Montecito Bank & Trust celebrates local nonprofits at annual Anniversary Grants™ reception
March 15, 2023
On Wednesday evening, Montecito Bank & Trust celebrated its 48th anniversary the same way it has since 1993, by gathering with local nonprofit representatives at the annual Anniversary Grants reception. The Bank's late founder, Michael Towbes, first started the Anniversary Grants program to honor Montecito Bank & Trust’s anniversary by giving back to the community. He wanted bank employees to have a voice in the direction of the Bank's corporate giving and to celebrate the exceptional volunteer service they give back to Central Coast communities.
The Bank awarded grants of $3,000 to each of the 10 local nonprofits. The recipients were all hand-selected by Bank employees after they campaigned, rallied and voted for the organizations that mean so much to them. Recipients also received a short promotional video showcasing each organization's extraordinary work.
Chairman & CEO Janet Garufis talked about the special place the Anniversary Grants holds in the Bank's corporate giving, "While Anniversary Grants is smaller in scope compared to Community Dividends®, what makes it so special is how it celebrates the organizations that mean so much to our associates. That very notion is what Mike so deeply cherished and looked forward to each year, learning about the organizations that our associates embraced, and hearing about programs he may not have been familiar with."
In 2020, the Bank introduced the Jerry Parent Anniversary Grants Legacy Award to honor the decades-long selfless community contributions of one of the Bank's founders and long-time Board Director, Jerry Parent. The award is presented to an organization that makes a significant and sustainable impact on a local community. The Bank is excited to celebrate The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties as this year's deserving recipient. The ADL also received a $3,000 grant and promotional video and will be featured on a commemorative plaque in the Downtown Branch.
Please join the Bank in celebrating the 2023 Anniversary Grants Recipients:
- Angels Foster Care of Santa Barbara
- Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP)
- California Lutheran University - Center for Nonprofit Leadership
- Lompoc Theatre Project
- Page Youth Center
- Royal Theatre Production, Inc.
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival
- Solvang Senior Center
- The Horse Project
- Youth Empowered Sports Club
To watch a video of each Anniversary Grant promotional video, visit montecito.bank/AnniversaryGrants.
Montecito Bank & Trust is the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Founded in 1975, the bank celebrated its 47th anniversary on March 17, 2022 and operates 11 branch offices in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Camarillo and Westlake Village, with plans to expand north and south into Santa Maria and Oxnard in 2023. Montecito Bank & Trust has a history of unwavering corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves, annually donating $1.5 million dollars and volunteering over 5,400 hours to nonprofit organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. 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. The Bank has earned 23 Best Bank awards in the last 10 years, in addition to numerous accolades for Best Mortgage and Best Financial Services Company in Santa Barbara, Best Investment Company in Santa Ynez Valley and the third Best Bank to Work For in the United States (American Banker Magazine).
For more information, please contact
Megan Orloff, EVP/Chief Strategy Officer
(805) 564-0236 or [email protected]