Michael Towbes – Chairman of the Montecito Bank & Trust Board, Janet Garufis – Montecito Bank & Trust President & CEO
Monica Spear with Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, Joyce McCullough with Habitat for Humanity, Jonathan Fox with Ensemble Theater Company of Santa Barbara, and Roger Durling with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Montecito Bank & Trust reached a major milestone this year, as it celebrated ten years of Community Dividends® Awards, having given a total of $10 million over the ten years to local Santa Barbara and Ventura County non-profit organizations. This year’s 10th annual Community Dividends® Awards luncheon honored 180 local nonprofits, and awards totaling $1 million were distributed at this truly special and unique event on Monday, November 19th at the Coral Casino.

“This truly is my favorite event,” said Michael Towbes, chairman of Montecito Bank & Trust. “Looking back over the ten years, and the hundreds of nonprofits we have been honored to support, I am always reminded that it’s because of them – and the important work they do – that I was inspired to begin the Community Dividends® Awards. Our goal, through the Community Dividends, as well as our overall philosophy of giving back to the community, is to make the communities we serve better places to live and work.”

During a time of serious economic uncertainty when many local businesses have significantly reduced their corporate philanthropy, Montecito Bank & Trust is maintaining its tradition of community giving, and demonstrating by example their commitment to support the critical work of hundreds of local Santa Barbara and Ventura County nonprofits located from Solvang to Westlake Village.

The Community Dividends® Awards were created by Mr. Towbes in 2003. The program focuses primarily on supporting organizations that serve low and moderate-income individuals and families in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The program also awards dividends to organizations with missions that serve the arts, youth and education, social welfare, and medical and health services sectors.

Montecito Bank & Trust has an unfailing record of corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves. In addition to its Community Dividends® Awards, the bank, with nine branch offices from Solvang to Westlake Village, has numerous community programs in which employees volunteer their time, talent, and expertise. Examples over the past year alone include the bank’s award-winning financial literacy program “Teach Children to Save Day”, Employee Volunteer Events like the Teddy Bear Foundation Build-a-Bike, Summit For Danny, Music Academy of the West’s “Carnival of Animals”, and the United Way Day of Caring to name a few, in addition to a 19 year tradition of annual Anniversary Grants, as well as presenting the Santa Barbara Triathlon for the past three years.

“Corporate philanthropy really begins with a personal commitment from the boss,” said Janet Garufis, the bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Equally important is engaging your entire team and encouraging volunteerism. Mr. Towbes has instilled in all of us at the bank the desire to support our community and make it a better place. Through Montecito Bank & Trust’s extensive corporate philanthropy outreach, we help our communities grow and prosper – it’s the essence of who we are. It is also the loyalty and commitment of our customers which make it possible for us to continue to have such an impact. It is a privilege to support so many nonprofits in our service area, and an honor to show our appreciation for the important contributions they make to the vitality of our communities.”

Montecito Bank & Trust, an S Corporation, is a locally owned community bank founded in 1975 and known for its ongoing support of the community through unique giving programs like Community Dividends® and Anniversary Grants. Proudly celebrating its 37th anniversary, the bank has branch offices in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, Carpinteria, Solvang, Ventura and Westlake Village. It offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers, including consumer loans, business loans and lines of credit, equipment finance, commercial real estate finance, SBA loans, credit cards, merchant services, online banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division, located in Montecito, Solvang and Ventura, provides full investment management as well as trust services for all of the bank’s branch office markets.

2012 Community Dividends® Recipient Organizations

Adelante Charter School

Adventures in Caring Foundation

AHA! (Academy of Healing Arts for Teens)

Alano Club of Santa Barbara, Inc.

Alliance for the Arts

Alzheimers Association, California Central Coast Chapter

American Cancer Society

American Heart Association Central Coast Division

Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara

Anti-Defamation League

Arthritis Foundation

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County

Bishop Garcia Diego High School

Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley

Boys & Girls Clubs of Ventura

Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara

Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara

California Lutheran University

California State University Channel Islands Foundation

Cancer Center of Santa Barbara

CAREGIVERS Volunteers Assisting the Elderly

Carpinteria Beautiful

Carpinteria Education Foundation, Inc.

