Tag archives: philanthropy
LynnRae Dunn, whose career in education philanthropy has spanned more than two decades, has been appointed director of development for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. A native of Napa and a first-generation college graduate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, graduating summa cum laude. Dunn […]
On Friday, October 13, Rona Barrett saw her hard work pay off with the opening of Harry’s House (HH), a housing concept for seniors and especially those with dementia, at the same campus of her first housing for seniors, the Golden Inn & Village in Santa Ynez. Harry’s House is named after her dad, who […]
It wasn’t quite Dr. Who and there was not a Tardis to be seen, but the Storyteller Children’s Center celebrated its 35th anniversary with a Totally Awesome ‘80s Gala in the Hilton Rotunda, with the 270 suitably garbed guests raising $327,000 for the therapeutic preschool that provides high-quality early childhood education for youngsters facing adverse […]
Kathryn Westland is the new executive director for the Friendship Center Adult Day Services (FC) in Montecito. This is the first appointment to the position since Heidi Holly, who held the position for 38 years and retired earlier this year. Westland worked at the FC as program manager from fall 2017 through January 2021, and […]
Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council hosted its annual Green Gala for more than 200 guests at its new 10,000-square-foot Environmental Hub on State Street, just a tiara’s toss from the Granada Theatre. The handsome property, formerly the home of the Unity Shoppe, underwent a major $3.5 million renovation, with the boffo bash, which brings together […]
After an extensive national search, the Santa Barbara Foundation has appointed Elizabeth Thasiah as new vice president of programs. A longtime South Coast resident, Thasiah brings more than 15 years of relevant experience – most recently four years with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, where she ledkey strategies. She served six years as division manager […]
One805LIVE!, the organization founded in 2018 after the mudslides that devastated our rarefied enclave, is now By Royal Appointment! For the second consecutive year, Oscar winner Kevin Costner opened the gates of his 10.25-acre Carpinteria oceanside estate, just a tiara’s toss from his $145 million beach compound, which attracted a record 3,000 guests and raised […]
A record crowd of 205 guests turned out for the 7th annual Heart of New House lunch at the Hilton, raising around $120,000 for the nonprofit which has helped men with drug and alcohol problems for the past 68 years. The charity, which has an annual budget of $1.2 million, has 100 residents in three […]
Hearts Aligned, a new charity which supports low-income families with critically ill children, held a fundraiser hosted by the Red Piano on State Street, attracting nearly 100 guests and raising around $10,000. Vivian Solodkin, founder and executive director, acted as emcee for the Rock Your Heart Out bash with the Tearaways, a group combining the […]
An art show at a downtown Santa Barbara gallery might seem to have little to do with a nonprofit working with systems of regenerative agriculture. As it turns out, though, one of the series in Holli Harmon’s To Feast on Clouds exhibit on display at Sullivan Goss – An American Gallery through September 25 is […]
Visionary philanthropists Mary and Richard Compton recently increased their gift to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation, for a total of $65 million to support medical excellence and innovation at Cottage Health. Adding to their prior $15 million gift, a new commitment of $50 million is the largest single gift in Cottage’s 135-year history and […]
The year was 1988. Milli Vanilli was lip-syncing their way to the top of the Billboard Charts, Flo Jo claimed three gold medals at the Seoul Summer Olympics, and a seed that would become Storyteller Children’s Center was starting to take root. Thirty-five years ago, Storyteller began as a roped-off section in the Transition House […]
Storyteller Event Committee Co-Chair Kelly Finefrock – who has supported several fashion pop-ups in Montecito – offers her tips for ‘80s gala fashion. Hair: the bigger, the better. Don’t be afraid of hairspray. Side parts, bold bang waves, and foam-roller curls (brushed out and sprayed) are what it’s all about. Fortunately, today’s hairspray is less […]
The Fund for Santa Barbara’s Development and Communications Manager – Alina Rey Keswani – is understandably proud that Bread & Roses, the organization’s major annual fundraiser, is marking its 30th anniversary this fall. The benefit event that has long been a staple on the social calendar of many in the community has survived massive growth, […]
You might wonder how a chowder festival has anything to do with providing free, high-quality legal services to low-income and other vulnerable residents in order to ensure equal access to justice. The answer is, not much, except that prior to the pandemic, the decade-old Santa Barbara Chowder Fest had become the single largest fundraiser for […]
From DakhaBrakha and The Linda Lindas to Lang Lang and Ballet Preljocaj, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2022-2023 season included a luminous lineup of both world-renowned and up-and-coming musicians in a variety of genres, dance companies of far-reaching dimensions, and a full slate of forward-thinking and timely speakers and spoken word artists. The season was a […]
To the charming town of Solvang for CommUnify’s 17th Annual Champions Dinner at the Alisal Inn’s River Grill restaurant, which attracted 200 guests and raised $216,000, including a matching grant from CenCal Health of Santa Barbara. The 56-year-old organization, formerly the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County, serves 8,000 members of the community to […]
Petal power reigned supreme when the Dream Foundation hosted its 12th annual Flower Empower lunch at the Rockwood Woman’s Club, with a record 225 guests raising around $250,000 for the popular charity. Last year the scheme handed out 8,400 bouquets of flowers with volunteers putting in more than 4,900 hours, says Valerie Banks, coordinator. Since […]
After days of May gray, the sun shone brightly when Santa Barbara City College Foundation hosted its 4th annual Spring Forward! gala on the campus’s Great Meadow with 320 guests raising around $450,000 for general funds. Chief Executive Officer Geoff Green welcomed the supportive crowd of staff, faculty, college trustees and volunteers, and auctioned off […]
On April 13, 2023, the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club-Rockwood was abuzz with excitement as 200 community members came together to celebrate the 9th annual Lunch with Love event, hosted by Storyteller Children’s Center. Among the distinguished guests were Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps, Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse, Santa Barbara City Police Chief Kelly […]
