On May 20, more than 500 community supporters gathered for the annual Celebration of Grants event at the iconic Lobero Theater to celebrate and learn about the vital projects funded this year.

Attendees sat spellbound as 11 nonprofit leaders revealed their award-winning work. Each one received a much-anticipated grant award from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara.

Inspiring stories of how these gifts will transform the incredible work of each organization gave deep meaning to the importance of this rare group of philanthropic women who are changing lives every day.

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has awarded $200,000 to the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation (SB ACT) to support the new downtown Daytime Navigation & Workforce Development Center for people experiencing homelessness.

The grant was awarded at the Women’s Fund 20th Anniversary Celebration, May 7 at the Lobero Theatre.
The center, at 621 Chapala St., is a partnership between the city of Santa Barbara and SB ACT. Center services will include housing navigation, healthcare, behavioral health services, and basic needs, five days per week.

The center will also provide a place of respite for individuals experiencing homelessness during daytime inclement weather.

15th annual Fashion Show & Luncheon will take place Nov. 29 at Rosewood Miramar Beach

Annette Shimada for St. Vincents Santa Barbara

November 9, 2025 | 9:00 am

When Alicia arrived at St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara homeless with young children, she never imagined that five years later she would return as a staff member, guiding other mothers through the same journey that transformed her life.

Yet that’s what happened when the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara invested $100,000 in St. Vincent’s since 2023, part of $270,000 the organization has granted since 2016.

A collective effort by 1,426 local women addresses the critical needs of women, children, and families in south Santa Barbara County.

The power of collective giving was on display on May 20, 2025 when the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara awarded an unprecedented $1.25 million in grants to 11 local nonprofits — showcasing the power of collective giving in the Santa Barbara community. This accomplishment was made possible through the generosity of 1,426 local women members who have combined their charitable contributions into a substantial grants pool.

Former actress and current philanthropist Rona Barrett made a special guest appearance at The Women’s Fund Grants in Action Educational Forum “Aging in Place Santa Barbara: Obstacles and Opportunities”  on December 8, 2020. The virtual event was attended by more than 200 members and guests. Ms. Barrett’s personal life story and experiences addressing the needs of aging seniors perfectly encapsulated the key messages of two agency leaders and an academic expert who spoke about strategies for healthy aging and how communities can support their seniors, as well as obstacles to aging in place.

Growing from a Field of Interest Fund held at the Santa Barbara Foundation, with only 67 members in 2004, to a nonprofit with over 1,100 members today, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has come a long way and made a significant impact in our community.

Growing from a Field of Interest Fund held at the Santa Barbara Foundation, with only 67 members in 2004, to a nonprofit with over 1,100 members today, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has come a long way and made a significant impact in our community. To date, the Women’s Fund has distributed nearly $7.9 million in grants that have impacted over 100,000 women, children, and families in southern Santa Barbara County.

The word of the evening? Transformative.

Transformative to attendees, volunteers, and staff; to local nonprofits; and, of course, transformative to women, children, and families in our community.

This transformative moment was the annual Celebration of Grants. On May 20, 11 nonprofits addressing critical needs in south Santa Barbara County were awarded a record $1,250,000 in grants.

Imagine a safe space in the heart of Santa Barbara where local teenagers gather to discuss books, host poetry slams, create videos or simply hang out, without parents watching over their shoulders.

It’s a place where they can be themselves, explore their passions and collaborate.

This is just one of the visions that the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation hopes to achieve, with ongoing support from the City of Santa Barbara and the community.

As the new Michael Towbes Library Plaza nears completion this fall outside the downtown library at 40 W. Anapamu St., the foundation is shifting its focus to other areas in need of a refresh.

Santa Barbara Library Services Manager Molly Wetta watches patrons walk up to the doors Sunday and Monday, unaware that the central and eastside branches are closed, and press their faces to the glass, disappointed.

Santa Barbara library staff were faced with a tough decision this spring as they budgeted for the 2022 fiscal year: Cut hours or cut programming?

Staff members wanted to provide literacy courses and tutoring, so they sacrificed operating hours.

The city of Santa Barbara, impacted by the pandemic’s constraints, couldn’t offer departments the funding they received in pre-pandemic years. City officials asked them to cut back proposed budgets to allot for the decreased revenue.

An award of $90,000 from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will go to SBCC’s Single Parent Achievement Program to provide child-care support for low-income single mothers, allowing them to attend college.

"Thanks to this generous grant from the Women's Fund, SBCC is able to expand the Single Parent Achievement Program, providing one full year of exceptional child care,” said Vanessa Bechtel, executive director of the SBCC Foundation.