reIMAGINE - Santa Barbara Foundation

reIMAGINE
Santa Barbara Foundation MAGAZINE | spring 2014
Investments in
the Community
Together with its donor investors, the
Santa Barbara Foundation provides $22 million.
President’s Message
A new year. New challenges. New opportunities.
A new Santa Barbara Foundation. For eight and a half
decades, this community foundation has been guided
by one overarching vision: to help Santa Barbara
County achieve its best future by deploying the tools of
philanthropy. Today, that vision remains firmly in place.
What has changed are the issues – the problems,
the threats, and the opportunities. Accordingly, a great
community foundation must be intentional about keeping
up with those changes; about continually acquiring
knowledge and expertise; and about finding new ways
for philanthropy to work for donor investors, for those working in the social sector,
and ultimately, for the people and communities it serves. Put another way, it is about
building into our DNA a zeal for reimagining our responsibilities and our aspirations
as an institution, but far more importantly, for reimagining what we can do together as
a community. And so, with this edition of what has been hitherto called The Common
Good newsletter, we launch Reimagine magazine, a periodical that will deliver stories
about the thoughtful and exciting ways people are using philanthropic tools to get done
things that matter.
This inaugural issue is a virtual highlight reel of reimagined philanthropy and
community problem-solving. In the all important area of community health, both
Marion Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara Neighborhood
Clinics undertook transformative projects that will positively affect health outcomes
among residents for decades to come. Marian is rebuilding the primary care
infrastructure for the Santa Maria Valley through the development of a new residency
program while Neighborhood Clinics proves it will be able to continue to provide
health care to the most at-risk families in Santa Barbara. Both institutions strategically
tapped into the resources of philanthropy – and in particular, the Santa Barbara
Foundation – when undertaking these bold efforts.
There are many challenges facing the people and communities of Santa Barbara
County. Some of them similar to what almost all American communities are
experiencing (huge demographic shifts, the aging of the baby-boom generation), and
some that are particular to our region (protecting our coastline, habitats, and sustainable
agriculture). The Santa Barbara Foundation believes that community philanthropy can
play a vital role in seeking the best solutions. We are excited about being a home to
financial resources and intellectual capital, a convener of people and ideas, and a hub for
an ever-expanding cadre of those who are working toward a reimagined Santa Barbara
County. Ours is the work of many, so in addition to welcoming you with this message,
I thank you too. Our accomplishments accrue entirely by the generosity, the energy, and
the foresight of the people with whom we work every day.
2
Ronald V. Gallo, Ed.D.
President & CEO
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Officers
Eileen Sheridan, CPA
Ronald V. Gallo, Ed.D.
James Morouse
Gretchen H. Milligan
Robert L. Skinner
Peter R. MacDougall, Ed.D.
Trustees at Large
Diane Adam
Laurie Ashton
Hugh M. Boss
Jon Clark
Frederick W. Gluck
Michael G. Mayfield
Jennifer Murray
Cathy Pepe
Michelle Lee Pickett
Nicolasa I. Sandoval, Ph.D.
Chris Slaughter
Luis Villegas
Polly Firestone Walker
Michael D. Young, Ph.D.
FOUNDATION STAFF
Office of the President & CEO
Ronald V. Gallo, Ed.D.
Guille Gil-Reynoso
Philanthropic Services
Jan Campbell
Lynette Muscio
Jessica Lopez-Sanchez
Ashley Butler-Soberano
Community Investments
Al Rodriguez
Molly Carrillo-Walker
Sharyn Main
Kathy Simas
Phylene Wiggins
Jack Azar
Finance and Administration
Dee Jennings, CPA
Janet Mocker
Cheri Savage
Nick Munday
Carrie Baptista
Jackie Kern
Communications and Marketing
Jan Campbell
Jessica Tade, Ph.D.
Lynn Penkingcarn
Inside This Issue
6 Marian Regional Medical Center
14 Safe Passage Project
10 Freedom Warming Centers
04 Foundation News
17 Luke Swetland | Profile
06 Marian Regional Medical Center | Feature
18 Rob Skinner and Al Rodriguez | Conversations
09 Wildling Museum | Creative Communities
19 2013 Grant Recipients
10 Freedom Warming Centers | Feature
26 Santa Maria Valley YMCA | Agency Endowments
13 Nuclear Age Peace Foundation | Education
27 Social Sector Excellence
14 Safe Passage Project | Feature
28 Calendar
On the cover: Sunset at Carpinteria State Beach. Photo courtesy of Mike Wondolowski.
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Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
Foundation News
Santa Barbara Foundation
Announces the ‘New KDB’
In an effort to reimagine what classical radio might look
like in Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Foundation will sell
KDB 93.7 FM to KCRW, one of the nation’s leading National
Public Radio affiliates. Loyal listeners will still be able to hear
the sounds of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, while benefiting from
increased programming across the spectrums of news, culture,
and a variety of music genres.
Wanting to preserve an important community asset, the
foundation set out to find a new home for KDB, one that
would continue to bring increased cultural relevance to an
already vibrant arts community. Through the purchase, KCRW
will be able to bring its exciting programming to Santa
Barbara, broadcasting on 88.7 FM. KUSC radio, the former
owner of this frequency, will now move to KDB, where it will
continue to provide classical music offerings under the historic
KDB call letters.
“At the Santa Barbara Foundation, philanthropy is the
starting point for being high impact on community issues,”
said Ron Gallo, president & CEO of the Santa Barbara
Foundation. “With the transition to the ‘new KDB,’ we
were able to keep classical music alive while enhancing and
expanding the variety of musical programming offered in
Santa Barbara.”
KCRW will pursue its goal of creating meaningful
connections with the communities it serves by providing
culturally responsive news, music, and talk programming that
speaks to the nuanced interests and needs of Santa Barbara
listeners. With plans to partner with The Santa Barbara
Independent and hire two announcer/producers, KCRW will
create a Santa Barbara edition of NPR’s popular morning
newsmagazine Morning Edition and afternoon news show All
Things Considered. In addition, the radio station will support
local, cultural institutions starting with a strategic partnership
with Antioch University. In exchange for studio space at the
Proposed Radio Frequencies in Santa Barbara
AFTER
BEFORE
KUSC
KDB
KCRW
88.7 FM
93.7 FM
106.9 FM
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reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
KCRW
KDB
88.7 FM
93.7 FM (owned/operated by KUSC)
Brenda Barnes of KUSC, Ron Gallo of the Santa Barbara Foundation, and
Jennifer Ferro of KCRW finalize the transition of KDB.
university, the station will provide insight and exposure to
students interested in broadcasting and storytelling careers
through integration into the curriculum and internship
programs.
“This opportunity is very exciting. Santa Barbara is a natural
home for KCRW,” said Jennifer Ferro, KCRW’s president and
general manager. “It has a diverse and intelligent population
who are passionate about their local community. We believe
we can further amplify the voices of the Central Coast in a
unique and compelling way.”
With a forward-thinking, collaborative attitude, the Santa
Barbara Foundation was able to reinvigorate KDB – keeping
a local community treasure alive, infusing it with new life,
developing new partnerships, and continuing to engage the
arts community.
“I am very grateful to the Santa Barbara Foundation for
giving KUSC the opportunity to deepen its commitment to
the Santa Barbara community,” said Brenda Barnes, president
of USC Radio. “We have covered the extraordinary Santa
Barbara arts community for decades, and we look forward
to expanding our coverage now that we have the honor of
preserving the history and tradition of KDB.”
The Santa Barbara Foundation was represented by Public
Radio Capital, a national nonprofit focused on strengthening
and expanding public media services to local communities,
in the discussions and negotiations with KCRW, KUSC, and
other groups that were interested in KDB. n
Partnership Expands Support
for Santa Ynez Valley Agencies
First Quarter Update From Santa
Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
The Santa Barbara Foundation and the Santa Ynez Valley
Foundation are pleased to announce a three-year partnership
to expand grantmaking and focused resources for nonprofit
organizations working in the Santa Ynez Valley and Los
Alamos. This collaboration between the two community
foundations will serve as a catalyst for even greater
community impact.
“Through this collaborative partnership with the Santa
Ynez Valley Foundation, we are illustrating the exciting
and powerful role philanthropy can play, when strategically
applied, in bringing about a future for Santa Barbara County
that is sustainable, vibrant, and full of opportunities,”
said Ron Gallo, president & CEO of the Santa Barbara
Foundation.
Building on a 23-year history of expertise about the Santa
Ynez Valley and Los Alamos communities and provision of
critical funding for nonprofit services, the Santa Ynez Valley
Foundation and its Board of Directors will now increase their
philanthropic efforts with a Santa Barbara Foundation grant
of $100,000 a year for three years to augment grantmaking.
From the annual grant, $50,000 will be used to implement
the Santa Barbara Foundation Express Grant program
throughout the valley, while the remaining $50,000 will
supplement regular grants made by the Santa Ynez Valley
Foundation.
“By partnering with the Santa Barbara Foundation, the
Santa Ynez Valley Foundation will be able to better support
the philanthropic needs of the Santa Ynez Valley and Los
Alamos,” said Priscilla Higgins, board president of the
Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. “Working together we can
accomplish so much more and we are delighted to have this
opportunity.”
