The Rotary Club of Montecito Foundation has awarded $13,000 in grants to 13 Santa Barbara-area nonprofit organizations to support their work benefiting the community.

The organizations will receive a grant of $1,000 each from the foundation’s Community Grants Program, funded by bequests and ongoing contributions from Rotary Club members. The 2020 grantees work in a wide range of spheres, including to improve the wellbeing of children, seniors, women, and people living in poverty.
 
This year’s recipients are: El Montecito Presbyterian Church preschool, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Friendship Center Adult Day Services, Girls Rock Santa Barbara, Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, Hospice of Santa Barbara, MOXI, Partners in Education, the Rona Barrett Foundation, United Way of Santa Barbara County, Unity Shoppe, Village Properties Teacher’s Fund, and Women’s Economic Ventures.

Representatives from each of the organizations spoke about their work and how the grant funds will be utilized at the Montecito Rotary Club’s meeting on Nov. 17.

The Community Grants Program is an annual initiative by the Rotary Club of Montecito Foundation to support worthy, community-oriented causes.

Local nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply for grants that can range from $1,000-$1,500. Since the program’s inception, the foundation has awarded more than $50,000 in assistance to the Santa Barbara community.

Founded in 1953, the Rotary Club of Montecito exemplifies the impact countywide financial assistance can have on a community and its residents.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, the foundation’s donors, most of them Rotary Club of Montecito members, prioritized raising funds for the grant program, aware the support is especially needed during this difficult time.

In addition to helping fund the grant program, Rotary Club of Montecito members regularly participate in volunteer activities in Montecito, the surrounding community, and in countries around the world, and support the organization’s overarching global cause of working toward polio eradication.

Rotary is a network of more than 35,000 clubs in almost every country. Rotary has 1.2 million members. Rotarians take action in five key areas: providing access to clean water and sanitation, supporting education, preventing and treating disease, supporting mothers and children, and growing local economies.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Montecito, visit MontecitoRotary.org.