Staff Report
For local schools looking to acquire high-tech resources and provide an added boost to their curriculum, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation is now accepting grant applications for its popular Technology in Schools Program.
The deadline to apply for the 2021-2022 school year is April 30, 2021, and all applications must be submitted online at www.santaynezchumash.org/foundation.
The program allows Santa Barbara County school administrators and faculty to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects. These grants allow for schools to purchase hardware and/or upgrade infrastructure in the ever-changing educational landscape.
“We recognize the challenge our local schools face in equipping their students with the appropriate technology to make distance learning a possibility during this global pandemic,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “As students begin returning to the classroom, schools will undoubtedly find opportunities to upgrade the in-person learning experience with new technology. Our Technology in Schools Program grants have the ability to help schools pay for their specific projects.”
Since its inception in 2015, the tribe’s Technology in Schools Program has issued more than $195,000 in grants to area schools.
In 2020, as part of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation’s ongoing commitment to education, it donated $100,000 to Santa Ynez Valley schools to help address unforeseen costs caused by COVID-19 restrictions. The funds were split among 12 schools that sought resources to help satisfy their distance learning needs.
Past beneficiaries of the Technology in Schools Program include Clarence Ruth Elementary, Buena Vista Elementary and La Honda STEAM Academy in Lompoc, Cabrillo High School, Santa Ynez Valley Christian Academy, Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, Santa Barbara Community Academy, Jonata Middle School in Buellton, the Solvang School District, the Los Olivos School District, the College School District in Santa Ynez, the Carpinteria Unified School District, and the Guadalupe Union School District.
In 2015, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated the proceeds from its annual charity golf tournament to four local schools in the form of technology grants. Inspired by the success of those grants, the tribe’s leadership created the Technology in Schools Program through its foundation to help fulfill the high-tech needs of classrooms in Santa Barbara County.
For more information and to access applications, please visit www.santaynezchumash.org/foundation or call 805-688-7997.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.