Santa Barbara Foundation Express Grants are awards of
up to $10,000 that are used to advance excellence in the social
sector. Since its inception, the Express Grant program has
afforded several nonprofits the opportunity to meet timely
needs, develop marketing campaigns, support leadership
training, and implement special programs. Through Express
Grants, organizations can make small, monetary requests that
ultimately have significant impact on their ability to address
community needs. n thevalleyfoundation.org
Last summer, the Santa Barbara Foundation spearheaded
an effort to help the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
implement a 100-day turnaround plan with the objective of
keeping them as an essential provider of medical services to
17,000 Santa Barbarans. All aspects of the clinics’ operations
were addressed including leadership personnel and scheduling
practices. Since this time, a new executive director has
taken the helm and the board has been reconstituted. The
organization has received a federal grant and has begun to
assemble a solid fundraising apparatus. Most encouragingly,
the clinics will end the first quarter of 2014 financially “in the
black.”
Eastside Neighborhood Clinic. Photo courtesy of the Santa Barbara
Neighborhood Clinics.
Express Grant Applications
Available Through November
Express Grants support nonprofit organizations with up
to $10,000 for organizational development, defined projects,
to leverage community resources/matching funds, and
emergencies. Applications may be submitted at any time in the
calendar year through November 3, 2014.
n sbfoundation.org
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
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Family Medicine
Marian Regional Medical Center
Addresses Need for Primary Care
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Photo courtesy of Marian Regional Medical Center.
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
R
ecent research predicts an impending shortage of
more than 45,000 family care physicians by 2020
and it is estimated that approximately 2.6 million
Americans will be newly insured as a result of Affordable
Care Act legislation.1 In light of these statistics, Marian
Regional Medical Center began to assess its own need for
primary care providers, identifying the importance of family
medicine doctors in the community. In response to the rising
demand for health care access, the hospital instituted the
Marian Family Medicine Residency Program to build a strong
primary care infrastructure for Santa Maria and the Central
Coast.
A family medicine doctor can best be described as a person’s
regular doctor – someone who can take care of a patient
from birth to death and everywhere in between. This type of
physician can provide care for the entire family, often spanning
generations, and frequently providing a wide spectrum of care.
“In the early years of my emergency medicine career, there was
ready access to primary health care physicians. I could call a
family doctor and they would see my patient in two days as
a follow-up in the office,” said Dr. David Oates, director of
medical education and an emergency medicine specialist at
Marian Regional Medical Center. “We started to lose that
close follow-up as the population expanded. When I saw there
was nowhere to send patients, the reality of the situation made
me realize that something needed to change.”
Becoming an Academic Institution
Even as doctors began to notice the lack of access to
primary health care outside of the hospital, Marian Regional
Medical Center was identifying the need for increased
numbers of primary care providers from formal assessments.
“Marian has the busiest emergency department in Santa
Barbara County. In the last 12-month period, we recorded
68,000 patient visits,” said Stephanie Grogan, vice president of
philanthropy at Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation.
“From this statistic, we learned that 20 percent of the patients
we discharged were in the circumstance of having no primary
health care physician. Basically, one in five of the 68,000
patients did not have access to follow-up care.”
At the same time, Marian’s President and CEO Charles
J. Cova expressed a desire for the hospital to become a true
academic facility. Chuck approached David and Dr. Todd
Bailey, director of emergency medicine, about the possibility
of becoming a teaching hospital. From their research, sense
of community needs, available resources, and staff interest,
David and Todd decided they had the opportunity to create an
excellent family medicine program, one that would not only
1
Marian Regional Medical Center Innovations Magazine,
“A New Era in Family Medicine,” Winter 2014, page 4.
transform the community but allow the hospital to become
an educational resource. “Sometimes when it is difficult
for patients to follow up with recommended care, they get
discouraged and just don’t,” said David. “We want to break
this cycle. When patients work with their doctors to manage
chronic disease, the systematic management of health care
throughout the county improves. The foundation for this
capability is built around primary care.”
“Marian has the busiest emergency
department in Santa Barbara County.
In the last 12-month period, we
recorded 68,000 patient visits.”
To provide the highest level of training through the Family
Medicine Residency Program, Marian became affiliated with
two educational institutions, the Keck School of Medicine
of the University of Southern California and Western
University. The affiliations allow for a free exchange of ideas,
shared research and resources, and collaboration around
processes. “Being able to transform the way care is given in our
community does not happen very often,” said Stephanie. “This
program is something that is special.”
The First Five
When a graduating fourth year medical student applies
and chooses a teaching hospital, and the same hospital also
selects and chooses the fourth year medical student, this is
called making a “match.” Most fourth year medical students
in the United States are matched with a teaching hospital and
placed across the country on a single day. Marian received 220
applications, and has matched five residents to date for this
inaugural year of the program.
The first year of the residency program will be taking care
of patients predominantly in the hospital setting (the standard
internship year), with residents learning in every part of the
hospital from obstetrics to neonatal intensive care and surgery.
It is important that they receive a broad spectrum of training
as they work toward becoming family physicians. In the
second year, the residents will expand their training to include
more time in the outpatient Family Medicine clinic. For the
final year of the program, the residents will spend the majority
of their time in the Family Medicine clinic and provide
outpatient services. “Most of the patients the residents see in
the clinic become their regular patients during their three-year
program at Marian,” said David. “As each resident is required
to have a minimum of 1,650 patient visits throughout the
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
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length of the program, the majority of the training will be
about providing continuity of care for their own patients over
the three years.”
Typically, when residencies are completed and doctors are
setting up their new practices, some of their regular patients
choose to go with them. With the prospect of an already builtin population of patients to treat, many new doctors stay close
to the area where they did their residency. Through the Marian
Family Medicine Residency Program, a long-term benefit will
be the supply of physicians created who will continue to live in
the Santa Maria Valley and its surrounding areas, serving the
community for years to come.
Santa Barbara Foundation Funding
Marian approached the Santa Barbara Foundation three
years ago with the concept of the Family Medicine Residency
Program. In 2013, the foundation provided Marian with a
$250,000 Innovation Grant, the largest competitive grant the
foundation has ever awarded. “A grant of this size is quite a
statement for the foundation,” said Ron Gallo, president &
CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation. “It signifies that we
thought this residency program was one of those extraordinary
occasions when an established institution demonstrates the
innovation, agility, creativity, and dedication to not only
further ensure its own growth but to address – in a long-term
fashion - an important community issue.”
The core tenants of the program align with the foundation’s
priorities of expanding health care access across the county,
8
while also providing opportunities to improve community
health outcomes through education and outreach. “In light
of the changes currently occurring in the health field, the
shortage of family care physicians and the need to provide
health access and care in the years ahead, the foundation
found this project to be a game changer for our county,” said
Phylene Wiggins, community investment officer for the
Santa Barbara Foundation. “We anticipate increased health
access as a result of training and retaining new physicians in
our community that will enhance the health of our county’s
residents for years to come.”
With large startup costs, a program like this one cannot
happen without visionaries who are willing to put money
forward. It is a huge, up front, long-term investment, as the
program will not begin to break even financially until its third
year, when the hospital has its full complement of 18 residents.
“We came to the Santa Barbara Foundation first because
having its support lends us credibility and helps us to leverage
the support of other partners,” said Stephanie. “This grant
demonstrates the foundation’s willingness to see the vision –
to be present in helping us with what we hope to accomplish
and the outcomes we are trying to achieve.”
“When it really comes down to it, people value their
health above all else,” said David. “It is not until you lose your
health that you realize how important it is to you. To have
a supportive health care infrastructure for the community is
invaluable because it gives people confidence in the place that
they live.” n marianmedicalcenter.org
Marian Regional Medical Center is responding to a rising demand for health care access. Photo courtesy of Marian Regional Medical Center.
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
CREATIVE COMMUNITIES
Into the Wild
Wildling Museum Raises Awareness of Wilderness and Natural Spaces
“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude
rather than contempt, we must leave them a glimpse of the
world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through
with it.” President Lyndon B. Johnson made this statement
in 1964 when he signed the Wilderness Act into law. The act
created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States,
protecting 9.1 million acres of federal land in the process.1
Fifty years later, the Wildling Museum is celebrating the
anniversary of the act along with its continued commitment
to the representation of natural places, a new location, and an
entrepreneurial spirit leading toward renewed sustainability.
In early 2010, the museum found itself on the precipice
of change. Over the years, the demographics of Los Olivos
(the museum’s former location) had shifted to younger groups
interested in wine tasting and shopping. Foot traffic leading
to the one-room museum became slow and financially the
situation became tough. The museum began looking at
options, finally moving to a new location in Solvang. Now,
the museum has multiple gallery spaces, a classroom, and a
Wilderness Resource Center. “I have to say our donors Peter
and Becky Adams and Jack and Judy Stapelmann were so
important in making it happen,” said Stacey Otte, executive
director of the Wildling Museum. “There were many other
individual donors and several grants, and we were very
thankful for the Santa Barbara Foundation’s help. Through
the vision of these funding partners, the museum has become
what it is today.”
The museum has now gone from being 100 percent reliant
on donors to developing earned revenue possibilities. Increased
hours (the museum is open six days a week), a charge for
admission (visitors can still get in free on Solvang Third
Wednesdays), a variety of exhibitions, and an expanded gift
shop, are just a few of the changes to be expected. The museum
plans to expand educational programming, collaborate with
organizations throughout the valley, and rent out the facility
for special events, all in the hope of increasing its exposure in
the community. “The Wildling is about art and nature with
the point being that we should all become more active in and
knowledgeable about the natural world,” said Stacey. “We are
not activists, but we are a springboard to larger conversations.”
