The Educational Events committee has brought cameras into the field to bring the work of Women’s Fund grantees into your living room. Here are recaps of recent Grants in Action events (with the videos in case you missed the premieres), plus a preview of more to come.
Seeing our Impact at SEE International
There’s a saying that goes, “By the time a woman realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter who thinks she’s wrong.” It aptly describes the complex relationships between mothers and daughter – but it doesn’t necessarily capture the mother/daughter teams in the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. These teams showcase all the ways that mothers and daughters connect to make a difference in our community.
In the Spreading Sunshine group, Susan Torrey and her daughter Fia, and Jill Bender and her daughter Natasha are two examples. A third mother daughter pair, Theresa Dolotta and her daughter Summer, joined about the same time.
A trip to the dentist is generally not anyone’s favorite activity; however, imagine what it would be like if you were a person who used a wheelchair. Transferring to a dental chair is extremely difficult; sometimes even impossible. It is also physically challenging for a dentist to attempt to care for a patient in their wheelchair due to the fixed height and inability to adjust the for the best working angles.
Maria Vega joined the Santa Barbara Immigrant Legal Defense Center earlier this summer as the nonprofit’s first full-time staff attorney. She grew up in Santa Maria and attended local schools, then went on to UC Santa Cruz and the University of Idaho College of Law. Her experiences in the Northwest Justice Project and Colectiva Legal del Pueblo in Washington made her a natural fit for the Santa Barbara nonprofit.
“It’s like full circle for me,” Vega said. “I really worked hard to be here, and it is so rewarding to be welcomed back with open hands.”
The next few months will be busy for Women's Fund members! Here are the important dates leading to the selection of our new 2020-2021 grant recipients in March.
Friday, March 5 - Ballot Information Package emailed to all 2020 Women's Fund members. This important package includes the information you need to know as you consider planning for your individual or group vote.
To all 491 members who responded to the Member Opinion Survey in June, thank you!! That’s a 44 percent response rate, which is great. Your feedback is essential to making sure we are meeting our mission to address the critical needs of the women, children and families in our community.
The 15-question survey explored:
On September 29th more than 200 members and guests of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara gathered at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort to hear from six of the seven nonprofits that the Women’s Fund collectively awarded $470,000 last Spring.
Former Chair Lynn Karlson speaking at 2022 Celebration of Grants with current Chair Jamie Dufek
Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara provides $925,000 in grants to local organizations
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising costs of living, housing crisis and more, the volunteers with the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara have made it their mission to rise from these challenges.
The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is a volunteer-led donor organization that, according to their website “enables women to combine charitable dollars into significant grants addressing the critical needs of women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County.”
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Women's Fund of Santa Barbara made a big announcement to help almost a dozen nonprofits in the community.
The organization awarded a record $1.25 million in grants to 11 local nonprofits.
The funding was made possible through the contributions of 1,426 local women members who pooled their charitable donations.
Over 500 Women’s Fund members, guests, sponsors, and community supporters gathered at the iconic Lobero Theatre to celebrate and learn about the funded projects.
From the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara:
Board Chair Carolyn Jabs emphasized the mission: “Together, when we pool our resources, we can achieve far more than we ever could alone.”
Prior to the purchase of 50 new steel-frame beds along with bed bug-resistant mattresses and covers, homeless women had to choose the protection at the PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) shelter or the streets. It was not an easy choice as one client said, “I used to hate coming to PATH because of the bed bugs. I couldn’t sleep.”