Santa Barbara Foundation actively connects donors, nonprofits, government, businesses, and residents to take on the challenges that affect us all.
We mobilize charitable giving and pair our expertise with the community’s generosity to create meaningful impact. We believe that together, we can do more—and the Community Engagement Fund is a key way we put that belief into action.
The fund supports collaborative, community-driven solutions that strengthen the local safety net and help residents facing barriers to housing, food, child care, and health care.
This shared belief in collective problem-solving also guides the way Santa Barbara Foundation trustee Alexandra Allen shows up for her community. An attorney, philanthropist, and community leader, Allen believes that the path to making a positive impact is rooted in one clear guiding philosophy: “Just do the next best thing — the next good thing.”
Allen’s journey to philanthropy is as dynamic as her career. Growing up in rural, she attended a one-room schoolhouse where a neighbor’s kindness — allowing her to ride her horses on the neighbor’s ranch — became a defining experience, as Allen’s horse-related activities ultimately allowed her to earn the scholarships that helped fund her education.
After earning her bachelor’s from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Allen’s path led her through diverse experiences: from teaching middle school in North Dakota, to attending UCLA School of Law, to practicing investment management law in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to working with her husband in their agricultural companies on the Central Coast.
Each chapter offered her a new lens on community and a deeper appreciation for how people, no matter their backgrounds, share a desire to do good.
“Working in such different fields has shown me who’s really out there,” Allen reflected. “So many different people in these different worlds share the desire to be a force for good.”
Allen brings that perspective to her role as a trustee at the Santa Barbara Foundation. Serving on the Board, she says, has broadened her understanding of Santa Barbara County.
“Like many people, I didn’t recognize how much need there is in Santa Barbara County,” she said. “We think of it as an affluent place, but there’s a lot of need here — some obvious, some less visible, but all meaningfully affecting lives.”
That awareness has deepened her support for Santa Barbara Foundation’s Community Engagement Fund, which addresses Santa Barbara County’s most urgent needs through strategic grantmaking and collaborative partnerships among donors, nonprofits, businesses, government, and community members.
“The Community Engagement Fund has made such a difference over the years, and it might be more important now than ever,” Allen explained. “Our communities — especially our nonprofits — are trying to navigate so much need amid so much uncertainty.
Because of the Foundation’s long history of understanding local needs and resources, I know that any gift, of any size, will be put to work in a strategic way to have the greatest possible impact.”
“If you know exactly what you want to do, the Foundation can help you execute that vision,” she said. “And if you just know you want to help but aren’t sure how, the Foundation can guide you to make the greatest impact. There’s a place for all of us in this effort.”
Allen’s journey exemplifies the Santa Barbara Foundation’s mission to harness collective insight, collaborative partnership, and deep community understanding to create meaningful change.
As the Santa Barbara Foundation continues its work to address urgent needs and support long-term community wellbeing, the Community Engagement Fund remains one of the most effective ways for donors of any level to make a tangible impact.
To learn more about the Community Engagement Fund and how you can support this work, visit Give Now – Santa Barbara Foundation.
