Our mission has remained the same, but the number of members has grown significantly from 2004 when a group of women created the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. The 12 founders grew into 67 contributors that first year – including three groups. 

Jane Honikman, the captain of Caregivers, one of the three original groups, says the founders wanted to support local nonprofits that worked with women and children in the community; however, they wanted to forego the gala method of fundraising so popular at the time.

The power of collective giving and its effect on communities was the emphasis of The Women’s Fund of Smith County’s Seventh Annual Power of the Purse Celebration Luncheon. More than 300 women attended the event on Tuesday at the CrossWalk Conference Center at Green Acres Baptist Church. The event, which had a theme of “In Harmony with Philanthropy,” featured Carol Palladini, founder of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara as the keynote speaker.

 As founder of The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara and that city’s Woman of the Year honoree, Ms. Palladini said she wanted to share with the Smith County women about the “awesomeness of women’s collective giving.”

Women's Fund founder, Carol Palladini, to speak at Women's Fund of Smith County, Power of the Purse Luncheon on October 28, 2014.

Carol Palladini said she plans to tell the story of The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara and some of the interesting things about the organization’s 10-year journey during the upcoming event.

The luncheon, which is put on by The Women’s Fund of Smith County, is open to all women. Betsy Brush Hahn, The Women’s Fund of Smith County coordinator, said the annual luncheon provides an opportunity for the organization to celebrate women’s giving, talk about what has happened in the past year and tell people about the effects it is having on the community.

The Carpinteria Children’s Project (CCP) — a preschool for students ages 18 months to five years — has received a $100,000 grant from the Santa Barbara Women’s Fund, according to a press release sent out this week. 

CCP was one of 11 nonprofits to receive grant funding during a ceremony at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara on May 20. The grant will fund scholarships for preschool students enrolled in CCP’s Dual Language Immersion program. 

CCP Executive Director Teresa Alvarez said in a press release that CCP could not be more thrilled to be recognized by the Women’s Fund. 

It’s hard to imagine much of a silver lining in the middle of a global pandemic that has dramatically impacted our lives. But there is one. In Santa Barbara, we’ve seen new and expanding partnerships of public, private and faith-based organizations rising to address the growing needs in our community – particularly among our most vulnerable populations. And the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is helping support many of these organizations.

The success of the Tiny House project at the three participating local high schools—Dos Pueblos, San Marcos and Santa Barbara—falls significantly on the shoulders of two instructors—Caleb Chadwick at Santa Barbara High and Chris Mollkoy at Dos Pueblos. Caleb teaches in both the construction and the Academy for Success programs.

The highlight of the year for the 1,200 members of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is when they reveal which local nonprofits their members have selected to receive transformational grants.

This year, on May 9, hundreds of attendees watched spellbound in the Marjorie Luke Theater as each recipient was announced. 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. The Women’s Fund is changing lives every day.  

Jamie Dufek, board chair of Women’s Fund, thanked all recipients for “the hard and heart work you do in our community.”

Public Defenders and Family Service Agency Give Clients a Voice Through Holistic Defense
At 40 years old, Jessica is learning to live a new kind of life. She grew up in Santa Barbara helping her mom steal things from stores and being verbally and physically abused by her family. “I grew up so sad,” she told the Independent. Jessica (not her real name) was still a bright kid who got good grades, but nevertheless had to juggle holding down a job, watching her younger siblings, and tending to the house. “By 17, I wanted to retire,” she said.

Supporters of Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine (DWW) gathered at Gauthier Wear Art on July 21 for a “launch party” for its new mobile medical van. The van, made possible by a $65,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, will enable the nonprofit to greatly expand the healthcare services it provides to homeless and low-income individuals.

Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) for Santa Barbara County has announced the completion of its new emergency shelter playground.

“DVS is incredibly grateful for the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, the generosity of its members, and its tremendous impact in the community,” said Charles Anderson, executive director of DVS.

This project, sponsored by a grant received from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, improves the aesthetics, safety and enjoyment of the present shelter facility by fully replacing a 25-year-old institutional-grade playground.