“Change,
not Charity” defines the Fund for Santa Barbara’s approach to grant-making. Founded
in 1980, the nonprofit, community foundation believes that solutions for
community problems are most effective when they come from the community itself.
Appropriately,
the members of the Fund for Santa Barbara Grant-Making Committee come from
within the community, usually spending a few years helping choose which grants
to fund and then returning to their work in the area. Because of the rotating
nature of the committee’s composition, the group remains deeply connected to
the Santa Barbara region’s true needs.
To
create political, economic, environmental, and social change, the Fund for
Santa Barbara offers the following 5 programs:
1) Grant-Making
Most
grants are seed grants that provide new nonprofits with enough money to begin
implementing their programs. In addition to funding start-up organizations, the
Fund provides grants for general, operational assistance to established, small
nonprofits. It also makes target-specific grants to larger organizations.
The
Fund provided $19,500 in grants during its first year of operation, with each
grant maxing out at $2,000. Today, the maximum grant amount is $10,000, and the
Fund awards more than $200,000 in grants annually. Since 1980, the Fund has
distributed more than $5 million to over 900 grantees.
2) Bread and Roses
The
Bread and Roses auction and dinner raises a fourth of the money needed for the
Fund’s grant-making and technical assistance programs. The event takes its name
from a quote by prominent labor leader and feminist Rose Schneiderman. During a
textile workers’ strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912, she was noted for
saying, “the worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.” Members of
the Fund for Santa Barbara interpret the “bread” as a living wage and believe the
“roses” represent dignity and respect.
More
than 25 restaurants, caterers, wineries, and breweries contribute to create the
Bread and Roses buffet-style dinner that is now the largest progressive
fundraiser in Santa Barbara County, attracting more than 400 guests. Both live
and silent auctions contribute to the fundraising effort.
3) Technical Assistance
Grassroots
organizations often start with a great idea but have little practical experience
in starting and running a nonprofit. To help these groups, the Fund staffs a
technical assistance skills-building program that provides the following:
* Grant-writing help—Applicants can
submit the grant application draft for a pre-proposal review to receive hints
on how to improve the likelihood of acceptance. Twice a year, the Fund offers
public workshops on the application process and how to write an effective
grant.
* Consulting—This umbrella program
teaches a host of how-to’s for grassroots groups, including how to run a
community organization, start a nonprofit, develop a working board, facilitate
retreats, fundraise, and lobby. Strategic planning, financial management,
business resources, and program design help are also available.
* Networking— The offices of the Fund act
as a networking center, providing opportunities for activists and organizations
to learn about each other.
*
Collaboration—The Fund meets monthly with the Foundation Roundtable, a group of
30 local foundation representatives, to share ideas and plan the
yearly Partnership for Excellence Conference, which brings together
nonprofits and funding organizations for discussions and informational sessions.
4) Youth Making Change
With
its Youth Making Change (YMC) program, the Fund hands over the grant-making
responsibility to area teens. Two YMC boards, one in Santa Maria and one in
Santa Barbara, each award $15,000 in grants to projects led by youth ages 12 to
24. These YMC boards conduct an entire grant cycle with the aid of two youth
facilitators who previously served on YMC boards.
In
operation since 2008, the YMC program has made grants totaling $157,500 to 90
youth-led groups, giving up to $3,000 per project. Applicants must try to fix a
problem that affects youth in the community. The Fund also offers a workshop
for YMC grant-writing.
5) Social Justice Award
Since
2000, the Fund for Santa Barbara has partnered with the Santa Barbara
International Film Festival to award a Social Justice Award for Documentary
films. The 2015 winner of the award was “A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake,” which
followed a group of South African actors who brought their country’s story of
reconciliation to other war-torn regions.
Previous
Social Justice Award winners include Through A Lens Darkly:
Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, Revolution, and When I Rise.
