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
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 of The County of Santa Barbara County (REG) is an initiative that came directly from grassroots organizing by Black femme leaders in Santa Barbara County who demanded that the County of Santa Barbara invest in the Black community in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing racial justice movement. 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. 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 in Santa Barbara County. Since establishing the grant program, the County has allocated $275,000 annually to support it.
OBJECTIVES This fund aims to provide organizational capacity assistance to:
- Strengthen the ecosystem of diverse, anti-racism organizations in the community that share a common goal to address cultural and systemic effects of racism.
- Increase active participation of historically marginalized communities to influence civic matters that impact our community at large.
- Develop the pipeline to uplift historically marginalized leaders to positions of decision-making and influence.
- Increase and sustain investment to strengthen organizations led by historically marginalized who have lacked access to capital.
- Addressing and working to change systemic negative narratives about the legacy of slavery in the community
- 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
- 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)
- Must include as a core mission the goal of addressing systemic racism
- Work must be ongoing; new initiatives will not be considered
- Projects must take place in the County of Santa Barbara
- Have a Tax ID Number, Employer Identification Number (EIN), or a fiscal sponsor
- Have an organizational bank account (or a fiscal sponsor's)
GUIDELINES & PRIORITIES
- 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
Project Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be youth-led (age 12-24.) Youth are leaders in all aspects of the project, including the writing of this grant application.
- Must meet the Funding Guideline
- Must operate in a democratic manner, responsive to and directed by the group of people you aim to serve; Teens in the community must benefit from your project, not just the planning team.
- Must attempt to fix a problem affecting youth by providing a solution.
- Must be located in Santa Barbara County.
- Must have a sponsoring organization, such as a school or community group.
Guidelines (requests must align with at least 1):
- 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;
A strong project also includes (Optional):
- Research to find out the most pressing needs in your community.
- An opportunity for you and other youth planners to develop valuable skills and knowledge.
- An opportunity for other youth in the community to develop valuable skills, knowledge, or experience.
- A plan to keep your project running for a year or more.
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 advocacy component;
- Direct support to individuals;
- Building improvements;
- Capital ventures, i.e. machines, vehicles, etc.
- Office equipment;
- Projects located outside of Santa Barbara County.
YMC money can be used for (but not limited to):
- Postage, printing, copying, and design costs;
- Materials or supplies for a program, like art supplies, software, books, etc.
- Items needed for an event, like sound equipment rental, awards, food, prizes, etc.
- Stipends for youth planners to carry out the project – a stipend is an amount of $$ that you get for your work on the project;
- Trips outside of Santa Barbara County that explicitly support your work inside the county through a clear follow-up plan.
YMC money CANNOT be used for:
- Projects that are planned & led solely by adults;
- Projects that are designed solely to raise money for your group;
- Trips/activities that take place outside of Santa Barbara County and include NO follow-up in the county;
- Stipends or salaries for adult allies;
- Overhead (general) costs of the sponsor organization (Overhead costs are things like the gas bill, the phone bill, or monthly rent)