184 Local Nonprofit Organizations Receive Community Dividends® Awards and Share of $1 Million at Montecito Bank & Trust’s 15th Annual Luncheon
Santa Barbara, Calif. - Montecito Bank & Trust kicked off the holiday season on Monday November 20, 2017, with a highly anticipated annual tradition, their Community Dividends awards luncheon. Now in its 15 th year, this unique giving program has granted a total of $15 million to local Santa Barbara and Ventura County nonprofits.
The Four Season Biltmore's Coral Casino ballroom was filled with the excitement and gratitude of 184 local nonprofits, but there was a heartfelt absence, as this marked the first Community Dividends program without the Bank's late founder and local philanthropist, Michael Towbes. This year's program included an emotional video tribute to the father of Community Dividends, one that reflected upon the history of Community Dividends, its impact on the community, what it meant to the man himself and a look at the continued bright future of the program.
Looking around the room, Chairwoman & CEO Janet Garufis commented, "To carry on this man's legacy is an honor and a privilege. He set the bar high and I speak for everyone in the organization when I say that we will work hard every day to carry on his vision and we will never let him down. I want to thank the 184 of you that are here representing your organizations. You work tirelessly to serve the missions of your organizations and the value of your work does not go unseen - today, we celebrate and thank you!"
The Community Dividends awards were created in 2003 by Montecito Bank & Trust's late owner and Chairman Michael Towbes, with a primary focus on supporting organizations which serve low and moderate-income individuals and families in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The program also awards dividends to organizations that serve the arts, youth and education, social welfare, and medical and health services sectors. One of the major reasons organizations look forward to this event is the opportunity to socialize with their nonprofit colleagues, share ideas, build stronger bonds within the community and reflect on their impact in the community.
Montecito Bank & Trust has a history of unwavering corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves. This commitment was driven by Michael Towbes, who used to say, "We do this because we recognize and support the invaluable role your nonprofits play in enhancing the quality of life for all segments of our society. We do this to encourage other organizations to follow in our footsteps. We do this to encourage our employees to volunteer to support these worthy organizations. We do this because we think it's the right thing to do."
Marking another unique moment in this year's program was the announcement by the Mayor of Santa Barbara, Helene Schneider, of Michael Towbes Day of Giving in Santa Barbara, which will occur on Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2017.
A listing of the 184 nonprofit organizations that received Montecito Bank & Trust Community Dividends is below.
Montecito Bank & Trust, an S Corporation, is the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Founded in 1975, the bank celebrated its 42nd anniversary on March 17, 2017 and operates 10 branch offices in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Camarillo and Westlake Village. Awarded the 2017 Bank of the Year (Western Independent Bankers) from among more than 550 independent community banks headquartered in 13 western states, the bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers, including business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate finance; SBA loans; mortgage loans, consumer loans; credit cards; merchant services; and online services, including mobile banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division provides comprehensive trust services and full investment management for all branch office markets.
Montecito Bank & Trust received a 2016 Premier Performing Bank designation by The Findley Reports, an independent service which rates the annual performance of California banks. Montecito Bank & Trust has been designated as a Premier Performing or Super Premier Performing bank by The Findley Reports 32 times in its 41-year history.
For more information, please contact
Megan Orloff, Chief Strategy Officer
(805) 564-0236 or [email protected]
2017 Community Dividends®
Recipient Organizations
2nd Story Associates
Adelante Charter School
Alano Club of Santa Barbara, Inc.
Alzheimer's Association, California Central Chapter
American Cancer Society, Inc., California Division
American Heart Association, Santa Barbara County
American Heart Association, Ventura County
Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
Anti-Defamation League
Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura
Arthritis Foundation
Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura
Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark
Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley
Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara
California Lutheran University
California Missions Foundation
California State University Channel Islands Foundation
Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara
Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara
Carpinteria Arts Center
Carpinteria Beautiful
Carpinteria Education Foundation, Inc.
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families
Casa Serena, Inc.
Child Abuse Listening Mediation, Inc. (CALM)
Coastal Housing Coalition
Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara
Community Conscience / Under One Roof
Community Environmental Council
Community Memorial Health System
Conejo Valley Senior Concerns, Inc.
Congregation B'nai B'rith
Cornerstone House of Santa Barbara
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Ventura County
Crane Country Day School
Direct Relief
Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine
Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation
Dream Foundation
Easy Lift Transportation
Elverhoj Museum of History & Art
Ensemble Theatre Company
Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara
Fielding Graduate University
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Foundation for Santa Barbara High School
Ganna Walska Lotusland
Garden Court, Inc.
Girls Incorporated of Carpinteria
Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara
Gold Coast Veterans Foundation
Goleta Education Foundation
Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation
Goleta Valley Historical Society
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County
Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County
Hillside House
Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc.
Hospice of the Conejo
Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura
Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME)
Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, Inc.
Interface Children & Family Services
Isla Vista Youth Projects, Inc.
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
Kids Helping Kids
La Casa de Maria Retreat & Conference Center
La Cumbre Junior High School Foundation
Laguna Blanca School
Laguna Cottages for Seniors
Leading From Within
LifeChronicles
Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association
Lobero Theatre Foundation
Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties
Marjorie Luke Theatre
Media4good, Inc.
Mental Wellness Center
Midland School
Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project
Montecito Family YMCA
MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
Museum of Ventura County
Music Academy of the West
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
NAWBO, Santa Barbara County
NAWBO, Ventura County
Network Medical Women's Center
New Directions Travel
New House Santa Barbara
New West Symphony Association
Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Inc.
Opera Santa Barbara
Pacific Pride Foundation
Parks and Recreation Community Foundation
PathPoint
Peoples' Self-Help Housing
Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast
Project Understanding of San Buenaventura
Reins of H.O.P.E.
Ride on Therapeutic Horsemanship
San Marcos High School Royal Pride Foundation
Sansum Clinic
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Inc.
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation
Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara Community Housing Corporation
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation
Santa Barbara County Education Office
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 Partners in Education
Santa Barbara Police Activities League
Santa Barbara Police Foundation
Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center
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 Historical Museum
Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Community
Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People, Inc.
Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Riding Program
Sarah House
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara
Simi Valley Hospital Foundation
Solvang Danish Days Foundation
Solvang Friendship House
Solvang Lutheran Home, Inc.
Solvang Senior Center
Southeast Ventura County YMCA
Special Olympics Southern California - Santa Barbara Region
Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation
St. Vincent's
State Street Ballet
Storyteller Children's Center
Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA
Studio Channel Islands
Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation
The ARC Foundation
The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens
The Foundation for Girsh Park
The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College
The Julia Child Foundation
The Rona Barrett Foundation
The Turner Foundation
Tina Hansen McEnroe & Paul V. McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at UCSB
Transition House
UCSB Alumni Association
UCSB Arts & Lectures
United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County
United Way of Santa Barbara County
United Way of Ventura County
Unity Shoppe, Inc.
Ventura County Housing Trust Fund
Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation
Ventura Hillsides Conservancy
Ventura Music Festival
Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara
Westmont College
Wilderness Youth Project
Wildling Art Museum
Women's Economic Ventures
Youth and Family Services YMCA: Noah's Anchorage Youth Crisis Center