The Santa Barbara Foundation has named Tom Parker the 77th Man of the Year for his long-standing philanthropic efforts in the Santa Barbara community.
“When you get to a certain point, it feels better to give back than it does to consume,” he said. “I believe that giving back makes sense. If you are fortunate in your life, it’s not just an obligation, it’s an ingrained part of you.”
Parker became president of Hutton Companies in 1984 after receiving a call from Betty Hutton asking him to join her team. Parker took over operations and launched it into a richly successful real estate development company. Hutton and Parker knew they wanted to put a big chunk of their assets into a private foundation.
In 1996, the two sold the company, and the Hutton Parker Foundation opened in 1997. A third-generation Santa Barbara resident, Parker grew up on Cota Street and said he knew he wanted to use the foundation to give back to his community.
“Naturally, I thought to use this foundation in Santa Barbara,” he said. “It’s a tremendous way for those that have time to give back the knowledge that we’ve built in our lives and redistribute them.”
After teaching economics in his early life, Parker was drawn into the nonprofit sector, through which he experienced how the organizations are an intricate part of the economic system.
“They’re no longer a little boutique kind of thing to help certain areas,” he said. “The local nonprofits we have in our community don’t just need monetary funding, they need entrepreneurial skills, great ideas and energy.”
The Hutton Parker Foundation makes loans, buys buildings, and houses nonprofit organizations at reduced, fixed rents so they have a sustainable place to operate. It has housed 55 organizations in 17 newly renovated office buildings at below-market rental rates. That saves the nonprofit organizations $2 million per year.
“We can do a lot more with our assets than just write grants,” Parker said. “I thought, ‘Let’s invest our assets in the community directly.’”
Parker said one of his favorite projects was founding the Arts and Cultures Center on State Street, which brought together about 15 arts-related nonprofit organizations. The foundation rebuilt the center to provide a structure for the groups to work together while saving them money.
“That’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve seen,” he said. “The idea that if you give nonprofits a place to house together, they start collaborating and working together. It’s wonderful to see.
“This foundation will be a part of the community for the next 100 years. Very few businesses give you that kind of feeling of fulfillment that a nonprofit can.”
Parker has served on the board of many other organizations, including the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Foundation Roundtable, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics and La Casa de la Raza.
Most recently, Parker formed a coalition of 30 funders to provide more than $10 million for Santa Barbara County’s needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parker will be honored at the Santa Barbara Foundation’s one-hour virtual ceremony planned for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Click here for tickets and more information.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.