History In The Making...

We're celebrating a milestone this year. Since 2004, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has been Changing Lives Together. It's hard to imagine that it began so modestly just five years ago. 

We have grown from 47 women donating $140,000 to two nonprofit agencies in 2004 to nearly 400 members giving a record-breaking $725,000 to 10 agencies in February 2009. Remarkably, we have donated nearly $2.2 million to 28 worthy programs in just five years. 

So how did this all begin? In 2004 Carol Palladini and Meredith Scott invited Jacqueline Caster, founder of the Los Angeles-based EveryChild Foundation, to speak to Women in Philanthropy about women’s collective giving. The idea was simple--women pool their money, research local issues and agencies and then vote to distribute the money collected during the year. The idea was also efficient: no expensive fundraising events that require donors to spend money to raise money--and larger grants awarded than most donors could provide as individuals. 

Soon after hearing Jacqueline speak, Carol Palladini, Founding Chair, pulled together several excited women to explore creating a similar fund in Santa Barbara.  

The idea is now a successful reality. The Women’s Fund is helping to educate, house, heal and support better lives for the women, children and families of Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria.  

In keeping with the founding principles, all this has been accomplished with very little overhead. The Santa Barbara Foundation has been our partner and fiscal home since 2004. The Women’s Fund has no board of directors but rather two committees: Oversight and Research. These committees are open to all members who volunteer to serve.

The Fund owes a lot to the generosity of member underwriters. They have covered the costs for the two annual Women’s Fund events: the Presentation of Funds Luncheon in February and the Agency Site Visit/Luncheon in September. Our underwriters and the generous support of the Orfalea Fund for the past three years means that 97 cents of every dollar we collect goes directly to programs addressing critical community needs.

There are three ways to make a tax-deductible donation. You can join the Women’s Fund as an individual member for $2,500 or create a group membership totaling $2,500. We also welcome non-member contributions in any amount.  

“I joined because of the sheer brilliance of the concept. I am so impressed with the idea and the women power," says member Bobbi Kroot. We are optimistic that this reflects the feeling of many as they once again are asked to renew their membership for 2009.

Although we recognize that this economic downturn affects everyone, we know that our most vulnerable citizens feel the impact even more. Please be among the exceptional women who continue making history in Santa Barbara this coming year.

Recipients beam as they receive checks from the Women's Fund. Left to right: Breast Cancer Resource Center, AllforOne Mentoring, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.

• March 25 join funders, volunteers and agencies for the Nonprofit Support Center's "Partnership for Excellence" conference (www.supportcenter.org).

• In early April watch for 2009 membership information coming in your mail.

• April 15 attend Women in Philanthropy workshop, "Sifting Before Gifting Follow-up" - noon to 2pm, SB Foundation. RSVP to: wip@sbfoundation.org

• Check out our recent exciting media coverage.