Truly pristine wilderness areas are rare, as they represent
the highest level of untouched land found anywhere in the
world. The museum is committed to raising awareness about
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Act
The Wildling Museum is open six days a week, with free admission on
Solvang Third Wednesdays.
designated wilderness areas as well as nature in all forms
because the reality is there just is not that much pristine
wilderness anymore. “Art has played an important role in
raising awareness about the landscape of this country since
it was founded,” said Stacey. “For many, looking at nature art
creates a moment in time where the world just stops. People
realize there is a whole wide world out there that they are
beginning to connect with. Everything else drops away and
they have peace.”
The Wildling Museum offers several ways to become
involved. Donations can be made toward the museum’s general
operating expenses or in support of the Patti Jacquemain
Exhibition Fund. In addition, the museum can be booked
for special events. The show On Nature’s Terms: Paintings
by Thomas Paquette Commemorating the 50th Anniversary
of the Wilderness Act is currently on view through May 26,
2014. n wildlingmuseum.org
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
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Winter Refuge
Freedom Warming Centers
Open Doors for Homeless
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Photo courtesy of Paul Kinsley Photography.
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| Spring 2014
I
n the winter of 2009, a wheelchair-bound veteran who
went by the name of Freedom was discovered dead on
the streets of Santa Barbara. He was one of 40 homeless
casualties that year, shedding light on a gap in social services
for the county’s most vulnerable.
The Freedom Warming Centers was established as a
grassroots network of churches that opened their doors
to shelter the homeless during the winter months. In its
first year, the collaboration comprised four churches – the
Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, Trinity Episcopal Church,
First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, and First
Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara – and has since grown
to include 13 congregations countywide.
“Our mission is to relieve suffering for our neighbors
without homes and to save lives on nights of inclement
weather,” said Maria Long, director of the Freedom Warming
Centers. “The churches support each other in providing warm
and safe environments for homeless individuals without
expectation of going into a program or reform.”
Driven by Weather
The warming centers operate during the months of
November to February, on nights when there is a 50 percent
or greater chance of rain or temperatures are expected to fall
below 35 degrees. The churches participate in a rotating oncall schedule, ready to activate within 12 to 72 hours notice.
“Santa Barbara County generally sees 35 to 50 days of rain
or cold weather each year. The weather is so good here that
it is a desirable location for people without homes to come,”
said Maria. “It is not reasonable for us to activate the warming
centers when the weather is nice outside because many of our
guests do not want to come in. We have to respect that they
prefer to be outside and be there when they need us.”
In its first and second years, the warming centers served
1,700 and 2,800 homeless individuals respectively. That
number spiked to more than 4,000 individuals in its third year
due to significant rainfall on the Central Coast. This winter’s
drought provided a new challenge for the warming centers.
“Our guests get tired and despondent if they are out in the
elements and disconnected from us for too long,” said Maria.
“Because of the drought this winter, we have been activating
on some nights just to give these people some much needed
human contact. If they get those three really great days of rest,
they do not get as agitated out on the streets.”
An Untraditional Shelter
While many local shelters offer respite from the cold during
the winter months – including Casa Esperanza, Santa Barbara
Rescue Mission, and Santa Barbara Salvation Army – the
warming centers support those who may not fit a structured
shelter system.
“A lot of the people are at the warming centers because
traditional shelters do not work for them,” said Julia Hamilton,
associate minister for the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara.
“Maybe they are veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or
they have a mental illness such as schizophrenia, or they have
trauma in their past that makes them need more space.”
Maintaining an open door policy, the warming centers do
not conduct sobriety checks or lock their doors at a certain time.
“There are people who need a more stable environment
in order to hold on to their sobriety,” said Julia. “But at our
warming centers, you are welcome as long as you are not
disturbing anybody else’s ability to get a good night’s sleep. We
believe that whatever changes people are going to make in their
lives, whatever the future holds for them – they have to first
survive the night.”
The Faces of Homelessness
Welcoming guests with a diverse collection of life stories,
the warming centers serve emancipated foster youth, veterans,
individuals with mental disabilities, individuals with physical
disabilities, victims of domestic abuse, the underemployed, the
unemployed, and others.
“I see a lot of Caucasian males who cannot find work. Some
of them have injuries from working in the trades and others are
veterans from Iran and Afghanistan,” said Maria, who also serves
as part-time executive director of Doctors Without Walls. “This
year I have also seen more women on the streets who do not
have the ability to gain employment or cannot afford housing
here in Santa Barbara. Of course we do see a lot of substance
abuse and those who have been hurt by the economy.”
“We believe that whatever changes
people are going to make in their lives,
whatever the future holds for them –
they have to first survive the night.”
Maria even points to herself as an example of the face of
homelessness, and said several of the warming centers’ staff
members can say the same. Orphaned as a teenager, Maria
found herself struggling to make ends meet as she aged out of
the foster care system. But her parents had instilled in her the
value of a good education, and she put herself through college
by working several odd jobs along the way.
“There are different kinds of homelessness,” said Maria. “If
you dig down beneath the layers, you will see that these are
people whose lives have been fractured. It is just luck of the
draw and we need to remember that.”
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The Hands That Help
The warming centers employ 12 to 20 seasonal staff
members who work 12-hour shifts when the sites are
activated, sometimes for several consecutive days. Moving
from site to site, the staff are responsible for responding
to medical needs, maintaining security, checking guests in,
and cleaning up the facilities in the morning. “Staff are the
foundation of the warming centers’ work,” said Julia. “They
provide our partner congregations with the assurance that the
people will stay safe and our buildings will be respected.”
Bert and Geri Willoughby. Photo courtesy of Paul Kinsley Photography.
12
In addition, the churches supply hospitality teams who
provide guests with warm meals in the evening, coffee and
pastries in the morning, as well as sack lunches to take with
them when they return to the streets. Many of the churches
have witnessed an outpouring of volunteers.
“The warming centers provide a place to match people’s
desire to help, giving them a place to be of use and to get
involved,” said Julia. “People want to do the right thing. They
want to build a community that we can be proud of – and for
a lot of people, that means a community that does not have
people sleeping in doorways.”
Volunteers Bert and Geri Willoughby were instrumental
in enlisting their congregation, First Presbyterian Church of
Santa Barbara, to act as a warming center site. For 25 years,
the Willoughbys opened their own home to foster youth in
the community. Their first foster daughter eventually became
homeless, fueling their desire to care for people in similar
situations. “She had been in 22 foster homes and institutions,
so she was very hardened when we got her,” said Geri. “When
she became emancipated at age 18, she went out, got pregnant,
and ended up living in her car.”
The Willoughbys have volunteered with the warming
centers for nearly four years, shuttling guests to and from the
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| Spring 2014
sites in large vans, and preparing and sharing meals with
them. “We work with a great team,” said Bert. “It is very
rewarding. It is not a chore at all.”
A Community Effort
In 2013, the Santa Barbara Foundation provided a Core
Support Grant to aid the Freedom Warming Centers’
operations. The warming centers are also funded through
the County of Santa Barbara, City of Santa Barbara, City
of Carpinteria, City of Goleta, Santa Barbara Housing
Authority, and private funders. Additionally, the warming
centers partner with organizations such as the Central Coast
Collaborative on Homelessness, Common Ground Santa
Barbara County, Doctors Without Walls, Good Samaritan
Shelter, Direct Relief, Salvation Army of Santa Barbara, and
several local businesses to offer support services.
“There has been a real concerted effort over the past few
years to bring everybody together so we can each provide
our services and at the same time have our eye on the bigger
picture of solving homelessness more permanently,” said Julia.
Earlier this year, Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara
and the Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness
hosted a Homelessness Action Summit, inviting community
members to engage in solutions to homelessness. At the
summit, national experts estimated an annual cost of $25,000
to $100,000 in emergency room and jail visits for each person
who sleeps on the streets. Comparatively, the cost to house a
person averages between $12,000 to $25,000 a year.
“A lot of times people say we cannot afford to put people
in housing and to give them support services, but really, we
cannot afford not to,” said Julia. “The amount that we spend
in emergency response is much greater than what we would
spend in just giving people the housing that they need.”
With a rental vacancy of less than 1 percent in Santa
Barbara, a larger issue may be the lack of housing available
in Santa Barbara, affordable or not. “There is just not much
housing stock, and market rates in Santa Barbara are very
expensive,” said Julia. “Even if people are ready with a security
deposit and first month’s rent, it can be months and months
before something becomes available, if not years.”
With El Niño expected to develop later this year, the
warming centers are anticipating a rainy winter season and an
increase in demand for services in 2014-2015. The warming
centers’ greatest need is partner churches that are willing to
open their doors to shelter the homeless.
“We hope that one day the warming centers will not be
needed,” said Julia. “If we opened our doors and nobody
showed up because everybody had some place more stable to
sleep than on the floor of a church, that would be fantastic.
It is what we do to save lives until we can figure out a better
way.” n facebook.com/freedomwarmingcenter
EDUCATION
Waging Peace
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Works to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic
bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later, a second
atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. These two atomic
weapons, small by today’s standards, took over 200,000 lives.
