The Fund for Santa Barbara

Home
United States
Santa Barbara, CA
The Fund for Santa Barbara

Directions Website

IG:

The Fund for Santa Barbara is a 501(c)3 non-profit community foundation that advances progressive change by strengthening movements for Economic, Environmental, Political, Racial, and Social Justice in the Santa Barbara County region.

10/16/2026

The Racial Equity Grant (REG) program is back, with expanded funding! After six years and more than $1.65 million invested, The FUND is matching the County’s annual investment, bringing available grant funding to $467,500 beginning with the 2027 grant cycle.

The FUND is proud to continue our partnership with the County of Santa Barbara for the sixth cycle of REG, supporting grassroots organizations working to advance racial equity, counteract the legacy of slavery and ongoing impacts of racism, and address systemic inequities.

Funding for the REG was born directly from the grassroots organizing of Black femme leaders, who called on the County to invest in Black communities following the murder of George Floyd to advance racial justice. This expansion is thanks to the collective advocacy of community members who rallied to preserve REG, its funding, and its community-led approach to grantmaking. We are grateful to our community of advocates who spoke up, to our Board of Directors for expanding this vital investment, and to the County Board of Supervisors for their continued partnership.

📅 Application deadline: November 13, 2026. Optional pre-application review deadline: November 6, 2026.

Learn more and apply at fundforsantabarbara.org/reg-county-of-sb

10/13/2026

Tonight! ✊🏾Join us at the SBUSD Board of Education Meeting at 5:30 PM. The recent blackface incident at San Marcos High School is part of a longstanding pattern of anti-Black racism across Santa Barbara schools. For years, Black students, families, and educators have reported racial harassment, inadequate institutional responses, and called for meaningful change. Black students deserve to feel safe, supported, and valued in their schools.

We stand behind the demands developed by Black Student Unions across local high schools and call on SBUSD leadership to take immediate action. For too long, the burden of confronting anti-Black racism has fallen on Black communities. We call on allies and all those committed to racial justice to stand alongside them NOW.

📅 Tonight, October 13, 2026
🕠 5:30 PM – Recommended arrival for public comment
🕕 6:00 PM – Meeting begins
📍 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara

📣 Giving public comment: Arrive by 5:30 PM to complete a speaker card before the general public comment period begins. Speakers are generally allotted up to 3 minutes.

Can't attend? You can still share your concerns and support the demands put forward by Black students by emailing the SBUSD Board of Education at [email protected].

10/12/2026

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, The FUND for Santa Barbara is honored to announce a $25,000 offering to the Barbareño Band of Chumash Indians through our Chumash Reparative Action Offering. In ’alapkaswa’, the language of the Barbareño Band, the word for offering is kiyikšaš (pronounced keey-ik-sh-aa-sh).

Launched last year, this offering is part of our ongoing commitment to reparations for the Chumash peoples, whose ancestral, unceded lands we live, work, and organize on.
Each year, The FUND will select a recipient through a random drawing among seven Chumash Bands, rotating until each has received an offering. The funds are unrestricted, allowing each Band to decide how best to use them.

Centuries of colonization have caused lasting harm to the Chumash peoples, their cultures, and the lands they have stewarded for thousands of years. These harms continue today, and while acknowledging this history matters, we believe acknowledgment must be accompanied by meaningful action and a sustained commitment to repair.

We invite our community to join us by learning about and supporting local Chumash Bands directly. Learn more at bit.ly/chumash-reparative-action-2026

10/01/2026

Our 2026 ballot endorsements are here! 🌟 ✊🏽

Not sure where you land on every local measure and proposition? We've put together our recommendations to help you vote for the kind of progressive change we want to see in our communities.

At The FUND, we believe informed communities, meaningful access to the ballot, and civic participation are essential to a healthy democracy. Our endorsements are grounded in our commitment to economic, environmental, political, racial, and social justice and in a belief that our communities have the power to shape a future where working people, families, and neighborhoods can thrive.

Ballots start arriving next week, so make a plan to vote early! Read our full ballot endorsement positions and access additional voter resources at fundforsantabarbara.org/vote

09/21/2026

Reminder that YMC Grant Application Workshops are happening this week!

Have an idea for a project that could make a difference in your school or community? Join Youth Making Change for a free grant application workshop and learn how to apply for up to $3,000 to bring your idea to life.

