to support from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation.

With the mission of providing a range of library services to South County residents, Library on the Go will deliver more than just books to those with limited library access.

Out of California’s 58 counties, Santa Barbara ties with Orange for the second highest child poverty rate. Grim statistics show that homeless children are three to four times more likely to become homeless adults. These are among the startling facts shared by local experts on September 26 when the Women’s Fund hosted an information-packed evening entitled Homelessness and the Working Poor: Creating a Bridge to Hope.

Late last month, Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) received a lumber delivery for its inaugural Tiny Homes program. Over the 2016-17 school year, Advanced Woodworking and Construction Technology students will build a 230-square-foot house, complete with a bathroom, kitchen appliances, solar panels, and a loft big enough for a queen-sized bed....Seed money for this debut, Chadwick said, came from a $50,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, on top of lasting support from the TRADART Foundation for career development. “TRADART has really kept all our woodshops open,” Chadwick added.

Nearly 50 Hope Ranch women are members of the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara, a volunteer-led, collective donor organization that enables women to combine their donations into significant grants addressing the critical needs of women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County. 

Mayor Randy Rowse, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Director Rob Fredericks and others cut the ribbon to the 28-unit Vera Cruz Village on Thursday, August 31, 2023. | Credit: Ryan P. Cruz

New Development Provides Permanent Housing for Low-Income, Disabled, and Formerly Homeless Residents

Twenty-eight individuals in desperate need of permanent housing now have a place to call home in downtown Santa Barbara.