Fast forward to the early 1980s, the height of the nuclear
arms race was approaching, and more than 60,000 nuclear
weapons were in the world. David Krieger began thinking
about the need for an organization like the Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation. “During this period, leaders of the United States
and Soviet Union were not speaking to each other, making it
an incredibly dangerous time,” said David, who has been the
foundation’s president since its inception in 1982. “I believed,
along with others, that citizens needed to have their voices
heard on this critical issue. Five of us started this organization
in the belief that peace is an imperative of the nuclear age.”
Today, more than 17,000 nuclear weapons still exist, enough
to end civilization in a single afternoon. Despite many near
accidents and the threat of nuclear wars, the United States
and Russia still possess about 95 percent of the global nuclear
stockpile and each maintains about 900 nuclear weapons on
hair-trigger alert.
Participants in the Peace Leadership Program. Photo courtesy of the
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation educates, engages,
and mobilizes the public in organized advocacy to protect
and assure humanity’s future, currently launching several
campaigns to break through the apathy and awaken people
in the United States and across the globe to the continuing
dangers of nuclear weapons. In addition, the Nuclear Age
Peace Foundation has prioritized the need to get world
leaders to the negotiating table, so that they can agree on a
plan to eliminate all nuclear weapons. “Atmospheric scientists
modeled a small nuclear war in which 100 nuclear weapons
were used in one region of the globe, in an exchange between
India and Pakistan. From their research, these scientists
predicted that soot from burning cities would rise into the
upper stratosphere, partially block the warming sunlight, and
lead to crop failures that would create a global famine that
would take two billion lives,” said David. “To me, that seems
like an important warning to humanity.”
Today, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons exists to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, with
treaty parties agreeing to pursue negotiations in good faith
to end the nuclear arms race at an early date and to achieve
nuclear disarmament. There are four countries with nuclear
weapons that are not parties to this treaty, and the Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation maintains that all countries must come
to the negotiating table so that a solution can be found to end
the manufacture, possession, modernization, threat, and use of
nuclear weapons.
To the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, this is an issue that
requires international cooperation, and the United States has
a special obligation to show leadership because it first created
the weapons and remains the only country to have used them
in war. “Through our own cleverness as a species, we created
technology powerful enough to end our existence on this
planet,” said David. “This situation, the dangers of the nuclear
age, demand much more from us. We owe it to ourselves and
to the future, to our children and grandchildren.”
From its humble beginnings over 30 years ago, the Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation has grown into an organization with
more than 60,000 members across the globe, with an active
Board of Directors and an Advisory Council including the
XIVth Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Queen Noor,
Jane Goodall, and Ted Turner. In addition, the foundation
seeks to empower people to work for peace in their own
communities through its Peace Leadership Program. This is a
project the Santa Barbara Foundation has supported through
its community investments.
“I have chosen hope because without it, one can drift
toward despair,” said David. “If you want to bring about
change, you have to be hopeful that a better world is possible
through our individual and collective efforts. I believe that our
foundation is a source of hope in the world.”
n wagingpeace.org
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
13
Deep Impact
Safe Passage Project Seeks Sustainable
Solutions for Maritime Conflicts
N
14
early 200 blue whales visit the Santa Barbara
Channel each summer on their annual pilgrimage
up the West Coast – the largest concentration of
blue whales anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, thousands of
container ships transit the channel’s internationally designated
shipping lanes each year, elevating the risk of ship strikes on
these endangered creatures.
“The Santa Barbara Channel is home to some of the
highest diversity of whales anywhere in the world, including
blue whales, grays, humpbacks, fins, and orcas,” said Kristi
Birney, marine conservation analyst for the Environmental
Defense Center. “In 2007, four whales were struck and killed
by cargo ships in a three-week period. It really raised the
profile of ship strikes in the community.”
The Environmental Defense Center, the Channel Islands
National Marine Sanctuary, and the Santa Barbara County
Air Pollution Control District are leading a collaborative
effort to address marine shipping conflicts in the Santa
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
Barbara Channel and implement an incentive-based vessel
speed reduction pilot program. Recognizing the many interests
at stake, the Santa Barbara Foundation recently awarded an
Innovation Grant to initiate this Safe Passage Project.
“As a critical first step in this community project, we have
pulled together a new working group under the marine
sanctuary’s federal advisory council to discuss strategies for
creating more sustainable shipping, decreasing air pollution,
reducing the risk of ship strikes, reducing interference with
naval testing operations, and enhancing navigational safety,”
said Kristi. “In a parallel but separate effort, we will pilot a
program this summer to financially incentivize a small number
of ships to reduce speeds while transiting the channel.”
Protecting the Whales
It is believed that the historic population of blue whales
was at one time over a quarter of a million animals worldwide.
Commercial whale hunting, which was banned in the late
Photo courtesy of John Calambokidis,
Cascadia Research.
1960s, slashed the blue whale population to approximately
10,000 animals, with an estimated 2,000 residing in the
Eastern Pacific.
“One of the largest threats to whales right now is ship
strikes,” said Sean Hastings, resource protection coordinator for
the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. “The slower
ships go, the better chance whales have of surviving strikes, and
presumably they also have more time to get out of the way.”
Every year, Eastern Pacific whales migrate from as far south
as Central America to as far north as the Gulf of Alaska.
Because the warm and cold currents that converge along the
Central Coast create a highly productive ocean environment,
the Santa Barbara Channel serves as a critical feeding ground
for whales. Diving 200 meters beneath the surface to feed on
tiny crustaceans called krill, these 80- to 100-foot whales are
easily overpowered by the 800-foot ships that share their waters.
“What makes blue whales excellent divers is that they are
negatively buoyant, meaning a whale on the surface naturally
sinks rather than floats,” said Sean. “Based on natural history,
biology, and the physiology of the animal, it is very likely
that more whales are being struck by ships and sinking out of
sight than those that float and end up on shorelines. Whale
researchers think the number of animals being hit could be
upward of five to 10 times more than we are aware of.”
The International Maritime Organization recently ruled in
favor of shifting the shipping lanes that run through the Santa
Barbara Channel away from the feeding grounds of whales,
but geographic constraints within the channel mean that
whales are still at risk of being struck.
Improving Air Quality
In addition to endangering whales, marine shipping is
responsible for emissions of several air and climate pollutants,
including greenhouse gases and black carbon. Shipping
accounts for more than 50 percent of Santa Barbara County’s
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a precursor to the
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
15
formation of ozone. The county is currently not in compliance
with the state standard for ozone, which at ground level can
cause significant respiratory health impacts.
“We have been concerned for a long time about the air
pollution from large ships going through the channel, and in
particular about the NOx emissions they produce,” said Mary
Byrd, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County
Air Pollution Control District. “A University of California,
Riverside study indicates that by reducing vessel speed to 12
knots, ships become more efficient, burn less fuel, and create
less pollution.”
If the county cannot reduce pollution from marine
shipping, local businesses may continue to take on the burden
of rigorous air regulations.
“Over the years, businesses have been producing less
pollution with cleaner technologies and stricter regulations.
Car pollution has also decreased because of the state’s cleaner
fuels rules and smog checks,” said Mary. “Shipping continues
to produce the greatest amount of NOx emissions. If we can
reduce NOx emissions to meet the state standard for ozone by
slowing ships down, it will be better for our economic health
as well as our public health.”
16
A Pilot Program
Vessel speed reduction to minimize air quality impacts
and protect whales is not a new concept. For the past four
years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
has tried asking ships to voluntarily reduce their speeds in
the Santa Barbara Channel during whale season from June
to November. With no incentives or regulations, less than 1
percent of ships complied.
The pilot program will explore the feasibility of adding a
financial incentive for companies to reduce their ship speeds,
modeled after a program implemented by the Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach with over 90 percent participation.
“The financial incentive is a token amount,” said Sean. “We
believe the real incentive is to provide them with the public
attention and recognition they deserve for demonstrating a
sustainable corporate attitude.”
While the shipping industry maintains concerns about the
vessel speed reduction program, representatives have pledged
to take part in the working group.
“We do not aspire to regulate the shipping industry. We
want to facilitate vibrant maritime commerce, just in a more
sustainable way,” said Sean, noting that the Channel Islands
National Marine Sanctuary’s governing entity, NOAA, is
housed under the United States Department of Commerce.
“So far the shipping industry is supportive of the project
because they understand that we can come up with better
solutions by working together, rather than fighting through
regulations and lawsuits.”
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
Ensuring Navigational Safety
Recent changes in fuel regulations have prompted some
ships to reroute to the backside of the islands, where the ship
strike problem is even more difficult to quantify and where
there currently are no shipping lanes.
“We do not want ships going anywhere and everywhere.
Ships in shipping lanes are paramount to keeping the ocean
safe,” said Sean. “A worst case scenario for our entire county, for
whales and every other living thing, is two ships colliding and
the resulting oil spill that would happen.”
Unorganized ship traffic and congestion also poses concerns
for the United States Navy, which conducts missile testing and
training south of the Channel Islands. Naval representatives
will join the working group to discuss possibilities for ship
relocation and improved scheduling.
“Many of us in Santa Barbara may not realize the Navy is
operating the world’s largest test range behind the Channel
Islands,” said Sean. “Having thousands of ships pass through
their testing range each year disrupts operations and training,
and their readiness for responding to threats around the world.”
To help facilitate these deeper discussions, the working
group plans to use a web-based ocean planning tool called
SeaSketch. Developed by the University of California, Santa
Barbara’s McClintock Lab, SeaSketch allows stakeholders
to explore marine management solutions through real-time
spatial planning and graphic visualizations.