Casa Esperanza Homeless Center

Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families

Casa Serena, Inc.

Catholic Charities

Center Stage Theatre

Child Abuse Listening Mediation, Inc.

Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara

Coastal Housing Coalition

Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, Inc.

Community Conscience / Under One Roof

Community Counseling and Education Center

Community Memorial Health System

Conejo Valley Senior Concerns, Inc.

Congregation B’nai B’rith

Cornelia Moore Dental Foundation

Cornerstone House of Santa Barbara

Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation

Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County

Crane Country Day School

Cupcakes for Cancer

Direct Relief International

Doctors Without Walls Santa Barbara Street Medicine

Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County

Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation

Dream Foundation

Easy Lift Transportation, Inc.

El Concilio Family Services

Elings Park Foundation

Elverhoj Museum of History & Art

Ensemble Theater Company of Santa Barbara

Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara

Fielding Graduate University

FOOD Share

Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

Foundation for Santa Barbara High School

Friends of the Library of the Santa Ynez Valley, Inc.

Friendship Adult Day Care Center, Inc.

Friendship Manor

Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation

Garden Court, Inc.

Gay & Lesbian Business Association

Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria

Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara

Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation

Goleta Valley Historical Society

Goleta Valley Senior Center

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County

Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County

HELP of Carpinteria

Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc.

Hospice of the Conejo

Housing Opportunities Made Easier

Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, Inc.

Isla Vista Youth Projects, Inc.

Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara

Just Communities Central Coast

Kids Helping Kids

La Casa de Maria Retreat & Conference Center

Laguna Blanca School

Laguna Cottages for Seniors

Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County

Life Network, Inc.

Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association

Lobero Theatre Foundation

Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank

Many Mansions

Marjorie Luke Theatre

Mental Health Association in Santa Barbara County

Museum of Ventura County

Music Academy of the West

NAWBO-SB Foundation

New Beginnings Counseling Center

Notes for Notes

Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Inc.

Opera Santa Barbara

Pacific Pride Foundation, Inc.

Page Youth Center

Parks and Recreation Community Foundation

PathPoint

Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation

Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties, Inc.

Project Understanding

San Marcos Parent Child Workshop

Sansum Clinic

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Inc.

Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation

Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.

Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Santa Barbara Community Housing Corporation

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Santa Barbara Education Foundation

Santa Barbara Family Care Center

Santa Barbara Foundation

Santa Barbara Historical Museum

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

Santa Barbara Meals on Wheels, Inc.

Santa Barbara Middle School

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics

Santa Barbara Partners in Education

Santa Barbara Police Activities League

Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center

Santa Barbara Rescue Mission

Santa Barbara Soccer Club

Santa Barbara Symphony

Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation

Santa Barbara Village

Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation

Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation

Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Inc.

Sarah House

Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

Solvang Friendship House

Solvang Lutheran Home, Inc.

Solvang Senior Center

Special Olympics Santa Barbara

St. John’s Healthcare Foundation

St. Vincent’s

State Street Ballet

Storyteller Children’s Center

Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International

Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation

The Foundation for Girsh Park

The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College

The Little Cottage

The Valley Foundation

Tradart Foundation

Transition House

Triad Properties

Turning Point Foundation

UCSB Arts & Lectures

United Boys & Girls Club of Goleta

United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara West Clubhouse

United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County

United Boys and Girls Club of Carpinteria

United Way of Santa Barbara County

United Way of Ventura County

Unity Shoppe, Inc.

Valley Haven, Inc.

Ventura County Community Foundation

Ventura County Housing Trust Fund

Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation

Ventura Music Festival

Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara

Westmont College

Wilderness Youth Project

Wildling Art Museum

Women’s Economic Ventures

YMCA Youth and Family Services: Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter

YMCA: Stuart C. Gildred Family Santa Ynez

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