$1 Million More from Montecito Bank & Trust’s

Montecito Bank & Trust’s decade-long legacy of giving reached $10 million on Monday, when 180 nonprofit organizations from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties were on hand at a luncheon at the Coral Casino to accept their 2012 donations, which amount to $1 million each year. “This is my favorite day of the year,” said the bank’s founder Michael Towbes, whose creation of the “Community Dividends” program was given a long standing ovation on Monday by a who’s who of Santa Barbara nonprofit and civic worlds, ranging from established institutions such as the Museum of Natural History to youth-organized nonprofits such as Kids Helping Kids. After a presentation and lunch of squash soup, turkey cobb salad, and pumpkin-flavored crème brulee, the recipients were given a plaque and letter announcing each individual award, which range in value depending on the project.