Tag archives: fundraiser

Santa Barbara’s 36-year-old Education Foundation hosted its first Love of Literacy lunch at Godric Grove at Elings Park, attracting 150 guests and raising $50,000 for the cause. The boffo bash, the first in-person event since March 2020, featured Montecito uber philanthropist Sara Miller McCune, who said she became “angry and upset” when she read about […]

A sea of blue swept over Bella Vista, the sprawling Summerland estate of hotelier Pat Nesbitt and his wife, Ursula, when they hosted the seventh annual Fun with the Force, with a record 1,000 guests raising a record $2 million for the 12-year-old Santa Barbara Police Foundation. The popular organization provides financial support for injured […]

The annual Fun with the Force is more than just another fundraiser. It is an opportunity to support the men and women who risk their lives for the communities they serve every day. Money raised at this year’s event goes directly to the rapidly expanding 911 At Ease International (911 AEI), a nonprofit that offers […]

COVID-19 reared its ugly head when Natasha Bedingfield, considered one of the top 100 vocalists of all time, who was scheduled to be one of two principal performers at the One805 fundraiser at the charming Montecito estate of Alastair and Ann Winn, and Travis and Amanda Twining, cancelled just 48 hours before the sell-out boffo […]

Ubiquitous KEYT reporter John Palminteri hosted the Heart of New House fifth annual lunch at the Hilton, which raised around $30,000 for the nonprofit that is staffed entirely by clients recovering from problems from alcohol and drugs. The charity was founded in 1955 with the first New House, followed in 1978 with a second version, […]

Each September, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) invites the community to join it in recognizing National Childhood Cancer Awareness month through its much-cherished Gold Ribbon Luncheon. After multiple cancellations last year, TBCF has announced a smaller luncheon event, to take place under a tent at the Hilton Santa Barbara’s Plaza Del Sol on Wednesday, October […]

Social gridlock reigned at the Montecito home of Justine Roddick and Tina Schlieske when the dynamic duo hosted a Coney Island-themed, sold-out bash for 120 guests, raising nearly $200,000 for CADA (Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse). The fun fest, entirely underwritten by local real estate magnate Earl Minnis, featured singer-songwriter Patti Smith, 74, dubbed […]

The party animals were out in force, vaccination passports in hand, when the Santa Barbara Zoo hosted Zoofari Ball XXXV Return to Basecamp, attended by more than 630 supporters and raising nearly $200,000 for the popular menagerie. Guests in their safari gear and Harrison Ford lookalikes joined the party on the hilltop for sunset cocktails, […]

Lotusland’s fabulous summer soirée was dazzling as usual, this time mixing motors (cars) with Ganna Walska plants. As quoted by the Los Angeles Times, “For Walska, plants were more than plants; they were colors to paint with, a family to nurture, characters to direct.” The 30 cars were all privately owned and all Italian, who […]

It was just the ticket when the venerable Ensemble Theatre Company, which is fully reopening after 15 months of pandemic lockdown, hosted 150 guests and raised a hefty $250,000 with its “Curtain (Back) Up!” bash at the Santa Barbara Club. “When the New Vic theater opened in 2013, we had a Curtain Up fête,” says […]

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! I didn’t see any bears, but I saw two human-sized bears running around the big lawn at the Montecito Club. It was time for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) to have a fundraiser and those ladies had been busy putting together this lovely family event. I entered the […]

Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara has had plenty on its plate since the pandemic altered almost everything back in March 2020. Like everyone else, the nonprofit — whose mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold with a vision serving empowered girls in an equitable society — had to make […]

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation’s 2020 Tiara Ball, one of the more popular annual black-tie galas in a town with no shortage of big bash benefits, was one of the last public events in the community before the COVID crisis closed everything down. The so-called “Party of the Year,” held on February 29, Leap Year […]

Millions of dollars’ worth of exotic horsepower was on display when Lotusland, the 37-acre paradise founded by the late Polish opera singer Ganna Walska, hosted its 26th annual gala, raising nearly $500,000. The botanical bash, co-chaired by interior designer Caroline Thompson and David Jones, chair emerita Belle Hahn, and honorary chair Hania Tallmadge, had a […]

It was a case of kids helping kids when youngsters from Mountain View Elementary School donated $1,600 – 20 percent of their tickets sales from their annual school fundraiser – to Cold Spring School, which lost two pupils in the January mudslides and is currently trying to raise $485,000 after property tax revenues were impacted […]

Miraflores, the charming 10-acre estate that has been the Montecito home of the Music Academy of the West since 1951, was the site of major social gridlock when it hosted its annual gala with a sell-out crowd of more than 300, raising nearly $450,000 for funding and scholarships. The boffo bash, “Return to Miraflores,” was […]

“To be killed in war is not the worst. To be lost in war is not the worst. To be forgotten is the worst.” – Pierre Claeyssens The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) is all about remembering our men and women who have done so much for all of us. Navy lieutenant (retired) John Blankenship, […]

In Santa Barbara, Summer Solstice is synonymous with a vibrant parade down State Street, with music blaring and feet moving to the beat. But that’s not the only impactful event in town — the Alzheimer’s Association has hosted “The Longest Day” in each of the last seven years. The day is a combination of a […]

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) staff likes to tell you, “You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.” And so, they did. When they couldn’t have their fundraiser for two years in a row, they pivoted and came up with a different event. This was due to the legendary world-famous surfer […]

The party animals were out in force when Roger and Sarah Chrisman hosted a nautical bash for the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network on their new 78-foot cruiser, Polaris II. The 30-year-old nonprofit, which cares for 3,400 animals each year and has more than 200 volunteers, has just launched a $1 million capital campaign to […]