Mission: Advancing progressive change by strengthening movements for Economic, Environmental, Political, Racial, and Social Justice. 

The FUND is committed to supporting grassroots community organizations at the forefront of combating inequities and dismantling systemic oppression. We prioritize funding groups and organizations leading movement-building efforts to create transformative, systemic social change within Santa Barbara County.

The FUND believes that significant social changes require broad participation in and democratic control of all social, political, and economic institutions. We recognize that social conditions improve most significantly when those who have been denied power and justice take the lead in confronting, challenging, and changing the systems that have denied them access to equity and fairness.

The FUND defines social change as change that addresses the root causes, not symptoms, of social (economic, environmental, political, and racial) inequities in an effort to alleviate those inequities but also dismantle the underlying conditions and circumstances that perpetuate and sustain them.​

OBJECTIVES 

The MBG supports groups and organizations leading efforts to create systemic change through movement building. We are committed to funding partners whose work aligns with our mission to advance movements for Economic, Environmental, Political, Racial, and Social Change.

GUIDELINES

  • Actively support anti-discrimination based on race, sex/gender, age, religion, language spoken, or immigration status;
  • Actively support communities marginalized by power structures to engage in dialogue and actions that seek to counter social injustice;
  • Actively work to improve the rights of workers and their families whose living conditions have been marginalized;
  • Promote the cultural life of underserved communities and support the activities of cultural workers;
  • Promote self-determination and leadership development in low-income and disenfranchised communities;
  • Promote Global peace and organize locally for just policies;
  • Work on building coalitions to enhance improving environmental justice and address climate change, especially organizing a constituency usually without access to decision-makers
  • Engage in collaborative action and coalition-building to strengthen movement ecosystems; Work against community violence and actively support recovery and restorative justice activities and initiatives;
  • Operate in a democratic manner, responsive to and directed by the constituency being served.  

PRIORITIES (NOT APPLICABLE TO YMC)

Guiding questions used by the Grant Making Committee during deliberation:

  • Guidelines: Does this project have the potential to create or advance economic, environmental, political, racial, and/or social change? Please refer to FUND Guidelines
  • Priorities: Are there elements of Community Organizing, Lobbying, Direct Action, Base-building, Coalition-Building, or Legal Strategy?
  • Access to Funding: Does this project lack access to traditional forms of funding? Would the project go forward without support from the Fund?
  • Critical Timing/Need: Does the organization have the capacity to reach their social change goals? Are the key players familiar with other organizations in the same field to further the goal of movement building?
  • Impact of Funds: How clear is the budget outline? How well does the budget support the project’s social change goals? Will funding help start up the organization, stabilize the organization, and/or leverage other funding sources?
  • Regional Equity: Will this project help the GMC achieve its objective of providing equity in funding throughout Santa Barbara County?  

WE DO NOT FUND

  • Political campaigns that support a candidate or a political party;
  • Private (vs. public) interests;
  • Direct labor organizing;
  • Projects providing direct services without a social change component;
  • Direct support to individuals;
  • Building improvements;
  • Capital ventures, i.e. machines, vehicles, etc.;
  • Equipment, i.e. office equipment, tools, etc; 
  • Projects located outside of Santa Barbara County.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Must meet the Funding Guidelines and Priorities
  • Must have a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), a Federal Tax Identification Number; or use a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor’s
  • Must have an organizational bank account; or use a fiscal sponsor’s
  • Budget and planned activities must align with the funding timeframe specified in the proposal
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Apply to 2027 Racial Equity Grant

 

This program is funded and supported by the County of Santa Barbara and administered in collaboration with the Fund for Santa Barbara. The Board of Supervisors has allocated funding to support the current cycle.

MISSION: To invest in and strengthen organizations that address anti-racism through systems change strategies in Santa Barbara County. This fund aims to effect the culture, policy, and systems change necessary to advance racial equity and justice, and reverse the legacy of slavery and effects of racism in Santa Barbara County.

HISTORY: The Racial Equity Grant program was born from the grassroots organizing of Black femme leaders and the advocacy of countless Black community members across Santa Barbara County. Following the murder of George Floyd, these organizers called on the County to invest in Black communities and advance racial justice, mobilizing to make this funding a reality. 

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors (“the County”) passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis, made a commitment to racial justice, and pledged $500,000 to begin to address equity issues in the county. Roughly half of the funds were allocated to internal/institutional County equity development, with the remaining funds to be distributed through the Fund for Santa Barbara’s (“The FUND”) participatory grantmaking process in collaboration with The County of Santa Barbara. 

In the years since, Black community leaders and organizations have continued to advocate for and defend this funding, ensuring that investments in racial equity remain a priority.