“The ocean is busy and it is getting busier,” said Kristi.
“SeaSketch is a powerful communication and data analysis tool
that will allow us to input data, share ideas, and have honest
conversations about conflicts within the channel.”
A Game Changer
The Safe Passage Project, along with an increasing
number of environmental and conservation efforts, is gaining
momentum through its unique public-private partnership.
“It is exciting that the Santa Barbara Foundation recognized
the visionary aspect of this project,” said Owen Bailey,
executive director of the Environmental Defense Center. “This
is an attempt to bring everybody to the table and to really find
that win-win. Any solution that has everybody contributing to
it is going to be a better, longer lasting solution.”
The vision for this project is to transition from a pilot to a
long-term program. State cap-and-trade funding – revenue
generated from charging companies for exceeding a set level of
greenhouse gas emissions – is one option to support a full-scale
vessel speed reduction program in the Santa Barbara Channel.
“We hope a successful pilot program here can scale up to
other areas in California and beyond,” said Sean. “Rerouting
and slowing ships has the potential to be a game changer in
terms of climate issues, endangered species protection, and
human health beyond Santa Barbara County.” n
COMMUNITY PROFILE
The Art of Discovery
Luke Swetland Aims to Revitalize One of Santa Barbara’s Oldest Museums
Discovery begins by stepping outside, listening to the
sounds of nature, scanning the horizon, and reaching out
to touch the ground. This is the kind of childhood Luke
Swetland experienced in his Nebraskan hometown and the
kind of experience he hopes to cultivate at the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History.
“Growing up, when the weather was nice, my mom kicked
me outside with my brothers and sisters. We would climb
trees, get dirty, scrape our knees, dig in the dirt, look for
mud puddles, and just see what we could see,” said Luke.
“In an increasingly virtualized world, kids and parents are
losing opportunities to have direct engagement with nature.
What we hope to do at the museum is to give everybody the
meaningful experiences a lot of us had growing up.”
Luke joined the museum as president and CEO in January
2013, bringing 20 years of professional experience that
includes management positions at the Autry National Center
of the American West, the Getty Conservation Institute, the
Japanese-American National Museum, and the Henry Ford
Museum and Greenfield Village. He is currently guiding the
museum through a master planning and entitlement process to
ensure the organization’s long-term sustainability. The museum
is also preparing to celebrate its centennial, as well as the 10th
anniversary of its marine facility, the Ty Warner Sea Center.
Luke Swetland. Photo courtesy of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
“We are a natural history museum that sits in the middle of
our most important exhibit – a five-acre urban oak wilderness,”
said Luke. “Everything we want to do going forward in terms
of refreshing galleries, enhancing programming, and making
the site more accessible is about bridging what happens
indoors with what happens
outdoors so when people
come here, they can have a
direct encounter with the
natural world.”
The museum’s space
sciences program is one
example of its revitalization
plans. Housing the only
planetarium between Los
Angeles and San Francisco,
the museum last year
installed touch panels,
Children discover the wonders of
bilingual graphics and
nature. Photo courtesy of the Santa
media, and a state-of-the-art Barbara Museum of Natural History.
planetary projection system.
In addition, renovation of the unused Palmer Observatory
is currently underway with support from private donors,
the Santa Barbara Foundation, Santa Barbara City College,
and the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit. A research grade
telescope was also donated by the Las Cumbres Observatory
Global Telescope Network.
“By the end of this year or next year, the observatory will be
back online with a new dome and a research grade telescope
that can link to other telescopes in our global network,” said
Luke. “We can look at the sun, we can look at the stars, and we
can pipe that information over to our planetarium.”
The culture of giving in Santa Barbara has played an integral
role in the museum’s ability to provide educational experiences
for its 150,000 visitors each year. Last year, the museum’s 900
volunteers contributed over 36,000 hours of service.
“If anything defines Santa Barbara, it is philanthropy – and
not just philanthropy in terms of people willing to share their
wealth, but people willing to share their expertise and time,”
said Luke. “So much of this museum has been built by the
community and its involvement.”
Fifteen months into the job, Luke has already demonstrated
a deep commitment to understanding and stewarding the
museum’s long heritage. When he does have free time, Luke
and his wife Stacey enjoy spending time outdoors.
“We feel so blessed to be able to live in Santa Barbara. It
is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse communities in
California,” said Luke. “With beaches and mountains in such
close proximity, there really is a low-cost opportunity here to
get out and enjoy nature.” n sbnature.org
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
17
Community Conversations
Rob Skinner and Al Rodriguez Discuss the Foundation’s Grantmaking
Rob Skinner is a Santa Barbara Foundation trustee and has
been involved with the foundation’s community investments
for more than five years. Al Rodriguez is a former trustee and
the new vice president of community investments. Here they
discuss the foundation’s grantmaking strategies – now and into
the future.
How has the foundation’s grantmaking evolved over the
years in terms of priority and opportunity?
Rob: Historically, the
foundation’s grantmaking was
purely responsive, and small
grants were made for broad
community needs. Recently,
there was a transition to more
of an investment mentality.
Instead of thinking in terms of
how to divide the investment
dollars, we began looking at
the types of problems we were
trying to solve. As a representative of the aggregate interests of
the community, the foundation is looking to provide solutions
and create new ways of addressing problems. We want to
move the needle, not just in terms of investing dollars, but also
in seeing results.
18
How has the direction of the foundation’s grantmaking
evolved from last year?
Rob: I think 2013 will be viewed as the start of a
transformation because it was at this time the foundation
moved toward a more directive, solutions-oriented approach.
In 2014, we will continue to be even more directive in terms of
the kinds of proposals, or the kinds of solutions, presented to
us so that we can focus on addressing the greatest community
needs.
Al: Our 2013 year-end giving set the stage for what we
are beginning to do now, encouraging applicants to offer us
ideas that are systems changing. Foundation staff started
to look at special areas of focus and to see where strategic
investments could be made in order to support the long-term
goal and vision of the foundation, an outlook that has created
a platform from which to grow.
Rob: The foundation is really changing its thinking about
how investing in the community should work. As we all know,
investing is not an exact science. There will be, with all good
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
intentions, the possibility of going down the wrong road or even
a dead end in a worst case scenario. As long as we build a robust,
disciplined approach for evaluation, we will ultimately make the
necessary progress toward our goal.
How do Express Grants, smaller awards used to improve
organizational efficiency and effectiveness, make impact
in the community?
Al: In the past, Express Grants enabled the foundation to
respond quickly to timely social sector needs. Now in 2014,
we are taking a more regional approach to support community
issues. We are moving toward more of a vertical alignment so
that all of our investments in the community support those focus
areas the foundation has prioritized.
What role do donors play in the foundation’s ability to
make investments in the community?
Al: Because the scope of need is so great against the
practicality of what we have to invest, donors play an important
role at the foundation. Donor activity, for the most part, is
largely separate and distinct from the foundation’s discretionary
grantmaking. We have an opportunity to bring these two
populations of dollars together so that they might be a more
aligned, influencing pool of resources in the community.
Rob: Working closely with our donors, we become a trusted
adviser and resource center for philanthropic interests. With
a concentration of financial capital – real equity capital as
well as intellectual capital – around an idea, the foundation
becomes more and more at the center of problem-solving
and accomplishing certain goals as well as being a conduit for
investments and solutions. The exciting thing about this
direction is that investment dollars should now make a bigger
difference in the community.
What are you most optimistic
about this year?
