Seeing the impact of our gifts in action was a gift in itself for nearly 150 members of the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara, who recently toured and heard progress reports from five local nonprofit agencies - the 2009-10 recipients of $356,000 in Women's Fund grants last February.

The 6th annual Women's Fund Site Visit proved to be a popular event once again, as women filled two buses and toured Casa Esperanza Homeless Center, Catholic Charities and St. Vincent's of Santa Barbara and heard progress reports from Domestic Violence Solutions and Sarah House.

"It is inspiring and rewarding to come together and see what a difference our grantees are making. The Site Visit always reminds me that by pooling our donations, we are able to make a much greater impact than most of us could ever have on our own," said Stina Hans, Site Visit Chair.

Site Visit attendees also learned that the Women's Fund has raised $390,000 so far this year -- $25,000 more than the total grant pool awarded in February. This success is due in large part to Women's Fund member Betty Elings Wells, who in May committed $250,000 in a 2-for-1 matching grant for every dollar the Women's Fund raises above $350,000. The threshold was achieved in September so now every dollar donated to the fund through December 31 will be matched by $2 from Betty's generous donation. If you haven't pledged yet, please do so today!

Photos and summaries of the day will be featured in our next newsletter. In the meantime we want to do two important things:

• Ask for your feedback on the Site Visit (see box above).
• Thank the fabulous people who made this event possible:

Our dedicated volunteers who put this event together: Site Visit Chair Stina Hans and her committee members Barbara Lowes, Katya Armistead, Fleurette Barsom-Janigian, Mary Ann Froley, Christy Kelso, Jennifer Guess, Linda Odell, Virginia Randolph, Nikki Rickard, and Sue Vincent.

Our generous underwriters who paid for all the costs related to the 2010 Site Visit: Carole MacElhenny, Carolyn Novick, Santa Barbara Airbus, Lynda Fairly, Stina Hans, Christy Kelso, Dale Kern, Barbara Lowes, Billie Maunz, Joetta McClintock, and Nikki Rickard (who hand made all the desserts!)

Because of our generous underwriters, every dollar raised by the Women's Fund is awarded to community agencies.