Grace Housing Inc. (GHI) named 15 grant recipients during its 10th Annual Grant Recipient Reception, Tuesday, June 10 at Grace Village Apartments.
The event celebrates the 2025 recipients of Grace Housing Inc.’s charitable grants, which empower local organizations to meet the community’s most urgent needs, GHI said.
Since its inception in 2015, GHI has distributed some $1.25 million in charitable grants, continuing the legacy of service established by Grace Lutheran Church, which donated the land that made this mission possible.
Grace Housing Inc. operates with a commitment to sustaining and expanding the impact of Grace Lutheran’s charitable work, the organization said.
“Beyond managing affordable housing properties, GHI actively seeks to fund initiatives that address Santa Barbara’s community needs,” GHI said.
Its charitable grant program supports organizations focused on essential services, including food security, healthcare access, and housing solutions for vulnerable populations, GHI said.
By reinvesting rental income from its properties, Grace Housing Inc. maintains a steady source of funding that ensures long-term support for Santa Barbara’s most pressing social challenges.
“Prior to the establishment of Grace Housing, Inc. Grace Lutheran Church and its congregation has always had the vision of continued service to others, beginning as a small but dedicated group in the early 1900s with a mission to provide food for the hungry, shelter for people who are homeless, and supportive services for low income families, individuals and seniors,” the organization said.
Through its partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara and California Lutheran Homes, Grace Housing Inc. has developed a growing fund dedicated to future affordable housing projects in the greater Santa Barbara community.
This year, the following nonprofits received a total of $148,000 in funding, with individual grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
• Transition House serves homeless families through shelter, housing and support. Grace was one of the five original congregations that housed Transition House for about two years until the agency was able to get a permanent site.
• Grace Food Pantry provides food to individuals and families. The weekly pantry was started by Grace as a Saturday food distribution program in the early 80s before we had a local food bank. The program continues onsite at Grace Village and is administered by Trinity Lutheran Church.
• Grace Village Fund (Second Story) is a growing fund held for the development of future low-income senior housing.
• SW California Synod, ELCA – providing supportive services in the greater Santa Barbara community
• Habitat for Humanity – Grace Lutheran was one of the sponsoring agencies bringing a Habitat chapter to Santa Barbara. Habitat helps families build and improve places to call home.
• Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – provides short-term income and support for unexpected and needed services for very low-income people
• Second Story — Provides financial support to senior residents in Housing Authority properties like Grace Village for needed services or supportive services.
• Santa Barbara Food Bank – Provides healthy foods to families and individuals in need
• Trinity Gardens – Grows organic produce to help meet food needs in our local community
• Santa Barbara ACT FARO Center is a daytime navigation center for persons experiencing homelessness
• Showers of Blessing – Provides free hot showers and hygiene products for persons experiencing homelessness
• Food for the Kitchen-less – Provides bags of food to persons experiencing homelessness and who do not have a place to cook their food.
• Good Samaritan Shelter – Provides the community with programs that address homelessness as well as alcohol and substance abuse
• Doctors Without Walls – Provides free volunteer medical care to people living on the streets of our community
• New Beginnings, Safe Parking – Provides Safe Parking and rapid rehousing to persons living in their vehicles.
Grace Housing Inc. was founded to steward the charitable legacy of Grace Lutheran Church, a long-standing Santa Barbara faith community that prioritized service and social good.
When the church transitioned out of regular worship services, its leadership made a transformational gift — donating land to the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.
Grace Village is a 58-unit affordable senior housing community created on the donated land. Opened in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, it provides safe, supportive homes for low-income seniors.
Today, Grace Housing Inc., in coordination with California Lutheran Homes and the Housing Authority for the City of Santa Barbara, manages its remaining properties and business tenancies, using the rental income to generate annual charitable grants to organizations serving vulnerable populations in Santa Barbara County and a designated fund for future low-income housing in our community.
For more about Grace Housing Inc., visit www.gracehousinginc.com.