Al: What I am most hopeful
for, and very excited about, is the
opportunity to engage donors with
choices for investment. In many
ways, all areas of the foundation
are becoming more focused. We
are trying to be laser sharp in
our approach, and that has to be
exciting for everybody. n
Investments in the Community
Together With its Donor Investors, the Foundation Provided $22 Million in 2013
A Different Point of View
Academy of Healing Arts for Teens, AHA
Achievable Foundation
Achievement First Hartford Academy
Adsum Education Foundation
Afghanistan Dental Relief Project
Africa Schools of Kenya
AIDS Housing Santa Barbara
AIDS/LifeCycle
Alano Club of Santa Barbara
Albany YMCA
All For Animals
All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church
Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access
Alliance for School Choice
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
Alpha Phi Foundation
Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara
Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Iowa Chapter
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders
Association
Amboseli Trust for Elephants
American Association for the Advancement
of Science
American Association of University WomenSanta Maria
American Association of University WomenSpecial Projects
American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society, California Division
American Cetacean Society
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of
Southern California
American College of Bankruptcy Foundation
American Diabetes Association
American Farmland Trust
American Friends Service Committee
American GI Forum Education Foundation of
Santa Maria
American Heart Association
American Heart Association of Santa Barbara
County
American Himalayan Foundation
American Jewish World Service
American Lung Association in California
American Museum of Ceramic Art
American Museum of Natural History
American National Red Cross
American Red Cross, Santa Barbara Chapter
American Red Cross, Ventura County Chapter
American Society for Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology
American Youth Soccer Organization
Americans for UNFPA
Americans United for Separation of Church
and State
Amnesty International USA
Andy Granatelli Museum and Hall of Fame
Angel Flight West
Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
Animal Rescue Team
Animal Shelter Assistance Program of
Santa Barbara
Annunciation Catholic School
Anti-Defamation League Foundation
Antioch University
Aplastic Anemia & MDS International
Foundation
Archaeological Conservancy
Arellanes Junior High School
Art Without Limits
Arthritis Foundation
Arts Mentorship Program
Arts Outreach
Artspace
The Asclepian Foundation of Western Medicine
The Aspen Institute
Aurora Theatre Company
Autism Society of Colorado
Bainbridge Schools Foundation
Bat Conservation International
The Beatitudes Society
Bennington College Corporation
Berkeley High School Jazz
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
Big Picture Company
Bishop Garcia Diego High School
Blind Babies Foundation
Blood Systems
Boalt Hall Fund for Diversity
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
Boxtales Theatre Company
Boy Scouts of America Council
Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara
Boys & Girls Club of Santa Maria Valley
Bradley University
Braille Institute of America
Branch Elementary School
Brandon Elementary School
Brazelton Touchpoints Project
The Breakthrough Collaborative
Breast Cancer Financial Assistance Fund
Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara
Bridges Project for Education
Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation
Brookwood Church
Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter
Butterfield Youth Services
Cabrillo High School
Calder Performing Arts Organization
California 4-H Foundation
California Academy Foundation
California Avocado Festival
California Lutheran Educational Foundation
(KCLU)
California Polytechnic State University
Foundation
California Province of the Society of Jesus
California Retina Research Foundation
California State Parks Foundation
California Trout
The California Wildlife Center
Californians for Population Stabilization
Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara
Camerata Pacifica
Camino Global
Campus Crusade for Christ
Cancer Center of Santa Barbara
Cancer Institute of New Jersey-Rutgers
University Foundation
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
Carpinteria Beautiful
Carpinteria Children’s Project at Main
Carpinteria Education Foundation
Carpinteria Family School
Carpinteria High School Boosters’ Club
Carpinteria Movies in the Park
Carpinteria Unified School District
Carpinteria Valley Arts Council
Carpinteria Valley Foundation
Carpinteria Valley Historical Society
Carrillo Counseling Services
Carrying Capacity Network
Casa Del Herrero Foundation
Casa Dolores
Casa Esperanza Homeless Center
Casa Serena
Cate School
Catholic Charities of Los Angeles
Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara County
Catholic Education Foundation
Cato Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Center for Courage & Renewal
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
19
Center for Individual Rights
Center for Successful Aging
Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview
Gardens
Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles
Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens
Central Coast Literacy Council
Chad Relief Foundation
Chandler School
Channel Islands Restoration
Channel Islands YMCA
Cherry Hills Community Church
Child Abuse Listening Mediation
Child Evangelism Fellowship of Santa Barbara
Child Hope International
Children’s Bureau of Southern California
Children’s Creative Project
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara
Church at the Crossroads
Cincinnati Country Day School
Cincinnati Nature Center Association
Citizens Planning Association
City of Carpinteria
Claremont Institute
Classical KUSC
Coachella Valley Rescue Mission
Coalition for Sustainable Transportation
Coastal Housing Coalition
Cold Noses Warm Hearts
Colorado College
Columbia University
Community Action Commission of Santa
Barbara County
Community Action Fund for Women in Africa
Community Alliance For Learning
Community Arts Music Association of Santa
Barbara
Community Counseling Center
Community Environmental Council
Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation
Community Partners in Caring
Community Shul of Montecito and Santa
Barbara
Community Works
Compassion & Choices
Compassion International
Concerned Resource and Environmental
Workers
Congregation B’nai B’rith Corporation
Connecticut Science Center
Conservacion Patagonica
Conservation International Foundation
Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation
Cooper Union for the Advancement of
Science and Art
Cooperative for Assistance and Relief
Everywhere
Cornerstone Community Church
Cornerstone House of Santa Barbara
Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
County of Santa Barbara Arts Fund
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa
Barbara County
Covenant House
Cow Camp Caridades
Cranbrook Educational Community
Crane School
Crean Lutheran High School
Cretin-Derham Hall
The Crowden Music Center
Cuyama Valley Family Resource Center
D C Preparatory Academy
Da Vinci Schools
Democracy Now Productions
Direct Relief
Doctors Without Borders USA
Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street
Medicine
Dog Adoption and Welfare Group
Dog Adoption and Welfare Group
Founders Fund
Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara
County
DonorsChoose.org
Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation
Dream Foundation
Dreamtree Project
Dwellings
The Ear Foundation
Earthjustice
Easter Seals Tri-Counties, California
Easy Lift Transportation
Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation
Edelweiss Choir of Santa Barbara
El Camino Elementary School
Elemental Strings
The Eleos Foundation
Elings Park Foundation
Endowment for Youth Committee
EngenderHealth
Ensemble Theatre
Environmental Defense Center
Environmental Defense Fund
Episcopal Relief and Development
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of
Jerusalem
Equine Spirit Sanctuary
Esalen Institute
Everybody Dance Now
Everyday Gandhis
Explore Ecology
Face Africa
Fair Housing of Marin
Family Album Project
Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara
Federation for American Immigration Reform
FINCA International
Finest City Performing Arts
Safety Net and Basic Needs
With compassion as one of its core values, the Santa Barbara Foundation recognizes the
importance of meeting basic human needs and addressing significant community demand
for food, shelter, and health care. Poverty is on the rise with 15 percent of adults and nearly
22 percent of children living in poverty throughout Santa Barbara County. The 2014
implementation of the Affordable Care Act has opened access to health services and new
funding streams, while prioritizing health care delivered by family practice physicians. In
addition, the foundation has noted a growing demand for behavioral health care for poor and
underserved members of the community. Through its community investments, the Santa Barbara
Foundation is working to expand access to health care (mental and addiction health services)
across the county.
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reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
First 5 Santa Barbara County
First United Methodist Church
Fisher House Foundation
Flamenco Arts Festival
Flintridge Preparatory School
Focus on the Family
Food From The Heart
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Forest Service Employees for Environmental
Ethics
Foundation for Economic Education
The Foundation for Girsh Park
The Foundation for Santa Barbara City
College
Foundation for the Performing Arts Center
The Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse
Fountain Valley School of Colorado
Free Methodist Church
Freedom Alliance
FreedomWorks Foundation
Fresh Air Fund
The Friedman Foundation for Educational
Choice
Friends for Pets Foundation
Friends of Montecito Library
Friends of the Bancroft Library
Friends of the Carpinteria Public Library
Friends of the Elephant Seal
Friends of the Guadalupe Library
Friends of the Inyo
Friends of the Los Alamos Public Library
Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library
Friendship Adult Day Care Center
From the Heart Productions
The Fund for American Studies
Fund For Santa Barbara
Future Leaders of America
Galapagos Conservancy
Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation
Garden Conservancy
Genesis West
GenSpan Foundation
Getty Owl Foundation
Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria
Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara
Glaucoma Research Foundation
Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
Global AIDS InterFaith Alliance
Global Justice Center
Goats for Life
Good Samaritan Shelter
Goleta Valley Beautiful
Goleta Valley Community Center
Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation
Goleta Valley Historical Society
Grabhorn Institute
Gray Whales Count
Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center
Guadalupe Union School District
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Guttmacher Institute
Gwendolyn Strong Foundation
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa
Barbara County
Hadassah Foundation
Hands 4 Others
Hands and Feet Project
Hartford Hospital
Hartford Stage Company
Harvard College
Haven House
Hawaii Community Foundation
Heal the Ocean
Heartland Honor Flight
Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center
Heifer Project International
Heritage Foundation
Hidden Wings
High Country News
Higher Ground Sun Valley
The Hill School
Hillel The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
at Princeton
Hillside House
Holderman Endowment for La Patera School
Hollygrove Children and Family Services
Homeboy Industries
The Horse Shelter
Hospice of Dubuque
Hospice of Santa Barbara
Hotchkiss School
Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County
Human Rights Watch
Ida Redmond Taylor Elementary School
Immaculate Heart Community
Incredible Children’s Art Network
Inquiring Mind
Institute for Justice
Intensive Heart Ventures
International Campaign for Tibet
International House at UC Berkeley
International Planned Parenthood Foundation
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
Isla Vista Youth Projects
Island Institute
Italian Cultural Heritage Foundation of Santa
Barbara
J Street Education Fund
Jane Goodall Institute
JBI International
Jess Ranch Community Church
Jesse Rohde Educational Foundation
Jessie Hopkins Hinchee Foundation
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington
Junior Achievement of Northern California
Just Communities, Central Coast
K-9 Placement and Assistance League
K-Life Ministries
Creative Communities
According to the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV report produced by Americans for the
Arts, the arts industry in Santa Barbara County continues to serve as an economic engine.
Pumping $124 million annually into the local economy, this sector supports more than 3,500
full-time jobs and generates over $11 million in local and state government revenue. Through
its community investments, the Santa Barbara Foundation works to grow and sustain the arts
and culture sector by strengthening arts organizations; stimulating vocational and business
opportunities for working artists; revitalizing cultural communities including the development
of Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone as a recognized creative hub; and expanding the region’s
notoriety as a world-class destination for creativity, innovation, and culture.
