SYV nonprofits get part of Montecito B&T Community Dividends Awards

By Raiza Giorgi · Tue Dec 15 2020

By Raiza Giorgi publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com Montecito Bank and Trust kicked off the holiday season on Monday, Nov. 23, with a special annual tradition and a new twist — a virtual Community Dividends celebration. Now in its 18th year, this unique giving program has granted a total of $18 million to local Santa Barbara and Ventura County nonprofits. In lieu of the traditional Thanksgiving meal that is typically shared among nonprofit friends at each year’s celebration luncheon, Montecito Bank and Trust donated 200 turkeys to Central Coast nonprofit organizations, including Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Food Share of Ventura County and Manna Conejo Valley. “PHP is honored to have been the recipient of a Michael Towbes Community Impact grant,” said Valerie Kissell, CEO of SYV People Helping People. “This could not have come at a better time for our agency. As this horrific virus runs its course, we have had to make hard decisions even while the need for our services grows. We are so blessed to be a part of such a giving community.” SYV People Helping People got a grant of $25,000 which will bring new resources to their emergency services, food and shelter. The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature received a grant of $2,500 which will help sponsor a year’s worth of virtual programming, according to Executive Director Stacey Otte-Demangate. “This means online lectures, artist panels and art classes,” Otte-Demangate said. “We are so grateful for their investment as it means we can forge ahead with scheduling a great calendar of programs for 2021. Montecito Bank and Trust is such an incredible supporter of our local nonprofits — it’s truly inspiring.” The virtual gathering was filled with over 320 attendees, including Central Coast nonprofits, MB&T associates and media. Recipients received a special hand delivery from bank associates, which included a bottle of celebratory bubbles from several local wineries and a mask with the message “Choose Kindness,” tying together the theme of supporting and keeping each other safe during these times. Nonprofit leaders cheerfully reconnected through Zoom chat and watched videos showcasing impactful photos of their own teams at work in the community. “Our community has experienced disaster, but this year has been like no other,” said Janet Garufis, Chairman & CEO of Montecito Bank and Trust. “You, our nonprofit community, took your previous experience and quickly mobilized. You activated partnerships and networks to help meet the needs of our community. You are caring for the most vulnerable, healing the sick and the lonely, educating our children, meeting basic needs such as food and rent and lifting our spirits with music and arts that remind us of the beauty around us. You are an integral part of our community-wide resilience,”. The Community Dividends grant program was created in 2003 by Michael Towbes, Montecito Bank & Trust’s late owner and founder, with a primary focus on supporting organizations or programs that serve low- and moderate-income individuals and families in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Dividends are awarded to organizations that serve youth and education, social services, medical and health services and the arts. The Michael Towbes Community Impact Grant was created in 2019 to honor the legacy of Montecito Bank & Trust’s founder, whose vision inspired the bank’s philanthropic giving programs and made a significant and meaningful impact on the Central Coast communities. This grant is intended to do the same by gifting $100,000 to one or more nonprofits that deliver critical and sustainable services to a large amount of the most vulnerable people in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. In its second year, the Michael Towbes Community Impact Grant was increased to $175,000 due to the overwhelming needs that have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was distributed to five organizations that are providing critical community aid during this time. The 2020 recipients were announced on the call and included Child Abuse Listening Mediation, Inc. (CALM), Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA), Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Organic Soup Kitchen and Gold Coast Veterans Foundation. The inaugural Jerry Parent Anniversary Grants Legacy Award was also presented at this year’s Community Dividends celebration. “As we prepared for our 45th Anniversary in March, I was thinking not only about the legacy that Mike left, but how this bank came to be,” Garufis shared. “Most people know that Mike was one of the founders of this wonderful bank, but what you may not know, is that if it was not for our other founding board member, Jerry Parent, Montecito Bank & Trust might not be what is today. It was Jerry who invited Mike to invest in the bank over 45 years ago and what better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than by celebrating our very own Jerry Parent. “Mr. Parent has dedicated 45 years of his leadership and expertise to the bank and local community at large and in his honor the award goes to an organization that creates sustainable change and positive impact just as he has. The 2020 recipient was the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, an organization which Mr. Parent has been supporting and involved in for many years.” Montecito Bank & Trust is the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Founded in 1975, the bank celebrated its 45th anniversary on March 17 and operates 11 branch offices in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Camarillo and Westlake Village. Montecito Bank & Trust has a history of unwavering corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves, annually donating $1.5 million dollars and volunteering over 7,500 hours to nonprofit organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. This is a listing of all 194 nonprofit organizations that received Community Dividends: AHA! (Attitude. Harmony. Achievement.) Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara Alzheimer's Association, California Central Coast Chapter American Heart Association - Santa Barbara County American Heart Association- Ventura County Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara Atterdag at Home, Inc. Atterdag Village of Solvang Boxtales Theatre Foundation Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark & Simi Valley Inc. Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara C.A.R.E.4Paws California Avocado Festival, Inc. California Lutheran University California State University Channel Islands Foundation Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara Carpinteria Children's Project Carpinteria Education Foundation, Inc. Carpinteria Valley Arts Council Casa Del Herrero Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families Casa Serena, Inc. Channel Islands YMCA Child Abuse Listening Mediation, Inc. (CALM) Children's Resource & Referral City Impact, Inc. Common Table Foundation CommUnify Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara Inc. Community Conscience / Under One Roof Community Counseling and Education Center Community Environmental Council Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation Conejo Valley Senior Concerns, Inc. Congregation B'nai B'rith Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Court Appointed Special Advocates of Ventura County Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County Crane Country Day School Direct Relief Doctors Without Walls Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation Dream Foundation Easy Lift Transportation El Concilio Family Services Elings Park Foundation Elverhoj Museum of History & Art Endowment For Youth Committee Ensemble Theatre Company Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County Fielding Graduate University Food From The Heart Food Share Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Foundation for Santa Barbara High School Fr. Virgil Cordano Center Friendship Manor Inc. Ganna Walska Lotusland Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara Goleta Education Foundation Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center HELP of Carpinteria Hillside House Hinchee Homes Hospice of the Conejo Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc. Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, Inc. Housing Trust Fund Ventura County Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. Isla Vista Youth Projects, Inc. Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara Kids & Families Together Laguna Blanca School Leading From Within Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association Lobero Theatre Foundation Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization Los Olivos School Foundation Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties Mental Wellness Center Midland School Mission Scholars Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation Casa Dorinda Montecito Union School MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation Museum of Ventura County Music Academy of the West National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Santa Barbara Chapter National Association of Women Business Owners, Ventura County National Disaster Search Dog Foundation New Beginnings Counseling Center New House Santa Barbara Old Mission Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Inc. Opera Santa Barbara Organic Soup Kitchen Pacific Pride Foundation Parks and Recreation Community Foundation PathPoint Peoples' Self-Help Housing Corporation Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation Planned Parenthood California Central Coast Project Understanding of San Buenaventura PublicSquare, Inc. Sansum Clinic Sansum Diabetes Research Institute Santa Barbara Alternatives to Violence Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Inc. Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Santa Barbara Club Preservation Foundation Santa Barbara Community Housing Corporation The Marjorie Luke Theatre Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation Santa Barbara County Education Office Santa Barbara Culinary Experience Santa Barbara Education Foundation Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Barbara Hillel Santa Barbara Historical Museum Santa Barbara International Film Festival Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Santa Barbara Meals on Wheels, Inc. Santa Barbara Museum of Art Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics Santa Barbara Police Activities League Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Santa Barbara Symphony Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Inc. Buellton Senior Center Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Riding Program Sarah House Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara Solvang Friendship House Solvang Senior Center Solvang Theaterfest, Inc. TV Santa Barbara St. Vincent's Institution Standing Together to End Sexual Assault State Street Ballet Storyteller Children's Center Studio Channel Islands Art Center Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International Teacher's Fund Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation The Arc Foundation of Ventura County The Cecilia Fund The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens The Foundation for Girsh Park The Foundation For Santa Barbara City College The Grace Fisher Foundation The Howard School The Oxnard College Foundation The Rona Barrett Foundation The Salvation Army of Santa Barbara Tina Hansen McEnroe & Paul V. McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at UCSB Transition House UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division UCP WORK, Inc. UCSB Alumni Association UCSB Arts & Lectures UCSB Economic Forecast Project UCSB Technology Management Program United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County United Way of Santa Barbara County, Inc. United Way of Ventura County, Inc. Unity Shoppe, Inc. Ventura County Community Foundation Ventura County Library Foundation Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation VNA Health Westmont College Wilderness Youth Project Wildling Museum of Art and Nature Women's Economic Ventures Women's Fund of Santa Barbara Youth and Family Services YMCA: Noah's Anchorage Youth Crisis Center