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 child is a sponge, soaking up experiences and building a worldview. These foundational beginnings are formative. These beginnings can […more…]
“I think our youngest client this year was 10 years old. Sadly, the age has been skewing lower. Three or […more…]
Roxana Petty is understandably proud that AHA! is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, marking a quarter-century since the nonprofit’s […more…]
The Arts
Out of Joint: Joan Tanner is now on view at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, February 12, 2023 – […more…]
The Granada Theatre has towered over the Santa Barbara area for 100 years, not just as the tallest physical symbol […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…]
One of Santa Barbara’s longest-running community-organized festivals, our Earth Day celebration is also one of the oldest in the country, […more…]
Blind Lady Justice’s proffered balance scales make an eternal and sacrosanct point: Everyone is equal before the law and will […more…]
Homelessness & Housing
New Beginnings’ Safe Parking program turned 20 earlier this year, a milestone you need to celebrate. On the other hand, […more…]
In 2015, Casa Esperanza joined forces with PATH, a statewide nonprofit that for 40 years has provided services to more […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
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…]
For the Children
Family Service Agency (FSA) of Santa Barbara County, also known as Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center and Guadalupe’s […more…]
You’d be hard-pressed to find a local nonprofit that brought its outsized quest to fruition more speedily than did the […more…]
Who are we? The Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA) at Santa Barbara High School is a unique “school within […more…]
Family Well-Being
Each year, Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) brings the communities of Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria together for its annual Light […more…]
Blind Lady Justice’s proffered balance scales make an eternal and sacrosanct point: Everyone is equal before the law and will […more…]
A teenager is much more than a preincarnate adult. The average teen’s roiling hormones and fraught search for self are […more…]
Environment
Explore Ecology inspires students and adults alike to become better environmental stewards through three programs that reach over 40,000 community […more…]
In every great city is a community park that serves as its beating heart. Elings Park in Santa Barbara has […more…]
Our climate is in crisis. Record-setting heat waves. Larger and more destructive wildfires. An historic megadrought, hotter and drier than […more…]
Education
In 2011, Sue Eisaguirre initiated a mission to bridge the gap between students and nature, ultimately founding NatureTrack, a thriving […more…]
Throughout its history, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has been bringing people of all ages through a broad array […more…]
One of the most iconic public gardens in the world, Lotusland is a 37-acre wonderland of more than 20 distinct […more…]
Community Treasures
You’d be hard-pressed to find a local nonprofit that brought its outsized quest to fruition more speedily than did the […more…]
One of the most iconic public gardens in the world, Lotusland is a 37-acre wonderland of more than 20 distinct […more…]
Victoria and Bill Strong brought their baby home with that mix of gratitude and indescribable joy – the heart-squeezing hallmarks […more…]
Community Resilience
As centennial celebrations go, the commemoration may not be as center-of-attention as that of the Granada Theatre or Old Spanish […more…]
Family Service Agency (FSA) of Santa Barbara County, also known as Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center and Guadalupe’s […more…]
The Community Farm is surely the jewel in the crown of communal self-reliance. Here we have a plot of food-producing […more…]
Advocacy
In the world of TV and cinema, being shot with a handgun often has the fallout of a stubbed toe […more…]
Hillside Santa Barbara is hosting two upcoming events so start marking those calendars! On April 6th, Hillside will be hosting […more…]
Anyone who has ever watched a police drama on television in the last 50 years is familiar with the fact […more…]