Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County Announces $129,500 in Grants
From its beginnings as a giving circle of 16 local women in 2007, the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County has grown to over 130 members, awarding a total of $449,500 to 20 nonprofits in North County in just four years.
The Women’s Fund is pleased to announce the following 2011 awards to agencies that focused on activities for children and youth:
Boys and Girls Club of Santa Maria Valley: $24,000 for capital improvements at both the Santa Maria and Guadalupe sites.
Friends of the Lompoc Library: $14,000 for equipment and furnishings for the teen area as well as renewal of film license.
Friends of the Santa Maria Library: $12,500 for purchase of materials and books for the youth and teen programs as well as renewal of film license.
Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County-Lompoc: $26,000 for the expansion of the successful tutoring program to middle school students.
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Teen Court’s Young Women’s Leadership Group: $30,000 for full funding for one year of this pilot program.
Santa Maria Youth and Family Center: $23,000 for employment of two bilingual Master’s-level trainees in Marriage and Family Therapy to counsel children and their families in the Santa Maria area.
“We are so honored to be able to award grants to these amazing organizations doing important work for the women, children, and families in the North County communities,” said Didi Reynoso, Co-chair of the Women’s Fund. “The Women’s Fund members, women who pool their own money and time to make a difference through the financial impact of collective philanthropy, make theses grants possible.”
The Santa Barbara Foundation, a fiscal agent and partner to the Women’s Fund, provided generous staff support and covered administrative costs, enabling the fund to return all of its membership dollars to the program. The Women’s Fund also received a generous grant of $20,000 from The Orfalea Foundations as well as a $70,000 award from The Roy and Ida Eagle Foundation through its grants committee and trustee Sonya Schroeder.
The Commission for Women honored the Women’s Fund as the Santa Barbara County’s 4th District Service Organization of the Year for 2010 as an organization that advocates on behalf of women in need. No doubt these women are using the power of the purse as a catalyst for change.