📅 Santa Maria — Wed, Sept 23 | 5:30–7:00 pm
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 402 S Lincoln St, Santa Maria, CA

📅 Santa Barbara — Thu, Sept 24 | 5:30–7:00 pm
The Fund for Santa Barbara Office, 3rd Floor Conf. Room, Suite 305, 1528 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA

We’ll walk through the application, share tips for putting together a strong proposal, and answer your questions.

YMC applications are open to Santa Barbara County youth, with applications due October 9.

Register for a workshop at fundforsantabarbara.org/ymc-grant-application

08/27/2026

Social justice organizations increasingly navigate digital threats that can impact the safety of their staff, partners, and the communities they serve. Join The Fund for Santa Barbara and Rogue Metrics for an engaging, hands-on workshop that introduces the fundamentals of digital security through the lens of collective care and organizational resilience.

Designed for grassroots organizations and nonprofit staff, this session will break down common digital risks and provide practical, accessible tools to help strengthen your organization’s security practices. Whether you’re developing policies for your team or looking to improve everyday habits, you’ll leave with strategies to safeguard sensitive information, reduce digital risk, and build a stronger culture of shared responsibility.

Register now at: bit.ly/cbdigitalsecurity101

08/25/2026

We’re proud to announce Sara Miller McCune as the 2026 recipient of our Bread & Roses Nancy Alexander Founder’s Award. 🌹

A renowned publisher, philanthropist, and longtime champion of the Central Coast, Sara’s legacy reflects a profound understanding of how lasting change is built: by trusting communities, investing in people and organizations for the long haul, and strengthening their capacity to lead, build power, and shape the decisions that affect their lives.

Through the McCune Foundation, Sara has been an essential partner to The FUND and movements for justice across our region. Her philanthropy has helped strengthen movements, develop leaders, and build the collective power our communities, and our democracy, depend on.

Join us in celebrating Sara and her extraordinary legacy at the 33rd Annual Bread & Roses: Bread & Votes, Sunday, October 4 at SBCC’s Great Meadow.

Tickets & sponsorships are available now!

08/24/2026

You may have seen some new faces around The FUND — give a warm welcome to Landon & Yaquilina!

Landon joins The FUND as our new Operations & Finance Manager. A born-and-raised Santa Barbaran, he’s excited to support the movement for justice in his own community. He comes to The FUND after more than a decade at SB ACT, where he worked across nonprofit operations and programs while helping build coalitions among nonprofits, government agencies, and faith communities around housing justice and immigrant rights. Landon is passionate about building bridges across Santa Barbara County’s diverse communities and creating relationships rooted in mutuality rather than hierarchy.

Yaquilina is our newest Grants Intern, supporting voter education efforts. Raised in Santa Maria by immigrant farmworker parents, Yaqui recently graduated from UCLA with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change. Before joining The FUND, she supported community-based research on civic engagement, youth leadership, voter engagement, and organizing in Santa Barbara County through the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. She’s excited to deepen her experience in community philanthropy and grantmaking while supporting working-class and underserved communities across the Central Coast.

We’re excited to have Landon and Yaquilina bringing their experience, local roots, and commitment to community into this next chapter of The FUND’s work!

08/21/2026

The 2026–2027 Youth Making Change Grant Cycle is now open! Youth ages 12–24 in Santa Barbara County can apply for up to $3,000 to fund youth-led projects that create positive community impact. Applications are due Friday, October 9.

We’re hosting two free workshops to walk through the application, answer questions, and connect applicants with the YMC Board — come learn how to submit a strong proposal!

📅 Santa Maria — Wed, Sept 23 | 5:30–7:00 pm
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 402 S Lincoln St, Santa Maria, CA

📅 Santa Barbara — Thu, Sept 24 | 5:30–7:00 pm
The Fund for Santa Barbara Office, 3rd Floor Conf. Room, Suite 305, 1528 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA

Learn more, apply, or register at fundforsantabarbara.org/ymc-grant-application

08/20/2026

We’re excited to welcome an incredible lineup of youth-serving organizations and community partners who will be presenting, facilitating workshops, and tabling throughout the day at this year's Youth Organizing Summit! Come connect, build organizing and civic engagement skills, and learn alongside young people and organizers from across Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

Registration closes Monday, August 24, 2026 at 11:59p.m. Free to attend. Open to youth in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and adult allies. Meals, interpretation, and transportation support available.

Register at: fundforsantabarbara.org/youth-organizing-summit-2026

Address

PO Box PO Box 90710
Santa Barbara, CA
93101

Website

http://www.fundforsantabarbara.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Fund for Santa Barbara posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your organization to be the top-listed government service in Santa Barbara?