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Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
K-Love
Kanopy Dance Theatre
KCBX Public Radio, FM 90
KCET Community Television of Southern
California
KCRW Foundation
Kingswood-Oxford School
KOCE-TV Foundation
KQED
KRZA Radio
La Colina Junior High School
La Purisima Concepcion Catholic School
Laguna Blanca School
Laguna Cottages for Seniors
Lake Casitas Rowing Association
Lakeside School
Lakeview Junior High School
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County
Las Madrinas
Last Mile Health (Tiyatien Health)
Leadership Institute
Leading from Within
Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County
Legatus
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Lewis & Clark College
Life Network
Life Steps Foundation
Light and Life Goleta
Little Angels Preschool
Lobero Theatre Foundation
Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare
Organization
Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building
Foundation
Los Altos Educational Foundation
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles Opera Company
Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Los Padres Forest Watch
Lotus Outreach
Loyola Marymount University
Lutah Maria Riggs Society
Macalester College
Machik
Madeira School
Mahakankala Buddhist Center
Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation
Malaria No More Fund
Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation
Marin Community Foundation
Marine Mammal Center
Marlborough School
Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer
Research
Marymount Academy Incorporated
Marymount High School
Massachusetts Audubon Society
Mayo Clinic Arizona
Meals on Wheels
Media4Good
Mental Wellness Center
Mental Health Association in Santa Barbara
County
Metropolitan Family Services
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s
Research
Miller-McCune Center for Research Media
and Public Policy
Mills College
Mission San Antonio de Padua
Mission San Miguel
Mission Springs Christian Camp and
Conference Center
Monastery of Poor Clares
Montecito Covenant Church
Montecito Educational Foundation
Montecito Foundation
Montecito Retirement Association
Montecito Trails Foundation
Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation
Mountain Home Health Care
Mountain View School Foundation
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Museum of Ventura County
Music Academy of the West
Naples Coalition
NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
Nassau Presbyterian Church
National Audubon Society
National Blood Foundation Research and
Education Trust Fund
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
National Federation of the Blind
National Park Foundation
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
National Society to Prevent Blindness
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy of California
The Nature Conservancy of Massachusetts
The Neal Taylor Nature Center at Cachuma Lake
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
New Noise Music Foundation
New Repertory Theatre
New Tribes Mission
New York Baroque Dance Co.
Nicaragua-United States Friendship Office
Nonviolence Works
North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry
North Country School
North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection
Center
North Haven Arts & Enrichment
North Haven Historical Society
Northern Santa Barbara County United Way
Economic Development
Economic development actions cross all sectors including health, safety, education, infrastructure,
and competitiveness. A strong economy can serve as a catalyst for improving community
vibrancy while also lifting social indicators such as crime, poverty, literacy, and life expectancy.
With a variety of elements at play in the development of economic vitality throughout the
county, the Santa Barbara Foundation is interested in supporting innovation and entrepreneurial
activities that foster new ideas and technologies leading to small business development, better
jobs, and higher wages. As the foundation continues to gather information, it will invest in key
strategies that nurture economic creativity and develop economic bridges across neighborhoods
and between communities.
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reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
Northwest Children’s Fund
Northwest Harvest EMM
Notes For Notes
Notre Dame School
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Oakland East Bay Symphony
Oakland Museum of California Foundation
Oaks Christian School
Oberlin College
Oglala Lakota College
Ojai Festival
Ojai Raptor Center
Ojai Valley Historical Society and Museum
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
Ojai Valley School
Old Mission Santa Barbara
One Heart World-Wide
Orange County Community Foundation
Orcutt Academy
Orcutt Area Seniors in Service
Order of Malta - Western Association
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
The Orfalea Fund (Orfalea Foundation)
Organic Soup Kitchen
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish
Out of the Box Theatre Company
Outward Bound Wilderness
Oxfam-America
Pacific Crossroads Church
Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Mozart Ensemble
Pacific Pride Foundation
Parent Institute for Quality Education
Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays
Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara
Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
Parkinson’s Institute
Parks and Recreation Community Foundation
Partners for Christian Education
Partners In Health
Pathfinder International
Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums
Peabody Charter School Foundation
Pearl Chase Society
Peninsula College Fund
People for Leisure and Youth
Peoples’ Self-Help Housing
Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phillips Exeter Academy
Pico Youth & Family Center
Pioneer Valley High School
Pitzer College
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara,
Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties
Planning and Conservation League Foundation
Playfest Santa Barbara
Plaza Playhouse Theater
Poetic Justice Project
Polar Bears International
Population Connection
Population Institute
Postpartum Education for Parents
Potter’s Field Ministries
Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Pro Elite Athletic Kooperative
Project Kindle
Project Vote Smart
Public Citizen Foundation
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
RARE
Reality Santa Barbara
Regents of the University of California, Berkeley
Regents of the University of California,
Santa Barbara
Regents of the University of California,
Los Angeles
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
ResQcats
Right to Life League of Southern California
RISB Foundation
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles
Rona Barrett Foundation
Roosevelt Elementary Educational Foundation
Rosie’s Place
Rotary Club of Santa Barbara North Charitable
Foundation
Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise Charitable
Foundation
Rotary District 5240 Charitable Foundation
Rubicon Theatre Company
Ryan House
S.M.O.O.T.H.
Sage Associates
Saint Andrews Abbey
Saint Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Saint Paul the Apostle Church
Salpointe Catholic High School
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, Prescott Corps
The Salvation Army, Santa Barbara Corps
Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts
and Crafts
Samaritan’s Purse
San Francisco Boys Chorus
San Francisco Classical Voice
San Francisco Opera Association
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
San Juan Preservation Trust
San Marcos Christian Camp
San Marcos High School
San Marcos High School Athletic Booster Club
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
Sansum Clinic
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute
Santa Barbara Animal Rescue
Santa Barbara Art Association
Education
With the Santa Barbara County dropout rate in double digits and school districts reporting
children arriving to their first day of kindergarten without necessary skills, education remains
a pressing issue with importance placed on early childhood education. Conversations around
education have identified the connection between kindergarten readiness and early grade level
proficiencies in math and reading skills leading to greater high school graduation rates, with a
stronger pathway to higher education and vocational stability. The Santa Barbara Foundation
continues to seek and invest in ways to secure the future for the county’s students.
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Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable
Santa Barbara Audubon Society
Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition
Santa Barbara Birth Center
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation
Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts
Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra Society
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara Choral Society
Santa Barbara Community Youth Performing
Arts Center
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation
Santa Barbara County Action Network
Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation
Santa Barbara Dance Institute
Santa Barbara Education Foundation
Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and
Evacuation Team
Santa Barbara Festival Ballet
Santa Barbara Foresters
Santa Barbara High School District
Santa Barbara High School Education
Foundation
Santa Barbara Hillel
Santa Barbara Hillel Support Foundation
Santa Barbara Historical Society
Santa Barbara Humane Society
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Santa Barbara Literary Society
Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
Santa Barbara Meals on Wheels
Santa Barbara Middle School
Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Barbara Music Club
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
Santa Barbara Opera Association
Santa Barbara Partners in Education
Santa Barbara Public Library
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center
Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
Santa Barbara Revels
Santa Barbara School of Squash
Santa Barbara Swim Club
Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra Association
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Santa Barbara Unified School District
Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network
Santa Barbara Youth Ensemble Theatre
Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation
Santa Cruz Island Foundation
Santa Maria Arts Council
Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Foundation
Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum
Santa Maria Valley Historical Society
Santa Maria Valley YMCA
Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Santa Paula Museum of Art
Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society
Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People
Save the Bay
Save the Children Federation
Save the Redwoods League
Saving Grace Farm Charitable Foundation
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara
Scripps College
Segue Career Mentors
Seven Tepees Youth Program
Shadow’s Fund
Shakespeare for Kids
Shared Table-El Pueblito Methodist Church
The Sierra Club Foundation
Skirball Cultural Center
Smile Train
Smithsonian Institution
Social Service Auxiliary
Sofia American Schools
Soldiers Project
Solvang Friendship House
Solvang Theaterfest
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Southern California Public Radio
Southern California Tennis Association Foundation
Southern Poverty Law Center
Speculator Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Spiritual Life Instance
St. Barbara Parish
St. Catherine University
St. Cecilia Society
St. Francis Foundation of Santa Barbara
St. Ignatius College Preparatory
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. Joseph High School
St. Marks School of Southborough
St. Mark’s University Parish
St. Mary Medical Center
St. Mary of the Assumption
St. Mary of the Assumption School
St. Patrick School
St. Paul The Apostle Parish
St. Vincent de Paul Society
St. Vincent’s Institution
Stanford University
State Policy Network
State Street Ballet
Steadfast Love
Stem Advantage
Storyteller Children’s Center
Student Conservation Association
Summa Education Foundation
Summerdance Santa Barbara
Sun Valley Center for the Arts
Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation
Surgical Eye Expeditions International
Swan School
Family Caregiving for Elders
Across the United States, it is estimated that 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 each day
through 2029. By 2030, one in four Californians will be over the age of 60, a statistic that will be
reflected across Santa Barbara County. Diseases of aging, specifically Alzheimer’s and dementia,
are expected to double by 2050. At present, one in three seniors dies from complications related
to these diseases. Family caregiving is the safety net for the aging population, with 87 percent
of long-term care provided by unpaid family caregivers. In addition, the increase in longevity
combined with the decrease in financial resources available during retirement years computes to
an aging population outliving its means. The Santa Barbara Foundation has prioritized issues
surrounding seniors, and is looking to strengthen the caregiver safety net to look after the
county’s elders.
