One of Santa Barbara’s longest-running community-organized festivals, our Earth Day celebration is also one of the oldest in the country, and among the largest on the West Coast. Santa Barbara is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Earth Day, as it was the infamous 1969 oil well blowout that kickstarted the U.S. environmental movement into high gear. At the time, the spill was the largest in the nation’s history, a disaster that spewed more than [...more...]
Santa Barbara Humane, founded in 1887, was one of the first animal welfare agencies in the country, opening nearly seven decades before the national organization began. Even though Santa Barbara Humane has been around for [...more...]
Giving List Matching Challenges
Youth Development
A teenager is much more than a preincarnate adult. The average teen’s roiling hormones and fraught search for self are […more…]
At first blush, Yaskin Solano may seem like a typical native of Santa Barbara. He grew up here, and he […more…]
It might seem disingenuous to employ the expression “a blessing in disguise” when it comes to Covid. But the truth […more…]
The Arts
For the Santa Barbara Symphony, the 2023-24 season expresses a number of the outreach efforts in its mission: to enrich […more…]
Throughout its history, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has been bringing people of all ages through a broad array […more…]
Who are we? The Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA) at Santa Barbara High School is a unique “school within […more…]
Social Justice
On a recent morning at Holocaust Museum LA (HMLA), Betsy, a docent, was leading a tour group of 20 LA […more…]
Blind Lady Justice’s proffered balance scales make an eternal and sacrosanct point: Everyone is equal before the law and will […more…]
Over the last couple of years, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) has dramatically increased its efforts to combat climate change […more…]
Homelessness & Housing
In 2015, Casa Esperanza joined forces with PATH, a statewide nonprofit that for 40 years has provided services to more […more…]
New Beginnings has an ambitious and lofty goal for 2025: ending veteran homelessness in Santa Barbara County. It’s not a […more…]
Global Reach
More than one billion people worldwide live with treatable vision loss due to a lack of quality eye care. While […more…]
In the wake of Maui’s tragic 2023 wildfires, relief organizations and the goodwill of the world at large poured into […more…]
In November 2022, a tornado tore through Idabel, Oklahoma, demolishing dozens of buildings, including the Kiamichi Family Medical Center. It’s […more…]
Giving Paws
In the wake of Maui’s tragic 2023 wildfires, relief organizations and the goodwill of the world at large poured into […more…]
Santa Barbara Humane, founded in 1887, was one of the first animal welfare agencies in the country, opening nearly seven […more…]
Foster Care
“With Wayfinder, we don’t feel like my son has a disability. We feel like everyone else.” This is the gift […more…]
When Gina was preparing to adopt a baby girl, she experienced a rush of thrilling emotions that comes with going […more…]
For the Children
When Gina was preparing to adopt a baby girl, she experienced a rush of thrilling emotions that comes with going […more…]
“With Wayfinder, we don’t feel like my son has a disability. We feel like everyone else.” This is the gift […more…]
You’d be hard-pressed to find a local nonprofit that brought its outsized quest to fruition more speedily than did the […more…]
Family Well-Being
“With Wayfinder, we don’t feel like my son has a disability. We feel like everyone else.” This is the gift […more…]
Family Service Agency’s (FSA) work is the very stuff that powers a vibrant community from within and makes it whole. […more…]
Maybe you’ve heard the terms. You might even understand what they mean and their importance. But perhaps there are other […more…]
Environment
On a cool September Sunday, a group of Marine Watchdog kayakers paddled into a sea cave on the rocky coastline […more…]
Our climate is in crisis. Record-setting heat waves. Larger and more destructive wildfires. An historic megadrought, hotter and drier than […more…]
Santa Barbara Humane, founded in 1887, was one of the first animal welfare agencies in the country, opening nearly seven […more…]
Education
Explore Ecology inspires students and adults alike to become better environmental stewards through three programs that reach over 40,000 community […more…]
At a moment when news about the fate of the Earth may seem apocalyptic, White Buffalo Land Trust is providing […more…]
Ever since its inception in 1984, the RiteCare Childhood Language Center of Santa Barbara (a program of the CA Scottish […more…]
Community Treasures
Victoria and Bill Strong brought their baby home with that mix of gratitude and indescribable joy – the heart-squeezing hallmarks […more…]
Most locals are probably aware of the best Santa Barbara place to visit every Memorial Day weekend for a glimpse […more…]
One of the most iconic public gardens in the world, Lotusland is a 37-acre wonderland of more than 20 distinct […more…]
Community Resilience
When a calamity befalls us, we are reassured that our First Responder protectors are on the job and doing their […more…]
In the wake of Maui’s tragic 2023 wildfires, relief organizations and the goodwill of the world at large poured into […more…]
The Fund for Santa Barbara’s powerful catchphrase is: “Change, not charity.” In the spring of 1980, a group of Santa […more…]
Advocacy
The Fund for Santa Barbara, founded in 1980, has always drawn together diverse communities and organizations with the goal of […more…]
Brady United Against Gun Violence, aka the Brady Center, marks its 50th anniversary since its founding. But the organization that […more…]
On Tuesday January 11th, 2022, Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved moving forward with Racial Equity Fund of […more…]