The FUND has a long history through its grant making program of supporting historically marginalized communities to be full participants in our community’s social, civic, and economic life. This funding program aims to build capacity, expand, and/or stabilize historically marginalized organizations working to change the policies and systems that perpetuate racial inequities in Santa Barbara County.  Now in its sixth year, more than $1.65 million has been invested in the Racial Equity Grant program. Beginning with the 2027 grant cycle, The FUND will now match the County’s annual investment, bringing total available grant funding to $467,500. 

 OBJECTIVES   This fund aims to provide organizational capacity assistance to:

  1. Strengthen the ecosystem of diverse, anti-racism organizations in the community that share a common goal to address cultural and systemic effects of  racism.
  2. Increase active participation of historically marginalized communities to influence civic matters that impact our community at large.
  3. Develop the pipeline to uplift historically marginalized leaders to positions of decision-making and influence.
  4. Increase and sustain investment to strengthen organizations led by historically marginalized who have lacked access to capital.
  5. Addressing and working to change systemic negative narratives about the legacy of slavery in the community
  6. Establish and advance organizational capacity in organizations historically marginalized in the following areas:
  • Leadership development
  • Advocacy, policy change, legal analysis, and research
  • Strategic communications
  • Alliance and coalition building
  • Organizational development
  • Community engagement and organizing
  • Innovation and continuous learning
  • Develop organizational and programmatic objectives, conduct evaluations, and assess outcomes.  

ELIGIBILITY

  1. Must be a historically marginalized organization in Santa Barbara County (i.e. Must serve community members directly harmed by the racist policies and marginalized by systemic racism)
  2. Must include as a core mission the goal of addressing systemic racism
  3. Work must be ongoing; new initiatives will not be considered
  4. Projects must take place in the County of Santa Barbara
  5. Have a Tax ID Number, Employer Identification Number (EIN), or a fiscal sponsor
  6. Have an organizational bank account (or a fiscal sponsor's)

 

GUIDELINES & PRIORITIES

  1. To be eligible, an organization must meet The FUND's Funding Guidelines and Priorities.
  • **REG funding cannot be used for lobbying, legal strategy, or 501(c)4 work
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Apply to Judith Lesner Accessibility Fund

Mission To invest in disability justice, inclusion, and accessibility by supporting groups in exploring and expanding community event accessibility in the Central Coast region, including Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, and Ventura County.

Purpose The Judith Lesner Accessibility Fund (JLAF) is a donor-advised fund housed at The Fund for Santa Barbara that invests in disability justice, inclusion, and accessibility across the Central Coast region– spanning Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties. Disabled people have historically been excluded from the very movement spaces committed to equity, and disability justice has too often gone underfunded within social change work. The JLAF exists to help change that, by directing resources toward accessibility so that disabled people are not just included but genuinely welcomed and centered in the community spaces that shape our region.

The Central Coast is home to a vibrant ecosystem of grassroots organizing, community events, and social change work, and the JLAF is an invitation to make that ecosystem more accessible for everyone. Stipends from this fund support organizations in asking: Who is missing from our spaces, and what would it take to truly welcome them? By resourcing that question together, we can build movements and communities across the Central Coast where disability justice is woven into how we organize, gather, and care for one another.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must attend the Judith Lesner Accessibility Fund capacity building workshop (live or recorded session) 
  • Applicant organizations must be operating in the Central Coast region, including Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, and/or Ventura County.
  • Event eligible for accessibility funding must take place in the Central Coast region
  • Online events must be hosted by Central Coast organizations; attendees and presenters can be from outside of the region 
  • Must have a Tax ID Number or Employer Identification Number (EIN); or a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor
  • No funding can be provided directly to individuals 
  • Must have an organizational bank account; or use a fiscal sponsor’s

Objectives 

  • The JLAF will be used to support organizations/groups engaging in event accessibility initiatives specifically designed to increase the inclusivity of disabled individuals at in-person community events. Considerations for stipends include: 
  • Engagement with capacity building learning around disability justice and event accessibility
  • In-person event accessibility for people with disabilities (for events located in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and/or Ventura County)
  • Online event accessibility for people with disabilities (via Zoom or other remote conferencing options)

Process

Capacity Building Workshop Engagement

  • Applicants must attend Judith Lesner Accessibility Fund workshop, either:
  • Live Attendance: online workshop May 12, 2026 from 10-11am; or
  • Asynchronously: watch workshop recording and complete quiz

Application Process

  • Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, subject to attendance eligibility review and funding availability
  • Organizations eligible for receiving a maximum of 2 stipends/year
  • Must submit application a minimum of one month before scheduled event (emergency event stipends available, subject to review)
  • Asynchronous materials are available on The Fund for Santa Barbara’s website
  • Interested applicants should contact cb@fundforsantabarbara.org for questions and additional information

Financial Parameters

  • Maximum Request: $1,500
  • Stipends must be expended within 6 months
  • Stipend disbursement through bill.com ACH transfer, or paper check

Contact

For questions, contact cb@fundforsantabarbara.org

The Fund for Santa Barbara