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reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
Synergos Institute
Tahoe Maritime Museum
Taos Center for the Arts
Taos Sports Associates
Taos Youth Music School
Taos Youth Soccer League
Teachers College Columbia University
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation
Teen Challenge of Southern California
Tennis Patrons Association of Santa Barbara
Thacher School
Tommie Kunst Junior High
Transition House
Transitions-Mental Health Association
Trinity Children’s Foundation
Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara
Trout Unlimited
Trustee of Brantwood Camp
Trustees of Boston University
Trustees of Phillips Academy
Trustees of Princeton University
Trustees of Tufts College
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council
The UC Davis Foundation
The UCLA Foundation
UCP Work
UCSB Affiliates Scholarship Fund
UCSB Alumni Association
UCSB Foundation
Union of Concerned Scientists
Union Rescue Mission
Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert
United Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Santa
Barbara County
United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay
United Negro College Fund
United Service Organizations
United States Fund for UNICEF
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
United Way of Santa Barbara County
Unity Shoppe
University of California, Berkeley Foundation
University of California, San Francisco
Foundation
University of Connecticut Foundation
University of New Mexico Foundation
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon Foundation
University of Pittsburgh
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of the Nations
USA Cares
USSGA Memorial Fund
Valle Verde
Vandenburg Middle School
Vedanta Society of Southern California
Verbum Dei High School
Veterans of the Vietnam War & The Veterans
Coalition
Villanova Preparatory School
Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care of Santa
Barbara
Voice of the Martyrs
Wallowa History Center
Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation
Washington School Foundation
Washington State University Foundation
Weideman Foundation
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
West Edge Opera
West Sound Academy
Westminster Village Foundation
Westmont College
Westridge School for Girls
WGBH Educational Foundation
Whitman College
The Wilderness Land Trust
Wilderness Society
Wilderness Watch
Wilderness Youth Project
Wildling Museum
Williams College
Williamstown Film Festival at Images
Women Deliver
Women’s Economic Ventures of Santa Barbara
Working on Wellness
World Business Academy
World Dance for Humanity
World Security Institute
World Wide Open
World Wildlife Fund
WorldWatch Institute
Wounded Warrior Project
Yale University
YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford
Yosemite Foundation
Young America’s Foundation
Young Life
Young Peoples Symphony Orchestra Association
Young Playwrights
Youth Action International
Youth Heartline
Youth With A Mission of Montana
Veterans
A steady increase in the number of returning veterans is occurring throughout the United
States as men and women conclude their involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the
Department of Defense begins reducing the size of the military. The transition from combat
to classroom and/or civilian life can be challenging for the returning veteran, fellow students,
college administrators, and their communities. The Santa Barbara Foundation has prioritized
community investments that will lead to veterans’ successful transitions and academic
successes, also partnering with stakeholders to spark public dialogue around the veteran
experience.
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Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
AGENCY ENDOWMENTS
A Future for the Y
Endowment Fund is Part of Santa Maria Valley YMCA’s Strategic Plan
26
No two YMCAs operate in the same way, each designed
to meet the specific needs of its service area. Founded in the
1930s, the Santa Maria Valley YMCA has long provided
important community resources such as youth camps and
sports. Today, the organization serves more than 5,800
members with programs including child care, tutoring,
diabetes and obesity prevention education, fitness, and more.
“Our main areas of focus are youth development, healthy
living, and social responsibility,” said Shannon Seifert, chief
executive officer of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA. “Our
role in the community is to provide services in these areas
to everyone who needs them, regardless of their ability to
pay.”
In 2012, the Santa Maria Valley YMCA opened an
agency endowment fund with the Santa Barbara Foundation
as part of an overall vision to proactively plan for the
future needs of the organization. The plan also included
strengthening its community partnerships, restructuring
roles, training staff, and investing in capital needs. Taking
advantage of the foundation’s investment experience and
support services, the YMCA has been able to turn its
attention to expanding its programming.
“Community needs change throughout the years, and the
YMCA always wants to be here to address them and have
the funds to do so. Growing our endowment is an excellent
long-term way to ensure the viability of our services,” said
Shannon. “Equally important to our Board of Directors is
the strong, trusting relationship between the Santa Barbara
Foundation and our YMCA over the years. We are delighted
to have the foundation as one of our partners in helping us
forge a better tomorrow.”
The Santa Maria Valley YMCA is currently focused on
improving educational outcomes through programs such as
Y Readers, after-school tutoring, and teen internships. The
YMCA also partners with the Santa Barbara Department
of Education and North County Volunteers to supply more
than 400 volunteer tutors for three school districts each year.
“Literacy is a very large challenge, particularly during
school breaks when students lose their skills and gradually
fall behind summer readers by as many as three grades.
Y Readers was developed to address this achievement gap,
and we have successfully increased reader skill sets over two
grade levels per child over the past two years,” said Shannon.
“For our teens, we offer job readiness and internship
programs that teach them interview skills and help them
reIMAGINE
| Spring 2014
Hundreds of youth participate in the Santa Maria Valley YMCA’s camps
each year. Photo courtesy of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA.
develop true work experience by matching them with local
employers.”
Alongside its educational programming, the Santa Maria
Valley YMCA is addressing diabetes and obesity prevention
through its Healthy Behaviors Initiative. Teaching nutrition
and healthy behaviors directly on school sites expands the
YMCA’s capacity to reach more families in an affordable and
scalable way.
“We want to build a trusting relationship with our farming
families so they will allow their children to participate in
enrichment programs like Y Readers and learn life skills such
as swimming,” said Shannon. “Obesity and illiteracy both have
enormous and long-term community-wide consequences. Our
goal is early intervention and education to empower this next
generation on making wise choices.” n smvymca.org
The Santa Barbara Foundation currently manages agency
endowment funds for more than 30 organizations throughout the
county. To learn more about opening an agency endowment fund
with the foundation, please contact Lynette Muscio at
[email protected] or (805) 963-1873.
SOCIAL SECTOR EXCELLENCE
Strengthening Our Leaders
Foundation Supports Professional Development Opportunities
The Santa Barbara Foundation believes that strong and nurtured leadership is necessary for communities to grow and thrive. In
2013, the foundation provided $274,400 to support social sector participation in several professional development programs and
opportunities. n sbfoundation.org/npe
Enhanced Knowledge
Cutting Edge Conference Experience
Board Leadership Institute: A seven-month leadership
program designed for board members, provided in partnership
with the Ventura County Community Foundation.
Stanford Nonprofit Management Institute: A-two day
educational conference for nonprofit leaders, with scholarships
provided by the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Renewal
Professional Development
Marquee Speaker Series: A professional development
series featuring nationally renowned trainers, provided in
partnership with The Fund for Santa Barbara.
Courage to Lead: A year-long professional renewal program
for nonprofit executives, provided in partnership with Leading
From Within.
Leadership Development
Katherine Harvey Fellows: An 18-month program educating
future community leaders about philanthropy, provided in
partnership with Leading From Within.
Technical Assistance
The Fund for Santa Barbara: Technical assistance for
nonprofits in the areas of organizational development,
fundraising, and strategic planning, provided in partnership
with The Fund for Santa Barbara.
What do these two
have in common?
Michael is an active community member, trustee at
the Santa Barbara Foundation, and vice chancellor for
student affairs at UCSB. KC is a student in the Dos
Pueblos Engineering Academy where she learns 21st
century business and entrepreneurial skills. What
Michael and KC have in common is they are both
connected to the Santa Barbara Foundation.
You have the potential to add value to your
community. It all starts with you.
(805) 963-1873 | sbfoundation.org
27
Santa Barbara Foundation | reIMAGINE
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit #411
Santa Barbara, CA
1111 Chapala Street, Suite 200
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3100
(805) 963-1873
sbfoundation.org
Facebook @sbfoundation
Twitter @sbfoundation
Calendar
Fleischmann, Floro, and Spaulding Awards
Wednesday, April 16 | Karpeles Manuscript Library
A Santa Barbara Foundation ceremony honoring students
who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement
and community service. n sbfoundation.org
Bill Cirone and
Anne Smith Towbes,
71st Man and Woman
of the Year. Photo
courtesy of Monie
Photography.
Partnership for Excellence Conference
Dialogue on Corporate Philanthropy
Thursday, April 17 | The Fess Parker
Thursday, May 22 | Deckers Outdoor Corporation
The Foundation Roundtable presents “Co-Creating Our
Future: Impacts & Evaluations that Matter,” featuring
keynote speaker Manuel Pastor. n nprnsb.org/pfe
The Corporate Philanthropy Roundtable hosts events
throughout the year to engage local businesses in
discussions on corporate giving trends and best practices.
n sbfoundation.org/cpr
Legacy Leaders Luncheon
Tuesday, May 6 | Montecito Country Club
72nd Annual Man and Woman of the Year
A celebration of the visionaries who have advanced the
work of the Santa Barbara Foundation through their
generosity and leadership. n sbfoundation.org
Thursday, October 9 | Four Seasons Biltmore
Fast Pitch SB
One of the city’s most prestigious awards, honoring
volunteers who have made a significant and positive impact
in the Santa Barbara community. n sbfoundation.org
Thursday, May 15 | Music Academy of the West
Celebrate Philanthropy! Luncheon
Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara brings together local
businesses and social sector organizations for an exciting
competition, hinging on a three-minute fast pitch for cash
awards. n socialventurepartners.org
Thursday, November 6 | Santa Maria Country Club
An annual luncheon honoring individuals and families who
best exemplify the spirit of volunteerism in the Santa Maria
community. n sbfoundation.org